Women's basketball: Big fourth quarter lifts Purdue over Miami (OH), 67-51

Purdue women’s basketball took care of business on the road on Tuesday night, picking up a 67-51 win over Miami (Ohio) in Oxford. The victory was much needed for the Boilermakers, who snapped a two-game skid against the RedHawks.

Senior guard Ella Collier set a new Purdue-high with 12 points on 5-6 shooting from the field and 2-2 from three-point range. It was just the third game in double-figures for the Marian transfer, but she loomed large when the Boilermakers’ needed her most.

Destini Lombard also helped guide the Boilermakers to victory, finishing with 16 points on 5-10 shooting, including eight points in the fourth quarter behind a pair of triples. Lombard led Purdue in scoring for the fifth time this season, which is the most on the team this season.

Mahri Petree and Kendall Puryear both chipped in eight points apiece off the bench, while Rashunda Jones had 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists with the second unit.

Reagan Bass posted another double-double, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The senior forward shot just 2-10 from the field, but was 6-8 from the charity strip and dished out five assists.

The Boilermakers were able to get out of Oxford with a victory, despite having 25 turnovers, which allowed the RedHawks to hang around for much longer than Katie Gearlds was likely comfortable with.

Ultimately, Purdue outscored Miami 28-16, after having struggled in the fourth quarter throughout the season, to avoid what could have given the Boilermakers a losing record through 11 games.

Purdue snaps its two-game losing streak and clinches its first win away from Mackey Arena this season. The Boilermakers will now return home to play Indiana State on Saturday afternoon before getting into the bulk of Big Ten play against Iowa next week.

Purdue got out to an early 8-4 lead despite five turnovers in the opening five minutes of play. Ella Collier led the charge with five points, including the first of back-to-back threes, with Rashunda Jones knocking down the second. Miami (Ohio) guard Enjulina Gonzalez quickly closed that gap by scoring the latter four of the eight straight she dropped to start the game, knotting things up at 8-8 with 3:43 left in the first quarter.

A Kendall Puryear jumper and Reagan Bass free throw gave Purdue a three-point advantage before the RedHawks settled the score once again with a triple by Tamar Singer.

Purdue took just ten field goal attempts in the opening frame, while having ten turnovers, which resulted in four Miami (Ohio) points off miscues. Lana McCarthy, Reagan Bass, Amiyah Reynolds, and Sophie Swanson all had two turnovers of their own, allowing the RedHawks to even the score.

The Boilermakers went the final 3:25 without a field goal, heading into the second quarter tied up at 11-11.

Mahri Petree quickly ended that drought in the second quarter, knocking down a long two, giving Purdue the lead back.

After Miami (Ohio) made it a 15-14 game shortly after, the Boilermakers locked in on the defensive end to make a run. Purdue would allow just one made field goal the last 7:28 of the first half, helping them hold the RedHawks to just 22% shooting from the field in the half.

The Boilermakers used contributions from Ella Collier, Kendall Puryear and Destini Lombard to mount an 11-3 run over the final 6:34 to take a 26-17 lead into halftime of a defensive battle. Puryear was a key cog in that charge, having six points after Lana McCarthy was held scoreless while dealing with foul trouble.

Despite having 15 turnovers in the opening 30 minutes of play, the Boilermakers shot 40% from the field and held the RedHawks to 17 points to maintain a nine-point advantage into the second half.

Purdue came out of halftime firing, quickly extending the lead to 30-17 at the 8:09 mark of the third quarter. After Ilse de Vries and Destini Lombard exchanged triples, the RedHawks began to mount a charge. Gonzalez and Katey Richason knocked down back-to-back threes to cut the once 13-point Purdue lead to seven with 5:09 left in the third quarter.

Kendall Puryear helped get the lead back to 11 shortly after, however, hitting two free throws and having a dish to Reagan Bass for an easy layup, making it a 37-26 lead for the Boilermakers at the 2:35 mark.

Miami cut into the lead once again thanks to a pair of threes by Singer and Lakresha Edwards, along with two free throws from Amber Tretter, to cut the Purdue lead to just four heading into the fourth quarter.

Ella Collier and Mahri Petree scored five straight for the Boilermakers in the opening minutes of the fourth, but Lakresha Edwards and Tamar Singer connected on triples to negate the seniors’ efforts.

Singer then connected on a jumper to cut the lead to one with 6:53 to play, but Ella Collier and Destini Lomboard came up big in response, connecting on each of their second threes of the game to make it a 50-43 game with under five minutes to play. The Boilermakers extended the lead to as much as eight after Reagan Bass free throws before Miami connected on another triple to cut into the lead once again.

Destini Lombard then broke the game wide open with five points in a 30 second span to extend the lead to 12, before Mahri Petree made it a 61-47 game with less than a minute to play, icing a Purdue victory.