Women's hoops stun Ohio State; Sports Update

WBB Bounces #2 Buckeyes

For the first time in program history, the Purdue women’s basketball team knocked off a top-5 ranked opponent on the road. On Sunday, the Boilermakers pulled off a 73-65 win over No. 2 Ohio State at Value City Arena.

The Boilermakers (15-6, 6-5) built up a 17-point lead early in the third quarter, only for Ohio State (19-3, 8-3) to storm back and tie the score at 58-58 with 4:28 to go in the fourth. From there, the Boilermakers stood on tough defense and the scoring prowess of Madison Layden and Abbey Ellis to pull off the win.

Purdue went on a 7-0 run with scores on three straight possessions. Layden twirled her way through the Ohio State defense to unleash a floater in the late with 3:39 to put Purdue back ahead for good. The junior then connected on a corner triple on the Boilermakers’ ensuing possession, before Ellis added a jumper with 2:15 to play.

The Buckeyes pulled within six with a little over a minute left, before Ellis silenced the crowd of 8,664 with a step-back triple as the shot clock expired. Purdue closed the game on a 15-7 run.

Ellis dropped 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting with five 3-pointers. She was joined in double figures by Cassidy Hardin with 15 points, who also connected on a quintet of triples. Caitlyn Harper tallied 12, while Layden added 10 points off the bench with seven coming in the final quarter.

Jeanae Terry had another all-around performance with eight points, seven rebounds, eight assists and four steals.

The Boilermakers shot 43.1% from the field and connected on a season-high 13 3-pointers, which tied for the fifth-most triples in program history. Purdue dished out 17 assists on 25 made field goals, while going 10-of-11 at the line.

Purdue’s defense held Ohio State to just 7-of-28 from behind the arc, while the Buckeyes shot 41.7% for the game. The Boilermakers flipped 15 turnovers into 22 points.

The Boilermakers jumped out in front in the first quarter with seven 3-pointers. Hardin went 3-for-3 behind the arc, while Ellis rolled off 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting. The defense turned four OSU turnovers into 11 points, while holding the Buckeyes to just 5-of-15 shooting in the opening frame.

The Boilermakers matched any run by the Buckeyes early in the second quarter. Jayla Smith cut through the lane for a tough layup, before Harperconnected on a 3-pointer at the top of the arc to open a 15-point lead with 4:52 to play. Ellis tacked on her 14th points of the quarter on a 3-pointer to give the Boilermakers a 41-29 lead after one.

Purdue shot 46.7% from the field and went 9-of-17 from distance in the first half.

Harper got things started in the third with a traditional 3-point play, before Ellis drove the lane to make it a five-point run. Ohio State chipped away at the gap with a 12-2 run midway through the period. Terry put Purdue back in front by 11 with a tough finish at the rim with 2:29 to play. The lead was eight going into the final period.

In the fourth, the hosts erased the deficit over the first 5:32 of the period with a 14-6 run. The Boilermakers made two of the first seven shots in the period. With Layden’s artsy finish in the lane, Purdue closed the game making its final four shots and going 4-of-5 at the line in the final four minutes. Ohio State was held to just three of its final 10 attempts, with all of its misses coming from behind the arc.

DOWNING GIANTS
Purdue picked up its first ever win against the No. 2-ranked team in the country. The Boilermakers now have 19 wins all-time against AP top-10 teams. Purdue’s last win against a top-five opponent came against Texas A&M at Mackey Arena on Dc. 4, 2011, when the Aggies were ranked fourth.

NOTES
• Ohio State now leads the all-time series 49-32.  
• The win was Purdue’s second in Columbus since 2004 and the first in Value City Arena in that span.
• Ohio State came into the game averaging 12.9 steals  per game. The Boilermakers kept that number to just five on Sunday.
• Terry tallied her 11th game this season with at least five points, five rebounds and five assists.
• Terry sits second in the nation to Caitlin Clark with at least five rebounds and five assists in 14 games. 
• Hardin’s five 3-pointers moved her into fifth in program history with 197 in her career.
• Harper has now finished in double figures in nine of the last 12 games.
• Ellis closed her week averaging 21 points per game while shooting 60% and 7-of-12 from behind the arc.

UP NEXT
The Boilermakers turn their attention to the first leg of the best rivalry in college basketball. Purdue will face its third straight ranked opponent when it hosts No. 6 Indiana at Mackey Arena next Sunday. Tip is set for 2 p.m. on FS1.

Craig Earns Big Ten Athlete of the Week Accolades

Purdue track & field freshman Bryanna Craig has been named the Big Ten Women’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Week, the conference announced.
 
Craig is recognized after she made her collegiate pentathlon debut and entered the school record books at No. 5 in the event on January 27. It is her first award of any kind in her Boilermaker career and the first women’s indoor field honor for Purdue since 2017.
 
The third Boilermaker to earn Big Ten weekly accolades in 2022-23, Craig joins fifth-year Johnny Vanos and junior K’Ja Talley, who were recognized on December 14 after the season-opening meet.
 
At the Lenny Lyles Invitational in Louisville last weekend, Craig finished with 3,968 points in the pentathlon, which ranks fifth in team history and is No. 1 in the Big Ten this season. It’s the best pentathlon mark by a Boilermaker since 2020 and the second-best since 1997.
 
Craig was competing in her fourth collegiate meet and her first in the pentathlon, and she finished third overall in the event. Her day was highlighted by an 800m win in 2:16.02 and a personal-best long jump mark of 5.53m. Additionally, Craig was the high jump runner-up with a clearance of 1.71m and she began the day in fourth in the 60m hurdles in 8.76 seconds. She added a shot put mark of 10.36m in her debut in the event.
 
Purdue’s indoor season continues this weekend at the Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame from February 3-4.

Baseball Opens Preseason Practice with Feb. 17 Opener on Horizon

January’s final Friday once again lined up with the three-week mark before the national opening day of the college baseball season, allowing Purdue baseball to begin full preseason practice.

The Boilermakers have three team scrimmages in the Mollenkopf Athletic Center planned for the first weekend of practice. Purdue continues to utilize Mollenkopf, the Madia Hitting Facility at Alexander Field, Lafayette’s Loeb Stadium and Purdue football’s Bimel Practice Complex for team activities in the winter months.

Friday, Feb. 17 is college baseball’s national opening day this year. After starting the season 15-0 and 18-1 last season as the final unbeaten team nationally, the Boilermakers’ first three weekends of the 2023 set up in similar fashion. Purdue is slated to open again with a four-game series at Constellation Field, the triple-A stadium near Houston. Weekends No. 2 and 3 will be back at Ting Park in Holly Springs, N.C. Traditional three-game series at defending national champion Ole Miss (42-23 in 2022) and Evansville (32-24) will provide barometers leading into Big Ten play, which begins the weekend of March 24 to 26 with a trip to Michigan State.

The first home weekend this year is not until March 31 to April 2 when Northwestern makes its first visit to Alexander Field since May 2018. That means the Boilermakers will play their first six weekends away from West Lafayette for the first time since 2019.

Purdue (29-21 in 2022) set team records for stolen bases (116, leading the Big Ten) and pitching strikeouts (479) last season while returning to the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since reaching the championship game in 2018. The Boilermakers have welcomed back seven starters in the lineup, headlined by leading run producer Cam Thompson and first-team All-Big Ten DH CJ Valdez. Evan Albrecht and Steve Ramirez are also back as fifth-year student-athletes after they provided sparks in 2022.

The pitching staff has many new additions but has been bolstered by the return of Calvin Schapira and Avery Cook, two key arms from the 2021 campaign that were sidelined last year due to Tommy John Surgery. CJ Backer, Khal Stephen, newcomer Jonathan Blackwell and Schapira could potentially give the rotation a pair of righthanders and a pair of lefties.

Blackwell is among the six newcomers with previous NCAA Division I experience.

Next Friday (Feb. 3) is the fifth annual First Pitch Dinner, which officially became a sold-out event this week (student-athlete meal sponsorships remain available). The Boilermakers will welcome fans of all ages to Mollenkopf on Saturday, Feb. 11 for their Preseason Fan Fest.

The home opener at Alexander Field is set for Wednesday, March 15. Purdue has five home weekends on the schedule this season.

Smith Signs with Purdue Soccer

 Purdue soccer coach Drew Roff has announced that Makena Smith has committed to the program and will join the team for the 2023 season.

Smith is a defender from Brighton, Michigan, and completes the 2023 Boilermaker signing class.

“Kena is a great fit for our program, and I am very excited that she is a Boilermaker,” Roff said. “She is an athletic center back who is dominant in the air, thrives in 1-v-1 duels, and can be trusted to build play out of the back. Our 2023 class is poised to make a big impact next fall and beyond, and I look forward to her being an integral part of it.”

“I chose Purdue because not only does it have an amazing soccer program, but it’s also a phenomenal school,” Smith said. “The coaches really take time to get to know their players, and the team environment feels like a family. I’ve grown up surrounded by the Big Ten, so I am really excited to be a part of it and representing Purdue.”

Smith is a student at Brighton High and plays club soccer for the Michigan Jaguars and coach Dan Dalzochio. She has played for the girls academy league the last three seasons with the Jaguars, and was selected to the 2022 Mid-America GA Talent ID event. Smith was a 2020 ODP international team invitee and played in the 2019 inter-regional event while a member of the ECNL’s Michigan Hawks. In 2018, she helped her team to a state championship and was selected to the ODP National Training Camp, while the 2020 season included qualifying for nationals.
 
At Brighton High, Smith has played three years on the varsity basketball team, including serving as team captain this season. She earned all-county honorable mention accolades in 2022 after pacing the conference in rebounds.
 
Academically, Smith is a scholar athlete and earned honor roll distinction each year in high school.
 
She aspires to major in business and have a career in finance upon the conclusion of her soccer career. Smith’s parents are Becky and Steve, and she has a twin brother, Cru. Both of her parents played college soccer at Michigan State.
 
Smith joins a six-player signing class, which was announced in November, and transfer Charlotte Cyr. Smith, Cyr and November’s signees will be joined by 24 returning players that will make up the 2023 Boilermakers that will take the field in the fall at Folk Field.

Wrestling Loses Nailbiter to #25 Indiana

Purdue Wrestling’s 12 match win streak against their in-state rivals came to an end on Sunday, as the team came up short in a 17-16 loss at the hands of No. 25 Indiana in front of 1,103 fans in Holloway Gymnasium.
 
The Boilermakers (4-8, 0-5 B1G) split the matches five-to-five and held the lead for nine of the ten weights, but were ultimately done in by bonus point wins for the Hoosiers. Head coach Tony Ersland‘s team started the dual hot, winning the first three and four of the first five bouts.
 
Redshirt-freshman Dustin Norris gave the Boilers the momentum early with his 8-6 upset win over No. 28 Henry Porter in the 133-pound match. A week after Purdue took three ranked upsets against No. 13 Minnesota, Norris added one himself on Sunday. The Cincinnati native shucked Porter to get in on a single-leg for two in the first six seconds of the match and didn’t look back, picking up two more takedowns and only giving up one.
 
On either side of Norris’ win, Purdue got a decision from No. 3 Matt Ramos and a major decision from No. 14 Parker Filius to open up a 10-point lead. The redshirt-sophomore Ramos opened the dual with a 7-1 win over Jacob Moran. The 125-pounder stayed hot coming off his big weekend last week and he controlled the match from the beginning, only allowing an escape to Moran to move to 4-1 against Big Ten opponents on the season.
 
Filius followed Norris with a much-needed bonus point victory in the form of a 15-3 major over Cayden Rooks. He broke the match open when he worked a turn in the closing moments of the second period for four and then added three more in the third to earn his sixth major of the season.
 
157-pounder No. 6 Kendall Coleman delivered once again for Ersland, making easy work of No. 19 Derek Gilcher to the tune of a 10-3 decision. The redshirt-senior picked up four takedowns to give himself 292 in his career and move within five of the eighth most in program history (Eric Douglas, 297). It is the 22^nd match this season in which he did not give up a takedown.
 
Redshirt-freshman 184-pounder Ben Vanadia was the only Boilermaker who was able to pick up a win in the second half of the dual, claiming a 6-4 decision against Clayton Fielden. He grabbed a takedown in the first and added one more in the second to take his first career Big Ten dual win.
 
Purdue will stay at home for the second straight weekend when they host Nebraska on Saturday, February 4 at 6:00 p.m. ET in Holloway.

Christopher Improves Top-10 Time to Cap Weekend

The Purdue track & field team’s first multi-day meet of the season concluded with the weekend’s fifth top-10 mark in program history, courtesy of fifth-year Camille Christopher, as the Boilermakers competed at the Lenny Lyles Invitational in Louisville, Kentucky, and the Indiana University Relays in Bloomington, Indiana.

Christopher’s mark came in the 200-meter as she improved on her sixth-fastest time in the school record books. That performance on Saturday in Louisville follows four top-10 marks in Purdue history and five top-three finishes on Friday at U of L.

The opening day was highlighted by fifth-year Johnny Vanos’ weight throw win with the second-best throw in school history. Freshman Bryanna Craig entered the record books at No. 5 in the pentathlon while fellow freshman Zachary Evans added the sixth-fastest 60m time. A complete recap of Friday’s competition can be found at PurdueSports.com/TrackField.

Purdue was one of 22 teams, including host-Louisville, at the two-day Lenny Lyles Invite as the Boilermaker sprinters, jumpers and throwers competed at the Norton Healthcare Sport and Learning Center. Purdue’s distance runners raced at IU’s Gladstein Fieldhouse on Saturday in a field of 15 teams that included host-Indiana.

Christopher was the runner-up on Saturday in the 200m, crossing the finish line in 23.78. With the sixth-fastest time in the Big Ten this season, Christopher improved her spot at No. 6 in program history and bested her previous PR by 0.12 seconds. Right behind her was senior Kerris Roberts, who was third in 23.97. Roberts’ time sits at 10th in the conference in 2022-23.
Junior Logan Sandlin and freshman Eric Young II joined Christopher and Roberts with top marks in the Big Ten this year. Sandlin made his heptathlon debut and earned 4,803 points, third-best in the league, and Young II ran the 200m in a personal-best 21.60, which is No. 10 in the Big Ten.

Collegiate-record marks in Louisville also were achieved by juniors Jahn Riley (200m, 21.66) and Cierra Williams (200m, 24.55), sophomores Danny Affleck (pole vault, 4.63m) and Ezra Lewellen (200m, 21.99) and freshman John Hanson (shot put, 16.28m).

Additionally, the women’s 4×400 relay ran a season-best time of 3:42.91 to place fourth. That time is No. 5 in the Big Ten, and they were joined by the men’s relay team to break meet records on Saturday.

At Indiana, five personal-best times were set. Juniors Alex Frey (8:22.93) and Caleb Williams (8:16.08) and sophomore Brady Yoder (8:14.83) achieved PRs in the 3,000m, while freshmen Jessica Lyons (2:15.60) and Olivia Phillips (2:20.36) notched new bests in the 800m.

Up next, the month of February begins with the Meyo Classic in South Bend, Indiana, as Notre Dame hosts the two-day event from February 3-4.