WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women’s basketball team will hit the road for its West Coast trip this weekend, tipping off the two-game road swing on Sunday afternoon against USC at 5 p.m. on B1G+.
Tim Newton will call the game at the Galen Center on the Purdue Global Radio Network on 95.3 BOB FM, as well as the statewide network.
Purdue picked up its first ranked victory since 2022-23 and its first at home since 2018-19 with a 78-72 overtime win against No. 23 Washington on Sunday afternoon. The Boilermakers rallied from eight down with four minutes to play in the fourth with a 17-point run that carried into the extra period. Madison Layden-Zay and Tara Daye paced Purdue with 19 points.
Layden-Zay also made history against the Huskies, breaking Karissa McLaughlin’s Purdue career 3-point record with her 245th triple. The Kokomo, Ind., native connected on four 3-pointers in the win, with the record breaker kickstarting the 17-0 run.
GAME NOTES
• A win would give Katie Gearlds the 300th of her career.
• The Boilermakers are looking for their first win in California since defeating UC Riverside 65-53 on Nov. 27, 2009
• Lana McCarthy picked up her second double-double off the bench this season, going for 14 points and 12 rebounds against the Huskies. She is tied for second among major conference players with two double-doubles from a non-starting role.
• Purdue has picked up four ranked win under head coach Katie Gearlds with three of the four coming away from Mackey Arena.
• With her third triple against Washington, Madison Layden-Zay became the Purdue all-time leader in career 3-pointers, passing Karissa McLaughlin's previous mark of 244. The fifth year has knocked down 40 triples this season at a 40.4% clip. She ranks 12th in Purdue history with a 35.8% clip from behind the arc.
• Layden-Zay is fourth in the Big Ten in minutes played this season with 34.0 minutes per game and second in league games with 38.3 minutes per night. Playing just about every minute since the holiday break, she has been on the bench for just 5:16 of the last five games.
• The Kokomo, Ind., native is also closing in on a major milestone of joining Caitlin Clark as the only players in Big Ten history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists, 200 steals, 200 3-pointers and 50 blocks. She needs five rebounds and eight steals to join the club.
• During their two-game winning streak over the last week, the Boilermakers have knocked down 19 3-pointers at a 41.3% clip, good for third and second best in the league, respectively. Four players averaged double figures, led by Layden-Zay's 18.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game to earn a spot on the Big Ten Weekly Honor Roll.
• Hila Karsh took over the team lead in assists with 47, following a four-dime performance against Washington. Karsh is tied for third among Big Ten freshmen in assists. The Israeli international is averaging 3.5 assists in wins this season, nearly two assists more than in losses.
• Over the last five games, Nya Smith has averaged 9.6 points, while shooting 51.7% from the field and 35.3% from distance, compared to 4.3 points per night and clips of 27.4% and 12.5%, respectively, over the first 12 games.