Feb. 7, 2010

Box Score | Boxscore

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue’s Chelsea Jones made a jumper with three seconds remaining to hand the University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team a 58-56 loss to the Boilermakers on Sunday. The loss drops the Badgers into a tie with Penn State for third in the Big Ten Conference at 7-6. Wisconsin moves to 17-7 overall.

Wisconsin led 56-53 with 1:46 to play but with 57 seconds remaining, Boilermaker Brittany Rayburn sank a 3, evening the score at 56-56. With 44 seconds remaining, Taylor Wurtz’s 3-point shot rimmed halfway into the hoop before popping right back out.

Purdue brought the ball up and with 11 seconds left, Alyssa Karel blocked Purdue’s FahKara Malone and grabbed the rebound. The Boilermaker’s shot clock went off and Karel attempted to call a time out but the Badger was called for a travel as she fell to the floor. The Boilermakers got the ball back under their basket with 10 seconds remaining and Jones scored from the right baseline with three seconds remaining. Wisconsin’s last-second half court shot fell short as Purdue improved to 13-11 and took over sole possession of second place in the league at 8-5.

“We were dry in the second half offensively,” Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone said. “We were stagnant. We had nothing inside, we turned it over and we got fed up. I give credit to Purdue there too, but this was a heartbreaker. We led the entire game until that last basket. Our kids fought their tails off. I am very, very proud of them. They left it on the court.”

Even though the Badgers shot 63 percent (15-of-24) from the field, including 67 percent (4-of-6) from 3-point range in the first half, Wisconsin came out of the locker room ice cold.

The Badgers missed their first 10 shots of the second half and Purdue missed their first five attempts. Neither team scored a first field goal for the first five minutes of the period. Wisconsin scored its first field goal with 14:47 to play when Lin Zastrow put back a lay-in off an offensive rebound by Anya Covington. Purdue didn’t score their first field goal until the 13:42 mark when KK Houser sealed a layup, making it 38-31 Wisconsin.

Wisconsin shot just 33.3 percent (8-of-24) from the field in the second half, including just 30 percent (3-of-10) from long range. The Badgers ended shooting 47.9 percent for the game and 43.8 percent from behind the arc.
With 12:05 left in the game, the Badgers found themselves in trouble committing three turnovers and scoring no points in two minutes. Purdue took advantage of Wisconsin’s dry spell and went on an 8-0 run, cutting the Badgers’ 11-point lead to three (45-39) when Jones hit a field goal with 9:35 remaining.

Wurtz was not prepared to let the Boilermakers steal the Badger lead and sunk two deep 3’s, putting UW up 50-41 with 9:16 remaining.

Karel, Wisconsin’s leading scorer on the season, came down awkwardly and apparently injured her right knee after getting a hand on an entry pass from Purdue with 7:03 to play. The Boilermakers took advantage of the Badgers’ physical and emotional blow, going on a 5-0 run and cutting the UW lead to 50-45 with 6:25 to go.

Tara Steinbauer broke the Boilermaker run, downing a vital 3 with 5:55 remaining and putting the badgers up 53-45. However, Wisconsin could not get its offense going as it remained scoreless for the next 3:50.

Purdue converted two Wisconsin turnovers into baskets and scored off two offensive rebounds, putting up eight points and tying the game 53-53 with 2:59 remaining.

“We have to pick up the pieces here and keep the team going because we have a special group,” coach Stone said. “It was a heartbreaker here tonight. It was a hard-fought battle and I am really proud of our kids.”

Behind their hot shooting, the Badgers dominated the first half, leading by 11 points (34-23) late in the period. Wisconsin also led by 11 in the second half, taking a 42-31 lead with 12:32 to play.

Karel led the Badgers in scoring with 13 points while Steinbauer and Wurtz each added nine tallies. Rayburn led the Boilermakers with 19 points while KK Houser added 10 points and Jones chipped in eight.

The Boilers shot just 38.8 percent from the field but went to the line 23 times, making 14. Wisconsin was just 3-of-8 from the free throw line and also turned the ball over 21 times while Purdue had just 15 turnovers.

Wisconsin outrebounded Purdue 32-29, as Teah Gant tied her career high with eight boards. Anya Covington added seven rebounds for the Badgers.

This loss marks the 22nd time the Badgers have fallen at Purdue. Wisconsin’s last win at Purdue was in 1984.

The Badgers have a bye on Thursday and return to action on Feb. 14 vs. Indiana in the Kohl Center.