Women's Basketball At Indiana On Thursday - Purdue Boilermakers

Jan. 18, 2012

Purdue Game Notes // Indiana Game Notes

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -

No. 13/18 PURDUE (15-3, 5-0) at INDIANA (5-13, 0-5)

Tipoff: 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jan. 19
Location: Bloomington, Ind. - Assembly Hall
Television: live on the Big Ten Network with Dan Kelly providing play-by-play and Mary Murphy analysis. Rob Blackman will serve as sideline reporter.
Internet: Live stats are available via Gametracker at purduesports.com.
Radio: live on WBPE (95.3 BOB-FM), the Purdue Radio Network and purduesports.com with Tim Newton providing play-by-play and Sara White analysis.
The Series: Purdue leads 47-25
The Rankings: Purdue is ranked No. 13 by the Associated Press and No. 18 in the ESPN/USA Today Division I Coaches' Poll. Indiana is not ranked.

The Opponent
Indiana has opened conference play with five-straight losses. The Hoosiers (5-13, 0-5) have faced some of the conference's top teams early, going against Michigan State twice, playing at Nebraska, visiting Minnesota and playing host to Northwestern. Indiana is led by Jasmine McGhee's 13.1 ppg average. The 5-foot-11 junior guard also pulls down 5.7 rebounds per game. Junior Aulani Sinclair is averaging 10.9 ppg and has made a team-best 27 three-pointers this season.

The Series
This is the 73rd meeting between Purdue and Indiana in women's basketball and the first of the season. Purdue holds a 47-25 series advantage, including a 16-4 mark in the last 20 matchups and 8-2 in the last 10 games. The Boilermakers have a five-game win streak against the Hoosiers and are 21-10 all time in Bloomington. Purdue last defeated Indiana on March 3, 2011, in the Big Ten Tournament by a score of 66-62. The last win in Assembly Hall was in the Barn Burner Trophy game, a 55-50 decision on Jan. 9, 2011. IU's last win against Purdue in Bloomington was on Jan. 19, 2009, 71-57, which was also the Boilermakers' last loss to the Hoosiers.

Purdue Vs. The Big Ten Conference
The Boilermakers are 387-213 all time against teams in the Big Ten Conference. Purdue has a winning record against every conference opponent except Ohio State (26-39, .400) and Nebraska (0-0). The Boilermakers have the highest winning percentage vs. Michigan (48-15, .762), followed by Illinois (47-16, .746) and Wisconsin (44-17, .721). Purdue is 42-19 (.689) against Northwestern, 39-17 (.696) versus the Gophers, 47-25 (.653) when taking on instate rival Indiana and 25-15 (.625) against Penn State. Purdue holds a 35-25 (.583) record versus Iowa and the series mark against Michigan State is 34-25 (.576).

Last Time Out
Brittany Rayburn scored 14 points and came up with a key block late to help Purdue defeat Iowa 57-55 on Sunday. She made two free throws with 17.5 seconds left to give Purdue the lead, then blocked Kelly Krei's potential game-winning three-pointer with one second on the clock. Courtney Moses added 10 points and Sam Ostarello had 10 rebounds for the Boilermakers.

Last Time Vs. Indiana
Brittany Rayburn scored a game-high 23 points and Drey Mingo contributed 21 points and six rebounds in the Boilermakers' 66-62 victory against Indiana in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on March 3. Rayburn scored 15 points in the second half, including four free throws in the final 20 seconds to bring Purdue back from an eight-point deficit with 10:06 to play. The last time the two teams squared off in Bloomington, Purdue struggled from the field, shooting under 30 percent from the floor, but played solid defense and hit free throws to secure the five-point win, 55-50. Purdue finished 20-of-21 from the free throw line for 95.2 percent. Rayburn led Purdue scorers with 12 points while Mingo scored 10. Moses blocked a three-point attempt by Aulani Sinclair with 13 seconds on the clock, Mingo grabbed the offensive board and quickly hit Moses with an outlet pass. Moses was fouled and hit two free throws with 10 seconds to play to put Purdue ahead 55-50.

Player Of The Week
Brittany Rayburn was named Big Ten Player of the Week and USWBA National Player of the Week on Tuesday. In two wins, Rayburn averaged 26.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks while shooting nearly 62 percent from three-point range. On Jan. 12 at Minnesota, Rayburn tied a 17-year-old NCAA women's basketball record by hitting 12 three-pointers, making 12-of-16 (.750) from long range. Rayburn finished with 38 points, the third highest single-game total in school history. She followed up her record setting performance by leading Purdue in scoring with 14 points, including the game-winning free throws with 17.5 seconds left. On the ensuing Iowa possession, Rayburn blocked a potential game-winning shot with one second on the clock to secure the victory.

Bench Play A Key
Part of Purdue's success this season is due to a deep bench. Nine players average 15 minutes or more and the Boilermakers' bench has outscored the opponent's reserves 12 times this year. Purdue is 12-1 when scoring equal or more bench points. Against Iowa, Purdue enjoyed a 22-0 advantage in bench scoring. The Boilermaker reserves of Alex Guyton, Antionette Howard, Chantel Poston and Dee Dee Williams contributed 22 points and 24 rebounds in the victory.