Boilermakers upend Hoosiers for second straight game

Sharon Versyp's homecoming to IU didn't come with hugs and smiles. \nInstead, the former IU women's basketball coach stuck it to the Hoosiers as Versyp's No. 12 Purdue Boilermakers defeated the Hoosiers 81-58 in business-like fashion. The loss for IU came in the final regular-season matchup between the two teams this season, following a 73-51 loss at Purdue Jan. 14.\n"This is a young team and this is a game that's got me puzzled a little bit," said IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack. "I'm not certain why we didn't come to play. We can handle losing, we can handle getting beat on a lot of points, but I certainly can't handle the way we played today."\nFor the Boilermakers, it was the Katie Gearlds' show throughout the game. The senior forward scored 21 points, 15 of them in the first half. \n"We knew exactly where (Gearlds) was -- the person with the ball who was hitting the threes," Legette-Jack said. "A couple times we missed her because we were trying to do some things with our defense. But even when we saw her and were in her face, she was hitting down the big shots. She's a special player."\nOn the Hoosier's end, scoring didn't come easy. IU only mustered 34 percent field-goal shooting and was never able to put together a run -- let alone coax several shots in a row -- as the Hoosiers let the game get away from them early in the first half.\nPlaying in front of 5,010 fans -- the fifth-largest home attendance in IU's history -- Purdue's early success in the game quieted the Hoosier crowd. With the cream and crimson loyalists quiet, Purdue fans made most of the noise in Assembly Hall.\n"We let this atmosphere down and we hope that our fans will continue to support us and allow us to grow," Legette-Jack said. "We certainly will not take (our fans) for granted another day."\nThe Hoosiers were able to out-rebound the Boilermakers on the offensive glass 17-to-6, but only scored nine second-chance points. Purdue was also able to force IU into 19 turnovers, frustrating the Hoosiers throughout the game.\nIU never led at any point in the game as Purdue opened the contest with a 3-pointer from freshman guard FahKara Malone. Four minutes into the game, the Boilermakers led by 10-0, forcing the Hoosiers to take bad shots and make poor decisions on the offensive end.\n"It was a tough game," said sophomore forward Whitney Thomas. "They're really athletic and good shooters and we just tried to fight back the whole game."\nFreshman guard Jamie Braun echoed Thomas' thoughts.\n"It's kind of hard trying to come back from a ten or more point deficit," Braun said. "We weren't hitting as many shots, and they were just hitting the shots."\nShortly thereafter, junior guard Nikki Smith hit consecutive 3-pointers to make the score 13-8. It was the closest the Hoosiers would be for the rest of the game, as Gearlds came back on the Boilermakers' next two possessions and hit two 3-pointers of her own. By the end of the half, Purdue was able to extend its lead to 38-24, holding IU to 31 percent field-goal shooting in the first half.\nThe Hoosiers were led by Thomas, who scored 17 points and added 10 rebounds, her fifth double-double of the year. Braun also added her second double-double of the season, contributing 12 points and 10 rebounds to the squad.