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w o m e n ' s b a s k e t b a l l boilers win on senior night BY KYLE CHARTERS KCharters@GoldandBlack.com No. 25 Purdue 76, Illinois 65 March 3 • Mackey Arena Purdue got headed in the right direction again in the last game of the regular season, putting together its best offensive performance to knock out the visiting Illini on senior night in Mackey Arena. The Boilers shot nearly 52 percent from the field, picking apart Illinois' defense, ranked last in the Big Ten, to find openings on the interior. Purdue scored 42 points in the paint. "You want to play well and we played well," Coach Sharon Versyp said. "You can win and not feel good about it, but we played really well today, executed the game plan as well as we possibly could and made adjustments." FLASH FORWARD Opponent: Illinois or Wisconsin Location: Sears Centre (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) When: 3 p.m. ET, Friday Notables: Purdue, the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, awaits the winner of Thursday's matchup between No. 6 seed Illinois and No. 11 seed Wisconsin. The Boilers are 2-0 vs. the Illini this season, having beaten them in Mackey Arena on Sunday and at Assembly Hall in overtime in both teams' Big Ten opener in early January. ... The Boilermakers have earned a bye in 18 of the 19 Big Ten Tournaments, only failing to do so when they were a No. 7 seed in 2011. ... A Friday win by Purdue could set up a date with Nebraska; the Boilers beat the Cornhuskers in overtime in Lincoln earlier this season. ... Purdue has won eight Big Ten Tournament titles in the 18-year history of the event, four more than the second-most (Ohio State). The Boilers won last season in Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Houser found Mingo behind Illinois' press defense. Key Stretch P u r d u e trailed 50-47 with about 12 minutes remaining before seizing control with a 13-0 run. In it, senior forward Sam Tom Campbell Ostarello gave Sam Ostarello came up big vs. Illinois with a near double-double. She Purdue the finished with 12 points and nine rebounds in the Purdue victory. lead with a reKey Player bound basket In her final game in Mackey after Mingo had her attempt Arena, Drey Mingo was excel- swatted away. Ostarello lent offensively, finishing with 18 scored again moments later, points while missing only two of when Houser found her on a her 10 field goal attempts. She also dash to the basket. Ostarello recorded four rebounds, a couple was fouled and converted the blocks and an assist in the win. three-point play for a 56-50 Though Courtney Moses was lead. Purdue's leading scorer, with 21 Houser then found Mingo points on 8-of-14 shooting, Min- for a fastbreak layup and did the go's ability to dominate inside kept same for Courtney Moses on a the Illinois defense scrambling. near-full-court pass to put the Purdue scored 10 fastbreak Boilermakers up double-digits for points, including two when KK the first time. Key Stat Purdue's 52-percent shooting from the floor more than made up for its 19 turnovers. The Boilermakers made five threepointers but were even more deadly from in close, as they hit nearly 64 percent of their twopoint attempts. "We were just playing, not thinking," Ostarello said of why the offense flowed so well. "We knew where people were and we knew what shots to take. We were really fluid with it and we were having fun." Michigan State 68, no. 25 Purdue 61 Feb. 28 • Mackey Arena In the last few minutes of each half — the last three of the first and the last four of the second — the Boilermakers were bad. So bad that they got outscored 15-0; it was the difference in a seven-point loss that was Purdue's third consecutive at home, tying the longest streak since the 1993 season. "They answered the call," Versyp said. "We didn't." GoldanDBlack express • volume 23, express 24 • 15