Purdue pushes past Penn State in 2nd round of Big Ten tournament

Purdue handed Penn State women’s basketball what the latter called a “heartbreaker” of a loss in double-overtime in the regular season.

And it was Purdue who ended the Lady Lions’ run in the postseason too, beating them 70-59 in the second round of the Big Ten tournament on Thursday night.

It wasn’t for lack of effort from freshman point guard Teniya Page, who led her team with 18 points, six assists and four rebounds. Peyton Whitted followed with 14 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, while Lindsey Spann had 10 points.

April Wilson led the sixth-seeded Boilermakers with 22 points, followed by Ashley Morrissette’s 15 points — 10 of which came in the second half to help her team seal the win.

The Lady Lions built a 15-6 first-quarter lead after Purdue missed 10 consecutive shots over a three-minute span. Penn State capitalized with an 11-0 run, spurred by a floating jumper from Page and a baseline 3-pointer from Kaliyah Mitchell, who finished the game with nine points.

Purdue followed a six-point first quarter with a 22-point second period while Penn State suffered a three-minute scoring drought. The Boilermakers took the lead after a 9-0 run, capped by a Morrissette 3-pointer, and led 28-25 at halftime.

Brianna Banks opened the third period with a layup to spur a 7-0 Penn State run, but the quarter ended with a turnover by Candice Agee that led to a wide-open layup at the other end to help with a 9-0 Purdue run and four-point lead heading into the final frame.

Morrissette hit a jumper to stretch the Boilermakers’ lead to seven midway through the fourth quarter, and while Purdue hit five of its last seven shots, Penn State managed one field goal in eight attempts to close the loss.

Purdue cuts to single digit deficit behind four unanswered points and an and-1 play by McBryde. She followed with another layup

Penn State finishes the season 12-19, and 6-12 in conference play.

Purdue moves on in the tournament to face third-seeded Michigan State on Friday night at approximately 9 p.m.

Note: The Centre Daily Times covered the game via broadcast.

This story was originally published March 3, 2016 at 11:15 PM with the headline "Purdue pushes past Penn State in 2nd round of Big Ten tournament."