The Wisconsin women’s basketball team (11-11, 2-9 Big Ten) fell to the Purdue Boilermakers (8-14, 1-10) 84-71 Sunday afternoon, giving Purdue its first Big Ten conference win of the season.
Despite the loss, junior forward Serah Williams scored a game-high 28 points, accompanied by seven rebounds and three blocks, dominating inside the paint. Both junior Ronnie Porter and sophomore Carter McCray contributed 11 points each and graduate student Tess Myers shot an impressive 45.5% (5-12) on 3-point shooting, totaling 17 points.
Purdue had an even share of the ball, with five players attaining double-digit points, including freshman Kendall Puryear scoring 18 off the bench.
The Badgers struck first, opening with a mid-range jumper from Williams, who continued the momentum, scoring the badger’s first nine points. Despite the Badgers scoring first, momentum flipped when Purdue sophomore Sophie Swanson scored on back-to-back possessions. The Boilermakers pulled out to a 10-point lead with just under five minutes remaining in the first quarter. The Badgers kept the score within 10 points, closing out the quarter down 31-21.
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The second quarter followed the same physical theme as the first. Williams continued to shine, scoring first and reaching double-digit points by the end of the half. But, Purdue continued hitting their jumpers, closing the quarter with a buzzer-beater 3-point shot from Porter, cutting the lead to 45-39.
Opening the third quarter, Myers came out strong, hitting a 3-pointer and scoring the team’s first five points of the half. The Badgers built up momentum tying the game 51-51 with six minutes remaining in the quarter, but the Boilermakers responded and closed out the quarter with a 57-54 lead.
Though the Badgers kept it close heading into the final quarter of play, the Boilermakers started hot with a 12-2 scoring run, pulling away to a 69-56 point lead. The Boilermakers held on for the final four and a half minutes of the game, ending the game with a final score of 84-71.
The Badgers look to bounce back tonight at 7:30 pm when they host the No. 7 USC Trojans at the Kohl Center.