Women's basketball: Purdue drops 5th straight, falls to Oregon 69-53

Purdue women’s basketball was unable to change its fortunes on the west coast, falling to Oregon 69-53 on Wednesday night in Eugene. The Boilermakers have now lost five straight games dating back to December 21st and are 0-6 a third of the way through Big Ten play this season.

The latest loss in the streak also marks Purdue’s seventh loss by 16 or more points this season, after having eight losses of double-digits all of last season.

The offense took awhile to show itself in Eugene, as Purdue and Oregon combined to shoot 2-10 in the early going, where it was a 2-2 game until the 5:57 mark. That’s when sophomore guard Sophie Swanson entered the game and provided scoring for the Boilermakers, having a quick five points to hand Purdue a 7-2 advantage at the 5:05 mark of the first quarter.

The Ducks then responded, outscoring the Boilermakers 11-2 over the final three minutes of the quarter, thanks to contributions from Peyton Scott and one time Purdue portal target Nani Falatea.

Purdue shot a respectable 45% from the field, but nine turnovers, leading to nine Oregon points was the difference in the opening frame.

The ball security woes compiled with shooting troubles in the second quarter for Purdue, who saw the deficit grow. The Boilermakers were 1-5 from the field and had five turnovers over the first five minutes of the quarter, while Oregon extended its lead to eight at the 4:55 mark.

Purdue went nearly nine minutes without a field goal in the second quarter as a Reagan Bass triple ended the drought with 49 seconds left in the first half, after Oregon had pushed the lead to 12. The Ducks responded quickly with a three of their own to take a 35-23 lead into the break.

Oregon quickly got the lead to a then high 14 to start the third quarter before three straight scores by Lana McCarthy and Rashunda Jones chopped that lead down to eight with 7:26 to play in the third. After a back-and-forth few minutes, McKenna Layden made it a seven point game with her second triple of the night.

That would be as close as the Boilermakers could get for the rest of the night. Oregon would then outscore Purdue 11-2 down the stretch of the third quarter, with the help of Deja Kelly and Phillipina Kyei who scored 13 combined in the quarter, to take a 52-36 lead into the fourth.

Despite best efforts from Rashunda Jones and McKenna Layden, the Boilermakers were unable to claw their way back into the game, watching Oregon coast to a convincing win in Matthew Knight Arena.

Another woeful offensive performances doomed Purdue’s chances of snapping its five-game losing streak, having 23 turnovers (leading to 25 Oregon points), as well as shooting a combined 42% from the field and 25% from three-point range.

Rashunda Jones led the way in the scoring department for the Boilermakers, with a team-high 17 points on 8-10 shooting from the field, as well as four rebounds and three assists. Jones returned to the starting lineup on Wednesday and has averaged 12.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists over the last three games.

McKenna Layden has come into her own of late, putting together the best performance of her young career, despite the loss. The sophomore had nine points and a career-high nine rebounds, which also paced the Boilermakers on the night. Over her last three games, Layden is averaging 7.6 points and 6.0 rebounds in an expanded role.

The transfer trio of Reagan Bass, Ella Collier and Destini Lombard were held in check in a frustrating night for the bunch, combining for just ten points on 27% shooting from the field and one assist.

Purdue will remain out west with a battle against Washington on deck for Saturday evening, where Katie Gearlds and company will look to get back in the win column for the first time in 2025.