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38 with 15:11 remaining. The Gophers closed to seven twice but never closer. Key Stat Thanks to Ostarello and Mingo, who had all of her 14 points in the first half, Purdue scored 38 in the paint. ���Minnesota was playing behind, so our posts were doing a great job of getting position and holding it,��� said Moses, who had 18 points, six assists and zero turnovers in 35 minutes. ���And they were wide open and we could see the front of their jerseys. And coach always says ���If you can see the Purdue on the front, get them the ball.��� ��� The high-percentage shots were a big reason why the Boilers��� offense looked so efficient. Purdue assisted on 22 of its 25 field goals and had only 14 turnovers, with just four of those coming in the second half. No. 12 Purdue 82, Ohio State 75 3 OT Jan. 14 �����Mackey Arena For much of the first 50 minutes of Purdue���s game vs. Ohio State, the Buckeyes��� zone defense kept the Boilermaker offense out of sync. But Purdue found the right formula in triple overtime, looking Tom Campbell Dee Dee Williams is known for her defense, but against Ohio State her three-pointer in triple overtime gave Purdue a five-point lead with a couple minutes left. inside to break it down. Mingo and Ostarello scored six straight near the start of the third session, giving Purdue a cushion. And when it went outside again, Dee Dee Williams hit a big three-pointer to help deliver the win. ���There were a lot of (holes inside) from the beginning of the game,��� said Ostarello. ���But we just started actually going to them, kind of in the mid-post area and sealing off the weak side; there were openings.��� Key Player Ostarello was unbelievable again, nearly recording a triple-double in her 51 minutes on the court. She had 22 points, 19 rebounds and a career-high eight blocks. It helped Purdue to its third straight overtime win to begin Big Ten play. ���We can persevere through anything,��� Ostarello said. ���Three games in, all overtimes, it���s unreal. It also shows how close we are as a team and how much confidence we have in everybody. We saw everybody hit big shots.��� Moses, who was overshadowed by Ostarello���s big day, had 24 points, with six three-pointers, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals in 50 minutes. Key Stretch Purdue won in triple overtime, but to do so, it had to survive the second OT. Then, the Boilermakers trailed 68-62 with less than two minutes remaining. But they rallied for the tie. First, Houser found Moses on a deep pass and layup, striking quickly after OSU had taken a six-point lead. Ostarello, who was fouled on a defensive rebound, hit two free throws to cut the margin to two with 36 seconds left. After calling a timeout with 13.6 seconds left, the Buckeyes struggled on an inbounds, with Moses eventually stealing an errant pass and taking it the distance for the game-tying layup with less than five seconds remaining. ���I see confidence,��� Versyp said. ���They were like ���Come on,��� and at one point they were kind of leaning on each other in the huddle saying ���Make a free throw, get a stop. Come on.��� They knew they weren���t playing exceptionally well on offense and weren���t clicking, but they gutted it out.��� Key Stat It might not be a stat, but Ohio State was without Big Ten leading scorer Tayler Hill, who sat with illness. She had averaged nearly 30 points per game through OSU���s first three in the Big Ten. Also, Big Ten Defensive Player-of-the-Year Amber Stokes was out with an injury, leaving the Buckeyes severely short-handed. Also, Purdue committed 22 turnovers, but only 11 came in the final 35 minutes. Takeaways S Purdue���s game at Iowa was going to be a challenge, even if the Boilermakers had gone to CarverHawkeye Arena in full health. But considering that it was their third game in seven days and that sickness has swept through part of the team, the loss was even less surprising. But it now likely makes every game from now until Penn State on Feb. 4 a must-win if the Boilermakers want a chance to win the Big Ten. And they might need a win at the Nittany Lions, too, to have that opportunity. S Ostarello is playing the best basketball of her career, showing offensive aggression that���s made her a threat to score every time she touches the ball. And her rebounding has been outstanding, as well. It���s always nice to see a light bulb come on for a player, especially one as talented as Ostarello. She���s doing it with a severely sore right shoulder, too, one that will need plenty of rest on off days if she���s to make it through the rest of the season. S Getting Houser off point guard duties at times is probably a good idea. The junior guard can be a good playmaker, either creating for herself or others ��� she had 10 assists in back-to-back games ��� but can be prone to turnovers too. With Williams getting some minutes there, and Wilson too, all the pressure doesn���t fall to one player. Houser seems to play better in that environment. j GoldanDBlack express ��� volume 23, express 18��� ������ 18