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GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 19 • 19 BY KYLE CHARTERS KCharters@GoldandBlack.com T he Boilermakers dropped their only game of a the week, when a slow start doomed them against No. 22 Rutgers. Purdue battled back, after hitting only one of its first 11 shots, to take the lead three minutes into the second half. But the Boil- ermakers couldn't sustain the rally, and the Scarlet Knights ran away to a victory. Here are takeaways from the game: S Purdue's making the same mistakes it has for much of the season, a frustrating ten- dency considering Thursday's game was the 21st of the year. The Boilermakers have start- ed slowly in several games this season, including Florida State, Green Bay and Minne- sota, all home losses. They did so again vs. Rutgers, look- ing a bit sluggish against the visitors. Purdue has too little margin for error to be so slow off the jump ball. Its of- fense, in general, isn't good enough to be able to make sustained comebacks. And the result is a loss. S Whitney Bays is put- ting together a great sea- son, one that's likely to be wasted from a team per- formance standpoint pending a big turn- around by the Boil- ermakers. Bays scored another 16 vs. Rut- gers, with eight rebounds, all of them in the first half. Her 13 dou- ble-doubles this season match Purdue's record, held by Lindsay Wis- dom-Hylton, one likely to be beaten with eight regular-season games remaining, plus the Big Ten Tournament. At times, Purdue could probably stand to look for her even more frequently on of- fense, as she's the Boilermakers' only consis- tent scoring threat. When she gets the ball in the high post, and can operate by shooting or driving, she's difficult to stop. S When guards April Wilson and Ash- ley Morrissette shoot well, the Boilermak- ers are in good shape offensively, in gener- al. But too often, both have been off. They were against Rutgers, with Wilson hitting only 1 of 8 while Morrissette was 4 of 11. Purdue wants them to find more open- ings in the mid-range, about 15 feet out, rather than settling for three-pointers. But they've not been able to consistently do so. S Purdue's NCAA hopes are likely over, barring a miraculous turnaround in the last half of the Big Ten season. And the WNIT might be difficult. To make the tourney, the Boilermakers would have to be the top-finishing Big Ten team not to make the NCAA, or be above .500 overall for an at-large selection. j W O M E N ' S B A S K E T B A L L G O L D B O X L I N K S T O G A M E S T O R Y Tom Campbell Whitney Bays had another good outing vs. Rutgers, but again had little help. A LOOK BACK AT THE LAST WEEK OF BASKETBALL FLASH FORWARD Opponent: Penn State Location: Mackey Arena When: 2 p.m. Sunday Notables: Purdue plays Indiana at 8:30 Monday night in Bloomington before hosting Penn State Sunday. … The Nittany Lions are 5-17 overall, 2-9 in the conference and host league- leading Maryland on Thursday. … Penn State averages only 63.8 points per game, second-worst in the Big Ten; its defense, which allows 70.6 points per game, ranks 12th. … Freshman guard Lind- say Spann leads the Lions, averaging 14.9 points per game. … Purdue holds a 27-18 series advantage over PSU, but has won only two of the last six. Both teams have been ranked in the last five matchups.