WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Barn Burner Trophy returned to West Lafayette for the first time since 2016, as the Purdue women's basketball team defeated in-state rival Indiana 80-69 on Sunday afternoon at Mackey Arena. The win was the 300th of head coach Katie Gearlds' career.
The Boilermakers (11-9, 3-6) were led by Nya Smith's 13 points with a trio of 3-pointers. Madison Layden-Zay finished with 12 points, four rebounds and six assists. Hila Karsh was 4-of-5 from behind the arc for 12 points.
All nine players who entered the game scored four or more points. Freshman Avery Gordon was 4-of-4 from the field for the second straight game, finishing with nine points.
Purdue dished out 21 assists on 27 made field goals, topped by Ladyen-Zay’s third straight game with six helpers. Purdue shot 49.1% for the game and 11-of-22 from behind the arc. After a slow 4-of-18 start in the first quarter and 1-of-5 from distance, the Boilermakers were 23-of-37 from the field for 62% and 10-of-17 behind the arc over the final 30 minutes.
Purdue forced Indiana (11-10, 0-9) into 20 turnovers to score 27 points, while allowed just 13 points on 15 offensive miscues. Despite losing the rebounding battle 31-24, Purdue surrendered just four points on 10 second chance opportunities for Indiana. Thirty-five of Purdue’s points came off the bench.
Indiana was led by a 37-point performance by Shay Ciezki, which tied for third most points in a game in Mackey Arena history.
SECOND QUARTER STATEMENT
The Boilermakers surged in the second quarter to take control of the game, winning the frame 30-14. Purdue was 10-of-11 from the field with five 3-pointers. The lone miss came from behind the arc. Nya Smith connected three times from distance to score 11 points. Gordon went 3-of-3 in the period for six points.
All 10 field goals came off an assist, led by Kiki Smith’s four.
Purdue held Indiana to 4-of-10 shooting and 1-of-3 from behind the arc and scored 13 points on five of Indiana’s six turnovers in the second. The Boilermakers opened the second on a 19-2 run, allowing just one field goal over the opening 7:13 of the second.
KEY MOMENTS
• Purdue fought through a slow first quarter, missing their first eight shots of the game and starting 1-of-11. The Boilermakers stood up defensively, forcing six turnovers in the opening frame. Indiana led 15-11 after 10 minutes.
• The Boilermakers opened the second quarter scoring eight straight points on a Karsh 3-pointer and five straight from Nya Smith.
• Indiana converted three free throws in the middle of the frame, before McKenna Layden nailed a 3-pointer to open the score back up to 15 with 3:02 to play.
• Gordon scored the final six points of the half, as Purdue carried a 41-29 lead into the break.
• Purdue weathered the storm in the third, as the Hoosiers hit five 3-pointers and went 8-of-9 at the line. Layden scored five points in the third, while Ciezki accounted for 18 of Indiana’s 25 points in the frame.
• Karsh opened the fourth with her first of two 3-pointers in the final period.
• Layden-Zay scored eight points in the fourth, including a trio of free throws under two minutes to ice the game.
NOTES
• After the 100th meeting between Purdue and Indiana, the Boilermakers lead the series 56-44.
• The win was Purdue’s five over Indiana since the 2018-19 season at Mackey Arena when the Hoosiers were ranked No. 25.
• Purdue snapped a nine-game skid in the Barn Burner Trophy Game, dating back to Purdue’s last win on Jan. 10, 2016. Purdue still owns the longest winning streak in the series at 10 games from 1999-2008.
• Madison Layden-Zay became the 31st player in Purdue history to amass 500 rebounds in a career.
• Nya Smith has finished in double figures in three of the last five games.
• Layden-Zay passed Lisa Jahner and Erika Valek to move up to 25th on Purdue’s scoring charts with 1,222 points.
• The fifth year also passed Sharon Versyp for 14th on the all-time steals chart with 197.
• Purdue is 18-1 since the start of last season and 10-1 this season when scoring 70 or more points. The Boilermakers are 10-2 when keeping teams to 70 or fewer this season.
UP NEXT
Purdue will welcome No. 13 Michigan State to Mackey Arena on Thursday night for a 6 p.m. tip on BTN. The Boilermakers will go for their first home win over an AP Top-15 team since Dec. 4, 2011, against No. 4 Texas A&M.