Here's why Purdue women's basketball shooting struggles continued against Michigan State
WEST LAFAYETTE - Purdue women's basketball freshmen Mary Ashley Stevenson and Sophie Swanson tried taking command of an effort that had fallen apart in the first quarter.
The Boilermakers had missed a pair of open layups. The freshmen duo seeing a team that was drifting apart tried to pull itself back together in the third quarter.
It wasn't meant to be.
Purdue used a 13-3 run in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough as the Boilermakers fell at home 64-56.
A layup by Michigan State guard DeeDee Hagemann with 45.9 seconds to play guaranteed Purdue's second straight home loss.
Swanson scored 19 points, senior Abbey Ellis scored 22 points, Stevenson and Madison Layden each added eight points while senior Jeanae Terry finished 15 rebounds and seven assists for Purdue.
It was another sour day for Purdue (11-15, 4-11 Big Ten Conference) and Gearlds, who will finish the regular season with a losing record for the first time in her career.
Gearlds won back-to-back titles at Marian University in 2016 and 2017. She never once missed the NCAA Tournament as a player from 2004-2007.
But Gearlds credited the tenacity Stevenson and Swanson who played 29 minutes and 24 minutes apiece.
"Nobody is going to play harder than Mary Ashley and Sophie," Gearlds said. "That's just the makeup of who they are. Uber competitive. In the second half we showed a lot of fight."
Gearlds threw her water bottle down in frustration and received a technical foul with 27 seconds left before halftime after freshman Mary Ashley Stevenson was called for a blocking foul while taking a charge against Julia Ayrault.
"She got displaced there," Gearlds said. "I don't want to get fined so I should probably keep my mouth shut."
The Boilermakers have three games remaining in the regular season. Purdue's chances of reaching the NCAA Tournament are all but finished unless it can win the Big Ten Tournament.
Purdue shot poorly once again for a team that entered Wednesday night as the 132nd ranked team in field goal percentage and 99th in 3-point percentage.
The Boilermakers shot 36.1% from the floor and 34.8 from 3-point range against the Spartans. Purdue did defend better holding Michigan State to 7-23 shooting from 3-point range after allowing 97 points in the first meeting.
Ethan Hanson is the sports reporter for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette. He can be reached at ehanson@gannett.com, on Twitter at EthanAHanson and Instagram at ethan_a_hanson.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Purdue women's basketball shooting issues continue vs. Michigan State
