After a six-day break, the Rutgers women’s basketball team returns to the hardwood to begin a two-game Midwest road trip at Purdue University. It was an exciting start, with layups from Nene Ndiaye and Lauryn Swann quickly giving the Scarlet Knights the lead. Ndiaye hit three 3-pointers early and made two free throws, but the Boilermakers got off to a quiet start with three 3-pointers of their own to take a 14-13 lead nearly four minutes into the game.
Swann hit two pull-up jumpers to give the Cavaliers a 17-14 lead, but the two teams missed each other’s shots at the end of the quarter. When the Boilers fell into a scoring drought for more than three minutes, Zachara Perkins drove to the basket and finished with his left hand. Kennedy Brandt missed a long 3-pointer at the buzzer as Rutgers couldn’t get any better on its final possession of the quarter.
advertise
Rutgers led 19-14 in the second quarter when Ndiaye was fouled as he drove to the basket from the baseline, extending the Cavaliers’ lead to six points. After getting a couple extra rebounds, Kendall Puryear struggled to push the ball to the basket, but their defense wasn’t up to par and N’Diaye got a quick layup on the other end. Tara Daye had a circus layup at the other end, throwing back with the Cavaliers defender on her and completing a “two-and-one” when she was fouled that cut the Rutgers lead to 22-19.
Ivey hit a step-back 3-pointer to extend the lead to six points, but Nia Smith responded with a short jumper. Perkins grabbed a rebound and got his second shot to put Rutgers ahead 27-21, and Puryear was fouled by Jana Walker and hit one of two free throws at the free throw line to cut the lead to five points. Kiki Smith hit two free throws to make it 27-24, then Puryear had a tough layup off an assist from Madison Leden-Zay, sending the Boilers back to the locker room with a one-point advantage after the Cavaliers led most of the first half.
Purdue’s driving layup at the start of the second half gave Purdue its first lead since the first quarter, and two layups by Daye gave the Boilers a 32-30 lead two minutes later. Purdue extended the lead to 36-32 with a couple layups, but Janae Walker responded with a layup to pull the Cavaliers within two. However, after a Rutgers turnover, Smith found an open Ledenzai in the left corner and Purdue led 39-34 at the five-minute media timeout.
Redenzai hit a three-pointer from the left wing after the timeout, followed by Smith’s left-wing three-pointer and Day’s layup, Purdue extended its lead to double digits. Two free throws by Ndiaye and another layup by Perkins pushed Rutgers within seven points, but Daye’s mid-range jumper extended the Boilermakers’ lead to nine. Avery Gordon committed a low foul and hit one of two free throws to extend Purdue’s lead to 50-40 heading into the fourth quarter.
advertise
Gordon’s hook shot at the start of the final quarter gave the Boilers a 52-40 lead. Redenzai hit another three-pointer, extending Purdue’s lead to 15 points. Ivey’s mid-range jumper broke the Boilers’ lead, but Smith’s step-back three-pointer pushed the lead back to 16 points. Perkins’ layup was blocked by Gordon, but Ivey added another layup before Swann completed a layup. The lead was restored to 13 points.
A couple of layups from Walker and Perkins got Rutgers within eleven points, but they wouldn’t pose a serious threat to Purdue the rest of the way. Smith hit a three-pointer to bring the Boilers back to 14 points, and then Smith cut inside and sneaked into the left wing for a layup. Purdue led 67-51 at the end of the game. Ndiaye’s late 3-pointer was Rutgers’ last shot as the home team prevailed 72-57, their fourth conference win of the season.
Ndiaye was outstanding, scoring a game-high 25 points, shooting 5-of-4 from beyond the arc and 7-of-14 from the field, but Perkins was the only Scarlet Knight to score in double figures, finishing with 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting (all inside the arc). Swann struggled to shoot, but he still scored 9 points off the bench, Walker scored 6 points, and Ivey scored 7 points. Perkins led Rutgers with four assists and Walker led the Cavaliers with seven rebounds.
Purdue was led by Kiki Smith’s 17 points and Daye and Layden-Zay both scored 15 points. Ledenzai shot 5 out of 10 from long range, while Puryear added seven points in the paint. Nia Smith also contributed 11 points off the bench.
advertise
Despite outrebounding Purdue 32-30, Rutgers shot 40 percent from the field and just 28 percent from three. They had 14 turnovers to the Boilers’ 11, and Purdue held the Cavaliers to 22 points off those turnovers, while Purdue held Rutgers to just six points.
