WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – In a must-win game to reach the Big Ten Tournament, the Purdue women’s basketball team picked up 67-62 win on the road over Northwestern. It was Purdue’s first win in a regular-season finale since defeating Northwestern in 2017.
Purdue’s trio of guards – Nya Smith, Kiki Smith and Tara Daye – powered the Boilermakers to the tune of 51 points, seven 3-pointers, 14 rebounds, 10 assists and eight steals.
For the 20th time this season, Tara Daye posted a double-digit performance with 18 points, falling two rebounds shy of a double-double and adding a pair of steals.
Kiki Smith knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to lead to 17 points to go with a trio of steals. Nya Smith went for 16 points, including a pair of triples, a career-high seven assists and three steals.
Lana McCarthy was the fourth Boilermaker in double figures with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
Purdue (13-16, 5-13) flipped 21 Northwestern (8-21, 2-16) turnovers into a season-high 32 points, its second game with 30-plus points off turnovers. While the Boilermakers committed 17 turnovers, the defense surrendered just 12 points off miscues. Purdue tallied 12 steals for their ninth game with double-digit takeaways this season.
Purdue dished out 16 assists on 24 field goals.
For the game, Purdue shot 42.1% from the floor and went 5-of-23 from behind the arc. The Wildcats were 43.4% from the field and 6-of-17 from distance.
KEY MOMENTS
• After Northwestern opened on a 4-0 run, the Boilermakers rolled off a 12-3 swing to take a five-point lead with six points from Kiki Smith.
• Kiki Smith hit a pair of triples in the opening frame and tallied eight points, while Nya Smith tacked on five points. Purdue led Northwestern 18-14 after the first, despite committing five turnovers.
• The Boilermakers built their lead up to eight points three times in the second, shooting 5-of-16 in the frame and 0-of-5 from distance.
• Northwestern held Purdue without a field goal for the final 5:11 of the first half, as the hosts chipped away to tie the game 30-30 at the break.
• Purdue shot 36.7% from the field and 3-of-13 from distance. The Boilermakers committed 11 turnovers over the opening 20 minutes but kept Northwestern to just eight points off miscues.
• Purdue opened the second half scoring on six of their first eight shots and built up a 43-33 lead at the 4:46 mark of the third.
• Daye and Nya Smith combined for 13 of Purdue’s 19 points in the third to give Purdue a 49-44 lead going to the fourth.
• Northwestern opened the fourth on a 10-5 run to pull level at 54-54 with 5:17 to play. On the next possession, Kiki Smith fought off contact to complete a traditional 3-point play to put Purdue up for good.
• McCarthy then chipped in four straight points before Kiki Smith scored in transition to cap a six-point run.
• Northwestern cut the gap down to three points with 1:22 to go, but a Daye layup and two clutch free throws from Hila Karsh sealed the win for the Boilermakers.
NOTES
• The Boilermakers now lead the all-time series with Northwestern 56-26.
• Purdue finished its series with Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown, who retired after a storied 40-year head coaching career, at 18-10.
• The Boilermakers are 12-2 this season when holding opponents to 70 points or fewer.
• Purdue improved to 12-3 when taking a lead into the fourth quarter.
• Kiki Smith finished in double figures for the 17th time this season and the sixth time in the last eight games.
• Nya Smith tallied her ninth game in double figures, all in Big Ten play, and the fifth straight outing.
UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will head to the Big Ten Tournament as the 14th seed. Purdue will open up play at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday night against either Washington or Oregon. Tipoff is slated for 25 minutes after the conclusion of the second game of the day, which will start 25 minutes after the 3:30 p.m. tip of the opening game of the tournament. All three games on Wednesday will be streamed on Peacock.