WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue women’s basketball team will open up a two-game road swing to open 2026, starting Sunday afternoon at No. 20/25 Nebraska. The 3 p.m. ET tip will be shown on B1G+ and Nebraska Public Media with Larry Punteney and Kara Graham on the call.
Tim Newton will have the action for the Purdue Global Radio Network on 95.3 BOB FM and the expanded statewide network.
Purdue dropped an 83-56 New Year’s Eve decision to No. 19/20 Ohio State on Wednesday. A trio of Boilermakers finished in double figures, led by Madison Layden-Zay’s game-high 17 points for her fourth straight outing in double figures.
GAME NOTES
• Layden-Zay has turned back the clock in her return year, averaging 10.1 points on 41.1% shooting and a team-high 31 3-pointers at a 40.3% clip, good for 11th in the Big Ten. Her 2.3 triples per game in Big Ten play rank 10th in the league.
• The fifth year has hit a 3-pointer in all 14 games this season, moving her into a tie for sixth on Purdue's all-time chart with Courtney Moses during the 2013-14 season. Layden-Zay holds the second longest streak in Purdue history at 24 games over her freshman and sophomore seasons.
• The Kokomo, Ind., native leads Purdue with 26 steals on the year. She ranks fourth in the Big Ten with eight steals over the first three conference games. For her career, Layden-Zay has averaged 1.5 steals per game.
• Layden-Zay is 15 steals and 19 rebounds away from joining Caitlin Clark as the only Big Ten players ever with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists, 200 3-points, 200 steals and 50 blocks in a career.
• The Boilermakers rank sixth in the Big Ten with 30.4 defensive rebounds per game and third in defensive rebounding percentage at 75.5%.
• Fourth on the team with 9.9 points per game, Hila Karsh is fourth among Big Ten freshmen in scoring and eighth with 7.3 points per Big Ten contest. Her 21 3-pointers are tied with USC's Jazzy Davidson for the league lead by a rookie.
• Tara Daye hit double figures for the fourth time in the last five games with 10 points against Ohio State. The redshirt junior is one of five guards from the Big Ten averaging 12 points and 6.0 rebounds per game this season.
• Purdue will face its fourth ranked opponent this season on Sunday. The Boilermakers have three ranked wins under head coach Katie Gearlds, including knocking off No. 2 Ohio State during the 2022-23 season for the program's first true road win over an AP Top-5 opponent. All of Purdue ranked wins under Gearlds have been away from Mackey Arena.
• The Boilermakers are 15-1 since the start of last season when scoring 70 points or more. The lone loss to the record came against Illinois last Sunday.
• Junior Kiki Smith was named to the Class of 2026 for the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday. Smith is second on the team with 11.2 points per game.
• The Boilermakers are 7-10 all-time against the No. 20 team in the AP Poll. Purdue's last win against No. 20 was on Feb. 3, 2011, against Iowa, 60-41 at Mackey Arena.
• With her next 3-pointer Madison Layden-Zay will move into a tie for third place on Purdue's career list with Katie Gearlds.