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w o m e n ��� s b a s k e t b a l l boilers fall in round 2 BY KYLE CHARTERS KCharters@GoldandBlack.com No. 16 Louisville 76, No. 21 Purdue 63 March 26 �����KFC Yum! Center LOUISVILLE ��� With the weather turning cold outside, the Boilermakers reverted to their February form vs. Louisville in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. It was then that Purdue lost five of its seven games behind a slew of turnovers and breakdowns on defense. Although it had recovered to win five straight in March, those bad habits returned on Tuesday. Purdue committed 13 firsthalf turnovers on the Cardinals��� home court, including six in the last six minutes before the half as Louisville took control of the game. It led 33-17 at the break. The fifth-seeded Cardinals advance to play Baylor in the Sweet 16. ���We didn���t take care of the ball,��� said KK Houser, who committed nine of Purdue���s 22 turnovers, which led to 33 Louisville points. ���They capitalized on our turnovers with easy buckets in transition.��� Key Player Before the game, Louisville coach Jeff Walz called Antonita Slaughter a potential X-factor. He turned out to be correct. Slaughter scored 14 of her 16 points in the first half, as the Cardinals pulled away to their double-digit halftime lead. She also finished with seven points and three assists in 38 minutes and helped to spearhead Louisville���s full-court press defense. Key Stretch After Purdue pulled to within two, 18-16, at the six-minute mark of Tom Campbell the first half, Louisville Guard Courtney Moses scored a game-high-tying 21 points took over. in Purdue���s win over Liberty, hitting five three-pointers. In The Cardinals the last two NCAA-opening games, Moses has 14 triples. scored 20 of the half���s before Purdue briefly responded, last 27 points to go into the break up by 16. During the Louisville guard Shoni Schimmel run, which was 15-3 at one point hit back-to-back three-pointers, the second banking in from the right wing. Bria Smith converted a turnover into a layup and Slaughter made a wide-open triple when Sam Ostarello was late to cover outside. ���That was very frustrating,��� said Ostarello, who had 16 points and 12 rebounds. ���I was very tired and maybe the turnovers were from that. ��� They set the tone and we played really fast.��� Key Stat Purdue was out of sync offensively, particularly in the first half. The Boilermakers played too fast, trying to create opportunities that weren���t there, particularly in their high-low post offense. Passes into the interior, from the high post, simply weren���t open, yet Purdue tried to force them in anyway. ���I told them not to throw the high-low (pass) 10 times in a row and we threw the high-low (pass) 10 times in the row,��� Coach Sharon Versyp said. ���You���ve got to reverse the basketball and you���ve got to make them go from one side to the other. ������ You���ve got to execute the game plan. But (Louisville) did a great job of pushing the tempo. They did a great job and got us out of the flow early, that���s why the deficit was what it was in the first half.��� Purdue committed its 13 firsthalf turnovers while shooting only 32.3 percent from the floor. no. 21 Purdue 77, Liberty 43 March 24 �����KFC Yum! Center In their NCAA opener, the fourth-seeded Boilermakers simply overwhelmed their 13thseeded opponent. Purdue was able to get its running game going, particularly because of Ostarello���s ability on the boards. The senior had a Purdue NCAA record 17 rebounds, including 16 on the defensive end. Her boards and quick outlets gave the Boilers easy looks in transition. Purdue scored 17 fastbreak points. ���Before you can run, you have to rebound,��� said Courtney Moses, who led Purdue with 21 points, including five threepointers. ���Sam���s rebounds were key. She was getting it out, kicking it and when we���re running we���re having fun.��� GoldanDBlack express ��� volume 23, express 27��� ������ 8