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w o m e n ' s b a s k e t b a l l boilers beat up hoosiers BY KYLE CHARTERS KCharters@GoldandBlack.com No. 14 Purdue 59, Indiana 42 Jan. 31 • Mackey Arena Purdue's leading scorers, Courtney Moses and Drey Mingo, combined to shoot only 1 of 18 from the field, yet Purdue easily cruised past overmatched Indiana. The Boilermakers got solid performances from their supporting cast, with Sam Ostarello turning in a double-double and freshmen April Wilson and Taylor Manuel coming off the bench to score 12 and 11, respectively. KK Houser also had a dozen points. "Purdue's at a state in their program, unlike ours, where their depth is very dangerous," first-year IU coach Curt Miller said. "And you have to give April Wilson and Taylor Manuel, their talented freshmen class, credit for stepping up when their stars didn't contribute." Key Player Purdue was sluggish in the first half, watching an early FLASH FORWARD Opponent: Michigan Location: Mackey Arena When: Noon, Sunday Notables: Before playing Michigan Sunday, the Boilermakers play at Penn State for a battle of first-place teams in the Big Ten. The winner will have a one-game lead with seven games remaining. … Purdue has won five straight at Penn State. … Michigan plays two games before taking on the Boilers, going to Michigan State Monday night and hosting Illinois Thursday. … The Wolverines have three players average in double figures, led by Kate Thompson (15.2 ppg). Thompson has 78 three-pointers this season, nearly four per game. … Michigan has hit 142 triples this season. … Purdue leads the series 49-15, but the teams have alternated wins since the first meeting of 2008. Tom Campbell Dee Dee Williams was her usual reliable self on defense, but her offensive spurt in the game's first five minutes gave the Boilermakers a little breathing room. 10-point lead disappear in minutes. But Wilson helped give the Boilers a jump start off the bench; her consecutive three-pointers gave Purdue an 18-11 lead at 11:30 of the first. Her performance also helped to offset an off day by Moses, who was held scoreless on 0-of-7 shooting. "Coach keeps telling me there's no reason to be lacking any type of confidence," Wilson said. "So when I'm open, I need to at Wisconsin on Thursday night. The Nittany Lions had beaten the Badgers by 42 at home only a couple weeks earlier. Now, Purdue and Penn State are tied atop the league standings, with the winner Monday night having a one-game edge with seven games to play. S In years past, Purdue would have been doomed had its top two scorers been held in check, like they were against Indiana. But this Boilermaker squad has extra options, including the two freshmen off the bench. In any game, Purdue has as many as six potential scorers, and even Dee Dee Williams got into the act vs. Indiana, scoring seven points in the opening few minutes. S Purdue has a difficult stretch ahead. After Penn State and Michigan, the Boilers go to Wisconsin, which despite its record beat the Nittany Lions, and then has Iowa at home. Penn State and Purdue have separated themselves as the top two in the Takeaways league, but whichever finishes S Purdue got an unexpect- first could be determined in the ed break when Penn State lost next couple weeks. j take the open shot." Key Stretch Midway through the second half, the Boilermakers finally put pesky IU away. A three-pointer by Mingo, her only field goal on 11 field goal attempts, followed by a three-point play by Manuel stretched Purdue's advantage to 12. Afterward, the Hoosiers pulled to within single digits only once, but that was short-lived. Key Stat The affair wasn't the prettiest of games. Purdue shot only 32.3 percent for the game, including only 23.3 in the second half when it still outscored IU 27-16. The Boilers had only four of their 15 turnovers after the break. And there was the fact that their top two scorers couldn't score. "When two of our top scorers struggled to score, other people stepped up," Versyp said. "And that's a great sign of a great team. That doesn't always happen on all teams." GoldanDBlack express • volume 23, express 20 • 15