UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (Purdue Sports) — A fourth quarter surge propelled the Purdue women's basketball team to a 91-87 win on the road at Penn State on Sunday afternoon. Trailing by five in the final frame, the Boilermakers outscored the Lady Lions 24-16 over the final 8:37 to pick up the win in their first road game of the season.
Per usual, Kayana Traylor showed up with the Boilermakers (4-2, 1-1) needed her most. The junior showed out with a career-high 28 points to go along with five assists, three steals and four rebounds. Brooke Moore just missed out on her third 20-point game of the year, finishing with 19 points and a game-high six assists. For the second straight game, Fatou Diagne went for 13 points and nine rebounds.
Purdue shot a season-high 56.4% from the field and connected on 9-of-15 from deep. The Boilermakers topped 90 points for the first time since Jan. 17, 2016, at Ohio State.
Purdue opened the game strong offensively, connecting on 9 of its first 12 shots of the game. Traylor crossed the double figures in the fist quarter with 11 in the frame. Ajah Stallings knocked down her first career 3-pointer 5:24 to play in the second to open an 11-point lead, before the hosts trimmed the gap down to seven at the break. Purdue shot 60% in the opening 20 minutes with four 3-pointers and assists on 11 of 18 made field goals.
Penn State (3-2, 0-1) battled back in the second half, forcing eight Purdue turnovers in the third quarter. The hosts eventually took a 72-67 lead in the final period. The lead was short-lived.
Traylor and Diagne teamed up for a 10-1 run, capped by a mid-range jumper from Moore. Cassidy Hardin drilled the last of her three triples with 3:13 to play to make it a seven-point game. The Boilermakers countered every late push by the Lady Lions, as the visitors made nine of their 10 free throw attempts in final two minutes to seal the win.
UP NEXT
Purdue will close out the 2020 portion of its schedule Wednesday afternoon with a 2 p.m. tip against Nebraska on the Big Ten Network.
