Women’s Basketball

Carrie Philips

 

 

 

Senior Lakisha Freeman's career came to a close in the Elite 8 on Monday.

In their Elite Eight match-up against Oklahoma, the Purdue lady ballers didn’t quite have enough and with that, the B10 women’s basketball season is officially over. 

The Boilers were the lone B10 team left in the NCAA tourney with OSU and MSU defeated in their respective Sweet 16 match-ups.  And while Purdue put on quite a show on their journey to the Elite Eight, it ended Tuesday night at the hands of Courtney Paris and her Oklahoma Sooners. 

The biggest story in this game – and every game OU has played since the tourney began – was whether Paris’ team could continue on at a chance to satisfy her promise.  If you didn’t hear the story, I guess you could some it up by saying Guaran-Courtney’d (it doesn’t quite work as well as a Guaran-Sheed, but you get the point).  The Sooner center announced on her senior night that her squad would win the title, or she’d pay back her scholarship (and estimated $64,000, though we should mention that her father was an NFL player and could probably write that check 100 times over).  Well Tuesday she put in work toward that end with 19 points, 13 boards and six blocks.  She was also again selected as an AP All-American, become the first player ever to be granted the award all four years of college. 

But this is a Big Ten site, so let’s talk about Purdue.  Lindsey Wisdom-Hylton, who has been impressive all year, had another terrific game, putting up 20 points and nabbing 13 boards, plus she added a block, as well.  Lakisha Freeman and Brittany Rayburn chipped in 12 of their own, and FahKara Malone added five dishes, three boards and two steals. 

The Boilers had an impressive first half, putting the pressure on the Sooners and causing them to only shoot 24% from the field, their worst half of the season.  But their touch was back in the second and it hurt.  An 11 point run put OU in the lead early in the second stanza, and Purdue could never take it back.   

Rayburn put together a three points the old-fashioned way, and Wisdom-Hylton followed it up with a j to bring the Boilers within one.  Shortly thereafter they were able to draw within a point, again, when Malone drove the lane and laid it in.  But that was as close as they came.  Oklahoma had seen enough and Whitney Hand hit her third trey of the half to begin putting some space between the squads.   

Though they looked good the entire game, the Purdue ladies couldn’t find the bottom of the net in the waning minutes, when it counted, and their season came to a close, 74-68.