COLUMBUS, Ohio — Purdue held up to defeat the second-placed Buckeyes as Ohio State scored a point in the fourth quarter.
Abby Ellis had a season-high 5 3-pointers, and Purdue beat Ohio State 73-65 on Sunday to earn its first top 5 road win in program history.
“We promised ourselves that we were going to be tough throughout the game, especially in the fourth quarter,” Ellis said. “We stuck to what we were good at, what we knew, and knew that defense would lead us to success, and I think it finally showed.”
It was the second consecutive win against the top 25 boilermakers.
“It’s pure joy, pure happiness,” Ellis said. “I think we brought that hype out of the Illinois game. Here we come [an] Weakling, nothing to lose, very proud of the girl. We held on tight the whole time. ”
The Buckeyes (19-3, 8-3) have lost three in a row after winning their first 19 games of the season.
The Boilermakers, who led by 17 points early in the third quarter, saw their lead shrink as Ohio State and Taylor Mikesell rallied in the second half.
After going 0/6 in the first two quarters, Mikesell made back-to-back 3-pointers in the third as Purdue shot 29.4 percent in the frame.
Ohio State used a 9-0 run to take the score to 55-53 with 6:58 remaining in the fourth quarter, and Taylor Thierry tied the score at 58 after scoring with 4:28 remaining. bottom. Thierry fouled 19 seconds later.
Purdue (15-6, 6-5) created a separation in the next two minutes, with Madison Layden scoring five consecutive points and Ellis scoring a jumper to put the Boilermakers up 65-58.
The Buckeyes made three of eight field goal attempts in the final 2:15 to go 1-for-2 at the free-throw line for that span.
Ellis nailed his fifth 3-pointer with 43 seconds left to secure the win for Purdue. She finished with her 26 points, with Cassidy Hardin scoring a total of 15 points.
“We talked [how] This game could go one of two ways for us. “They stayed resilient and stayed at it,” Purdue coach Katie Gears said. “And our kids were tough to the end and made some plays.”
Purdue shot 44.8% from 3-point range and 43.1% from the field.
Thierry led Ohio State with 18 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals.
Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said, “It’s really frustrating because even during the game there were stretches of focus and energy that were put to good use.”Credit Purdue. I was more focused and more prepared from the tip…that was the difference in the end.”
The Boilermakers recorded their first streak against ranked opponents since 2017-18 and their first top-five victory since 2011.
“What happened this week, that’s this week. We had to focus on IU,” Ellis said. it won’t.”
Purdue will host No. 6 Indiana next Sunday. Ohio moves to Wisconsin on Wednesday.
