INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Trailing by double digits at the break, the Purdue women’s basketball team rallied in the second half only for its comeback bid to fall short, as the 14th-seed Boilermakers fell to 11th-seed Oregon on Wednesday night in the first round of the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
After a slow start offensively in the first half, the Boilermakers (13-17) heated up over the final 20 minutes, shooting 63% from the field, 6-of-11 (54.5%) from distance and outscoring the Ducks (21-11) 22-11 in the paint and 13-8 off turnovers.
Down by as many as 26 points in the second quarter, Purdue chipped the gap down to 12 at the midway point of the fourth but could not get it down to single digits.
The Boilermakers finished the night shooting 41.7% from the floor and 8-of-25 (32%) from behind the arc. Lana McCarthy and Hila Karsh were two of the three Boilermakers in double figures, combing for 25 of Purdue’s 30 bench points on the night.
McCarthy tallied 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and tallied nine rebounds with a career-high three assists. Karsh connected three times from the outside to go for 11 points, all in the second half, for her first game in double figures in nine games. Tara Daye posted her 21st game in double figures this season with 11 points, including a pair of triples.
The Boilermakers allowed 15 points on 10 turnovers, while turning nine Oregon miscues into 16 points.
The Ducks put three players in double figures, eld by a 20-point outing from Katie Fiso. Oregon shot 41% on the evening and 5-of-16 (31.3%) from distance and finished plus-15 on the glass, 42-27, with 23 points on 14 offensive rebounds.
The Ducks took advantage of a 24.2% shooting clip by the Boilermakers in the first half, including 2-of-14 from behind the arc, to build a 47-24 lead at the break. Oregon took 16 more free throws on the night, finishing 27-of-29 to Purdue’s 6-of-13.
NOTES
• Oregon leads the all-time series 3-0.
• Kendall Puryear, Kiki Smith and Lana McCarthy fouled out, marking the fourth time since the 2002-03 season that Purdue had a trio foul out.
• Purdue finished with 20 or more bench points for the 20th time this season.
• Daye is the 15th Boilermaker in the last 10 years to post 21 double-digit outings.
• Karsh posted her eighth game with multiple 3-pointers this season.