Purdue Battles ND into OT, but Falls Short 88-82

Aaron Doster-USA TODAY SportsI’m sure the Notre Dame Fighting Irish thought that it would be a walkover before the game started, being a 1 seed on their home court against the 9 seeded Boilermakers. However, Bridget Perry went off from the starting jump ball and finished the first quarter with 9 points and 3 rebounds, and Purdue led 17-13 after one quarter. By this time ND coach Muffet McGraw was no doubt telling her team to wake up and play their game. Which they did in the second quarter, outscoring Purdue in that quarter 32-16 to take a 45-33 lead into halftime. After getting burnt from the outside, Purdue left the trusty 2-3 zone and went man-to-man. This turned out not so good as Brianna Turner for the Irish started cleaning up in the paint. However, she came down awkwardly on her left knee with 48 seconds left in the half, and after being evaluated did not play in the second half. ND was no doubt concerned about that but probably felt comfortable with the lead.

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