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GOLDANDBLACK EXPRESS • VOLUME 25, EXPRESS 20 • 20 BY KYLE CHARTERS KCharters@GoldandBlack.com O ver the last week, the Boilermakers suf- fered another pair of losses, dropping games to two teams in the lower half of the Big Ten standings. Purdue had troubles scoring in each, hitting only 55 points in a 17-point loss at In- diana — the biggest loss in the series since 1984 — and struggling to clear 50 points against Penn State. Following are takeaways from the two losses: S Purdue is struggling to make shots, even the ones that are open. Penn State didn't play defense particularly well against the Boiler- makers, with its zone slow to rotate and giving Purdue open looks. The problem: The Boilermak- ers aren't making them. Purdue was only 3-of-18 from three-point range, against a defense that was sagging into the lane and allowing openings. April Wilson missed an open triple late that would have tied the game. Opponents aren't respecting Ashley Morrissette, and for now it stands to reason. Her shooting percentage has dropped to less than 33 percent in the Big Ten. As a team, the Boilermakers are only hit- ting at a 38-per- cent clip on all field goals, and less than 26 per- cent on three- pointers. Without a consistent ability to score, the Boil- ermakers don't have a consistent ability to win. S In Purdue's previous meeting with Penn State on Jan. 30, 2014, the Boilermakers were ranked 19th in the country while the Lions were No. 12. By the end of Sunday's game, the teams had combined for 16 wins and 31 losses. S Whitney Bays is trying to do too much offensively and her desire to take over one-on-one is taking the Boilermak- ers out of sync. And she's not scoring much now ei- ther, hitting only single digits in the last two games. It has to be a frustrating stretch, as Bays doesn't want to see her career, one in which she's overcome so much, end like this. But if Purdue is go- ing to get headed the right direction, it's going to need Bays to lead, and to score. S As tough as things have been offensively, the defense isn't immune to criticism. In the first half against Indiana, as the Boilermakers dug a big hole, the defense was near non-existent. IU routinely found openings inside and out, r a r e l y even being contested by t h e Boilermakers. j W O M E N ' S B A S K E T B A L L G O L D B O X E S P R O V I D E L I N K T O G A M E S T O R Y Tom Campbell Liza Clemons was solid over the last week, leading the Boilermakers in scoring against IU and Penn State. A LOOK BACK AT THE LAST WEEK OF BASKETBALL FLASH FORWARD Opponent: Northwestern Location: Mackey Arena When: 7 p.m. Wednesday Notables: Northwestern (17-6 overall, 7-5 in the Big Ten) has won three consecutive games, putting it in position for its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1997. … Preseason first-team All-Big Ten forward Nia Coffey leads the Wildcats, averaging 15.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. Six players average at least 9.5 points. … Coach Joe McKeown has used the same starting lineup this season for all but one game. … The Wildcats' defense ranks fourth in the Big Ten, allowing only 62.1 points per game. … Purdue holds a 45-20 se- ries advantage, including wins in four of the last five. This is the only scheduled meeting of the season.