Indiana University
14/11 Purdue
IU Falls To Purdue In Big Ten Tournament Semifinals
3/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 5, 2006
INDIANAPOLIS--The Indiana women's basketball team fell to No. 14/10 Purdue Boilermakers, 67-41 on Sunday, March 5 in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals at Conseco Fieldhouse. The loss moved the No. 6 seeded Hoosiers to 17-13 on the year, while No. 2 seed Purdue improved to 24-5 overall.
Senior guard Cyndi Valentin had a game-high 21 points, including a 5-of-6 effort from the free throw line. Freshman forward Whitney Thomas added seven points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
Senior forward Angela Hawkins moved into a tie for third on the career rebounds list at the Big Ten Tournament after hauling down six rebounds against Purdue. Hawkins finished with 16 rebounds at the 2006 tournament to bring her career total to 77.
"Obviously this is not how we wanted things to play out," Indiana head coach Sharon Versyp said. "Today was just not our day. You have to credit Purdue for coming out and playing hard. This one hurts, but we are strong and will bounce back."
The tone was set early, as Indiana struggled in the first 20 minutes of play. With the score tied at four apiece, the Boilermakers went on an 18-2 run to move ahead, 22-6 with 8:01 remaining in the stanza. Indiana went without a field-goal for 10 minutes, and were down 28-10 at the break.
Struggles continued for the Hoosiers in the second half as Purdue dominated on both ends of the court. IU did show signs of life and shot 38 percent (11-of-29) from the floor, compared to the 12 percent (3-of-24) in the first half.
The Boilermakers held a slim 41-39 rebounding advantage over the Hoosiers. Indiana committed 22 turnovers compared to the Boilers' 11.
Aya Traore scored 11 points, while Katie Gearlds finished with 10 for Purdue.
Indiana will now wait for March 13 to find out its fate in the NCAA Tournament. The Hoosiers hope to make their fourth trip in school history to the Big Dance.
