Purdue Stymies Bluder's Bunch

Jan. 8, 2009

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Purdue Boilermakers used a 12-3 run in the opening eight minutes of the second half its game against the Iowa Hawkeyes Thursday night to extend a four-point halftime lead en route to a 60-49 victory.

Purdue’s Natasha Bogdanova two-point bucket with 11:27 left to play gave the Boilermakers a 42-29 lead., a lead that stretched to 49-33 four minutes later when the Boilers’ Brittany Rayburn sank a short jumper. Iowa the opportunity to get the game into single digits with just under three minutes to play, but Wendy Ausdemore’s three-point attempt fell short.

The loss dropped Iowa to 8-7 overall and 1-3 in Big Ten Conference play heading into its game Sunday against Minnesota. Game time in Carver-Hawkeye Arena is set for 4:30 p.m. Purdue improved to 10-5 overall and 3-1 in league play.

The Hawkeyes were paced offensively by senior center Megan Skouby and senior guard Kristi Smith, who each scored 14 points. Skouby also had a team-high eight rebounds and six blocked shots. Ausdemore added 11 points. Iowa also got seven points and five rebounds from Kachine Alexander, but the feisty forward injured a shoulder midway through the final half and missed most of the final stanza.

Purdue was paced by Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton’s 14 points and 10 rebounds. Three other Boilermakers added nine points each for the home team, who used edges in turnovers forced and assists, and an in-your-face defense to stymie the Hawkeyes.

Iowa shot just 32 percent from the field and 32 percent from behind the arc. Iowa also struggled at the line, hitting just 61 percent of its attempts from the charity stripe.

“I thought we played well in the first half. We rebounded well and played solid defense. Purdue came out and played a lot more aggressive in the second half. We went on a scoring drought early in the second half, but you have to give Purdue credit they really amped-up their defense,” said UI Coach Lisa Bluder.

“We’re 1-3 in the conference right now, playing three of the four games on the road and two of the games coming against one of the Big Ten favorites (Purdue). We now come home for five of our next seven at home and we need to come out and play well against a tough Minnesota team.”

The Hawkeyes were paced offensively by senior center Megan Skouby and senior guard Kristi Smith, who each scored 14 points. Skouby also had a team-high eight rebounds and six blocked shots. Ausdemore added 11 points. Iowa also got seven points and five rebounds from Kachine Alexander, but the feisty forward injured a shoulder midway through the final half and did not return to the floor.

Purdue was paced by Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton’s 14 points and 10 rebounds. Three other Boilermakers added nine points each for the home team, who used edges in turnovers forced and assists, and an in-your-face defense to stymie the Hawkeyes.

Iowa shot just 32 percent from the field and 32 percent from behind the arc. Iowa also struggled at the line, hitting just 61 percent of its attempts from the charity stripe.