WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women's basketball women's basketball team returns to Mackey Arena for its 2026 home opener on Sunday to face No. 23 Washington at 2 p.m. on B1G+.
Tim Newton and Jane Schott will be on the call for the Purdue Global Radio Network on 95.3 BOB FM.
Purdue picked up its first road and conference win of the year at Wisconsin on Thursday night. The Boilermakers had three players finish in double figures, led by Nya Smith’s season-high 20 points with four 3-pointers. The Boilermakers went 8-of-9 from behind the arc over the final 20 minutes, including a perfect 3-of-3 in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
PROMOTIONS
• Reading Program Game
• BKC Game: You Got A Friend in Pete Day
• Pregame Chalk Talk
• Postgame Autographs
GAME NOTES
• Purdue connected on a season-high 12 3-pointers in the win. It was the ninth time in the last 25 years Purdue had four players knock down multiple 3-pointers. Six of those have come under Katie Gearlds.
• Smith knocked down a game-high four 3-pointers after making just five over the opening 15 games of the year.
• Madison Layden-Zay made a trio of 3-pointers to give her 242 for her career, two behind Karissa McLaughlin's Purdue career record of 244. It was the fifth year's 40th career game with three or more 3-pointers.
• Over her last four games, Layden-Zay has played 154:50 out of a possible 160 minutes, including a pair of complete games. The Kokomo, Ind., native became the 11th Boilermaker in history to play over 4,000 minutes and currently ranks third in the Big Ten with 37.1 minutes per league contest this year.
• Purdue improved to 16-1 since start of last season and 7-1 this year when scoring 70 points or more.
• Behind Layden-Zay's team-high 36 3-pointers this year, tied for eighth in the Big Ten, Purdue vaulted up to sixth in the Big Ten with 142 triples. The Boilermakers have made 10 or more 3-pointers in five games this season. Purdue has made more than 200 3-pointers four times in program history, three have been under Katie Gearlds.
• After averaging 3.9 points at a 28.6% shooting clip in non-conference action, Nya Smith is up to 9.8 points per night in Big Ten games, while shooting 41.5% from the floor.
• Purdue has downed a trio of ranked teams under head coach Katie Gearlds, including the program's first true road victory over an AP Top-5 team against No. 2 Ohio State in 2022-23. All three ranked wins have been away from Mackey Arena.
• Sunday's tilt will open a three-game stretch against currently ranked opposition in No. 23 Washington, No. 21 USC (Jan. 18) and No. 4 UCLA (Jan. 21).
• Purdue rolled out its fifth different starting lineup of the year against Wisconsin with Daye, Layden-Zay, N. Smith, Kendall Puryear and McKenna Layden. It was the first time in program history two sisters started the same game.
• Despite having the most newcomers in the Big Ten this season with 10, Purdue has moved the ball well already posting four games with 20 assists or more. The Boilermakers are 25-1 since the start of the 2021-22 season when dishing out 20 or more dimes.
• Katie Gearlds dropped 31 points on 11-of-18 shooting and 5-of-8 triples in Purdue's 88-64 win at Mackey Arena on Nov. 17, 2006 when Washington was ranked No. 23, the Huskies' last visit to West Lafayette
• The first two meetings in the series were at Mackey Arena for the 1994 NCAA Second Round and 1998 NCAA First Round.