Purdue Sports Update Jan. 20

WBB drops pair in PNW

Purdue fell on the road to conclude its West Coast swing, dropping its Saturday afternoon contest at Washington 87-58.

The Boilermakers (7-11, 0-7) put a pair in double figures. Destini Lombard led the way with 17 points on 7-of11 shooting with a trio of 3-pointers. It was her 14th game with 10 or more points this season.

Ella Collier finished with 15 points, going 6-of-9 from the field with a trio of 3-pointers. McKenna Layden had another solid all-around night in her second straight start with eight points and even rebounds.

Purdue shot 42.9% from the field and connected on eight 3-pointers.

Washington (13-6, 4-3) was topped by Sayvia Sellers’ 24 points with five triples. Four Huskies finished in double figures, as the hosts shot a 62.5% clip from the field and went 11-of-23 from behind the arc.

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Washington built up a 20-4 lead in the first 5:49 of the game.
• Lombard netted five points in the opening frame, as Purdue trailed 27-9 after the first quarter.
• Lombard reached double figures early in the second with five points, before Laydenknocked down a mid-range jumper to cut the gap down to 13 points with 8:05 in the half.
• Purdue rolled off a 7-2 run late in the frame, on a pair of jumpers by Jordyn Poole and Kendall Puryear and Layden’s second triple.
• Purdue shot 37% in the first half to Washington’s 58% clip and trailed 47-25 at the break.
• Lombard and Collier combined for 15 of Purdue’s 19 points in the third, going a combined 6-of-7 from the field with two 3-pointers.
• Purdue shot a game-high 57.1% from the field in the third.
• The Huskies led 73-44 after three.
• Collier and Layden both connected from long range in the fourth, as Collier tallied five in the final frame.
• The two sides matched scoring in the fourth 14-14.

The women’s basketball team fell on the road on its first trip to Oregon on Wednesday 69-53.

In her first career start, McKenna Layden nearly posted a double-double, finishing her career night with nine points on a trio of 3-pointers and nine rebounds. The Kokomo, Ind., native added an assist and a block.

Rashunda Jones went 8-of-10 from the field to drop 17 points as she moved back to the starting lineup. The sophomore tallied four assists, half of Purdue’s tally on the night, four rebounds and a pair of steals.

Purdue (7-10, 0-6) posted a 42% clip from the field and went 5-of-20 from distance.

Oregon (13-5, 4-3) finished the night shooting 45% overall and 5-of-17 from behind the arc. Three Ducks finished in double figures, led by Deja Kelly’s 15 points.

Turnovers proved to be the different maker on the night. Purdue committed 23 giveaways that turned into 25 points for Oregon. The Boilermakers scored 13 points on 11 Duck miscues.

KEY MOMENTS
• The Boilermakers opened a 9-4 run in the first after a 7-2 run. Sophie Swanson connected a long-range effort.
• Purdue held Oregon to 2-of-13 shooting to start, before the Ducks scored 11 of the final 13 points of the quarter to lead 15-11 after 10 minutes.
• Layden drained a 3-pointer to start the second to pull the Boilermakers within one.
• Purdue scored its next six points at the line, before Reagan Bass made a 3-pointer with 49 seconds to play.
• The Ducks built a 35-23 at the lead, scoring 17 points off 17 Purdue turnovers.
• Lana McCarthy opened the third with a reverse layup and a mid-range jumper. Jones capped the six-point run with a finger roll layup to cut the gap to eight with 7:26 in the third.
• Purdue scored seven points over the final 5:05 of the third, as Oregon carried a 16-point lead into the fourth.
• Destini Lombard scored her four points on back-to-back possessions early in the fourth.
• Jones picked up eight points in the final frame, as the two clubs matched in scoring 17-17.

UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will return to Mackey Arena to take on its ninth ranked opponent this season, when No. 4 USC arrives in West Lafayette for a 7 p.m. tip on NBC Peacock.

Wrestling drops pair of Big Ten matches

The No. 25 Wrestling team dropped a 25-11 contest to Indiana in Mackey Arena on Friday night.

With the squad competing in the historic home of Purdue Basketball, Purdue fans turned out strong with an announced attendance of 3,504.

No. 1 Matt Ramos led the way for the Boilermakers (8-2, 1-1 B1G), putting Purdue up early with an 11-2 major decision over No. 22 Jacob Moran at 125 lbs.

The top-ranked redshirt senior from Lockport, Illinois, improved to 19-0 with his 44th career ranked victory. In the win, he maintained his streak of not allowing a single takedown or back point all year.

Wrestling for the second time since taking sixth place at the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invite last month, No. 7 Joey Blaze held his own in the 157-pound bout.

He matched Ramos’ final score with an 11-2 major over Ryan Garvick, picking up three takedowns and nearly three minutes of riding time for the victory. The breakout sophomore is now 2-0 in Big Ten Conference matches this season, both wins coming via major decision.

At 149 pounds, Isaac Ruble made the most of his night in Mackey Arena with a 12-5 decision over Aidan Torres.

Ruble came out firing on all cylinders and nearly earned bonus points, but Torres scored a clutch takedown with six seconds remaining to bring the margin within seven.

With Purdue up 11-8 at the intermission, the Hoosiers (5-2, 1-2 B1G) went on to win the final five matches. Indiana totaled two technical falls and five decisions on the night.

Purdue dropped a 34-10 contest to No. 4 Ohio State at Covelli Center on Sunday afternoon.

No. 1 Matt Ramos and No. 7 Joey Blaze each picked up hard-earned ranked victories in the team loss, while No. 29 Ben Vanadia earned the Boilermakers’ (8-3, 1-2 B1G) lone bonus points with a major decision.

In a rematch from last season’s NCAA Championships first round, Ramos defeated No. 11 Brendan McCrone (125 pounds) in a 3-1 decision.

The undefeated senior improved to 20-0, scoring the only takedown of the match in the second period.

Wrestling in his native Ohio, Blaze notched a gritty decision victory over No. 17 Sammy Sasso at 157 lbs.

The sophomore Boilermaker went toe-to-toe with the four-time All-American, winning 5-1 with a takedown, an escape and 2:13 of riding time.

Sasso’s only point came from a stall call in the third period.

After the Buckeyes (11-0, 2-0 B1G) had registered three straight match wins, Vanadia got Purdue back on the board with a 17-5 major decision over Gavin Bell.

The 197-pound junior got off to a quick 6-1 start before putting in work in the final two periods, scoring a reversal, two more takedowns, an escape, 2:42 of riding time and a penalty point for stalling.

UP NEXT

After four duals in 10 days, the Boilermakers have a rare bye week in the middle of Big Ten Conference season before returning to action at No. 10 Illinois on Saturday, Feb. 1.

Purdue Takes 3 Victories to Conclude Rod McCravy Memorial Invite

Purdue Indoor Track & Field earns three victories in the women’s 60m hurdles, men’s pole vault and men’s 4x400m relay on the final day of the Rod McCravy Memorial Invite.

Zoe Sullivan took the 60m hurdles in a personal-best 8.08, Collin Kao took the pole vault in a personal-best 5.17m (16-11.50) and the 4x400m relay team of Antoine Spencer, Jahn Riley, Cameron Miller and Zach Mylenek took the win in 3:07.54.

In total, Purdue won four events at the Rod McCravy Memorial Invite and had 17 top five finishes. The Boilermakers placed 12 in the top five of track events and five in field events.

The men’s team took second in the meet and the women’s team took sixth.

Men’s Notes
• The 4x400m relay team put up the third-best time in program history and fastest since 2017. The performance currently ranks third in Division I. Miller led the group with a 45.69 split in the third leg.
• Kao took his first victory of the season and currently ranks 21st in Division I. It was his personal best pole vault, including the outdoor season. He was the only athlete to clear his first three jumps on the first attempt.
• Chidozie Kalu took a runner-up finish in the triple jump in his Purdue debut at 15.68m (51-05.50). The mark is currently sixth in Division I and entered the Purdue top 10s list at No. 9. Kalu is a former All-American at Virginia Tech.
• Nolan Macklin took third in the 60m in 6.73 after he entered the finals ranked sixth.
• A pair of Boilermakers, Nathaniel Getachew (8:18.81) and Kiefer Bell (8:23.84), finished third and fourth in the 3000m, respectively.
• Jaryn Weinel finished fourth in the mile in 4:12.67 in his collegiate indoor debut.  

Women’s Notes
• Sullivan took her second 60mH victory in as many meets with a Division I No. 2 ranked 8.08. It is her third time setting a new personal best this season after she ran both 8.12 and 8.18 in the opener. She entered the season already second in program history at 8.24.
• Nia Wilson took second in the 60m with a personal-best 7.32 that ranks seventh in Division I. Wilson improved her Purdue ranking to a second-place tie after she moved to a third-place tie in 7.35 at the indoor season opener in Chicago.  
• Jaelyn Burgos finished third in the 3000m with a personal-best 9:57.75, followed by Lauren Pegher in fifth at 10:00.94.
• Britannie Johnson began the meet with a fifth-place finish in the shot put with a personal best throw of 14.44m (47-04.50). Her sister, Britannia Johnson, finished sixth with a personal-best 14.31m (46-11.50).
• Adela Steinsova took fifth in the mile in 5:04.73 in her collegiate debut.

Thoughts From Head Coach Tony Miller
“I thought the team competed well coming off the break. There was some really good competition here in Kentucky and we just have to continue to get better. Zoe Sullivan stood out to me, running 8.08 in the 60-meter hurdles. It was an amazing race by a young lady who has developed both physically and mentally over the last couple years. Cale Ayers in the weight throw too, as he’s been going at it really hard all season.”

Sullivan, Kalu Earn Big Ten Weekly Honors

After the second weekend of the Indoor Track & Field season, Purdue took home two more Big Ten weekly honors. Zoe Sullivan earned her second Big Ten Women’s Track Athlete of the Week honor and Chidozie Kalu earned Big Ten Men’s Field Athlete of the Week.

Purdue now has four honors through the first two team meets after Sullivan and Cameron Miller swept the Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week honors on Dec. 18.

Sullivan took her second finals victory of the season with a personal-best 8.08 in the 60m hurdles at the Rod McCravy Memorial Invite. The time stands at the No. 2 mark in the NCAA and is 0.02 seconds behind the top time in the nation. Sullivan is the only Big Ten hurdler to go sub-8.30 so far this season.

She has achieved a personal best three separate times this season. She opened the season with an 8.18 at the Blue Demon Holiday Invite prelims and capped the meet with an 8.12 in the finals. Sullivan continues to hold the No. 2 spot in Purdue history only trailing Olympian Devynne Charlton’s 7.93.

Kalu jumped 15.68m (51-05.50) in the triple jump to earn a runner-up finish at the Rod McCravy Memorial Invite. The mark placed Kalu eighth in Division I and ninth in program history after his Purdue debut.

The sophomore is a former outdoor All-American at Virginia Tech, where he also achieved his personal-best jump of 15.94m (52-03.75) in his collegiate debut last indoor season.

Purdue Shuts Out Butler, 7-0

Women’s tennis went perfect in its match vs. Butler, downing the Bulldogs, 7-0, including a win in every set during singles.

With the result, Purdue wrapped up its opening weekend with a 2-0 record, marking the ninth time in the last 10 years the program has opened the year undefeated.

In doubles, the Boilermakers and Bulldogs were locked in battles on courts one and three. While No. 2 paring of Fatima Gutierrez and Kathryn Wilson made quick work with their 6-2 win, Purdue and Butler’s No. 1 and 3 pairings were neck-in-neck before No. 1 Tara Katarina Milic and Carmen Gallardo Guevara clinched the doubles point, 7-5 while Ashlie Wilson and Ida Clement remained unfinished at 5-6.

Purdue carried its momentum into singles, winning every set on every court to close the match. Gallardo Guevara was the first to win, posting a pair of 6-3 scores. Clement was next to register a win, downing her opponent 6-1, 6-2, followed by Ece Gencer’s 6-1, 6-2 result.

Purdue returns to action on Saturday at Kentucky with a Noon start.

Purdue Remains Undefeated Over Opening Weekend

Coming off a shutout vs. Northern Illinois just 24 hours ago, the men’s tennis team picked up where they left off, taking down Dayton, 6-1 at Schwartz Tennis Center. With the win, Purdue remains undefeated with a 2-0 record over opening weekend.

Overall, the Boilermakers dropped just one point over their two days of competition and registered the most points over the first two matches (13 total points) since 2016.

Juan David Velasquez made quick work at the No. 3 singles position, defeating Davis Phillips 6-0, 6-2 for Purdue’s first singles point of the dual. Purdue went on to see three courts require tiebreakers during their competition, including No. 1 Aleksa Krivokapic’s 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 10-8 victory. Meanwhile, No. 6 Maj Premzel went to a tiebreaker in Set 1, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 in addition to No. 5 Nour Fathalla’s 7-5, 7-6 (8-6) battle. Fathalla, a freshman, registered his fourth singles victory of his collegiate career, improving to a 5-2 overall singles record.

In doubles, Purdue’s No. 1 pairing of Krivokapic and Premzl defeated Dayton, 6-2, followed by No. 2’s Labrador and Velasquez 6-3 win to clinch the first point of the afternoon.

The men will continue its four match homestand in one week, taking on Cleveland State on Saturday, January 25 at 2 p.m. ET.