How Purdue women's basketball upset bid agaisnt No. 16 Indiana fell short Sunday
WEST LAFAYETTE — Purdue women's basketball freshman Rashunda Jones let her emotions loose after beating the buzzer to end the third quarter by swishing a rainbow 3-pointer from 6-feet from beyond the arc.
Her bomb tied the game 54-54, sending most of the capacity crowd of 11,796 inside Mackey Arena into a frenzy and provoking Boilermaker head coach Katie Gearlds to flap her arms up and down to fire up the crowd against No. 16 Indiana.
At that point it seemed an upset of 16th-ranked Indiana was in reach. But defensive collapses down the stretch zapped Purdue's momentum as the Boilers struggled to stop Hoosier guard Sara Scalia in the final two minutes.
Scalia scooped home a right handed layup with 1:52 to play then drilled a knifing 3-pointer 48 seconds later and Purdue fell to No. 16 ranked Indiana 74-68.
Despite the valiant effort, Purdue falls to 9-9 and 2-5 in the Big Ten Conference. Indiana improves to 16-2 and 7-1.
The consolation for Purdue, is that the Boilers proved they should stand fast and compete with a ranked opponent after blowout losses to UCLA, Notre Dame and Iowa.
Jones, a 2023 South Bend Washington graduate, scored 11 points while senior Caitlyn Harper had a team-high 18. Freshman Mary Ashley Stevenson scored 13 points while seniors Madison Layden and Abbey Ellis each added 10 points.
It was Purdue's 10th-straight loss to Indiana dating back to Jan. 20, 2019.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue women's basketball battles but falls to No. 16 ranked Indiana
