Rapid Reaction: Lau’s big night not enough to send McKeown off with one last victory, Northwestern falls 67-62 to Purdue

However, Purdue rode 21 Northwestern turnovers to 32 points off of turnovers in order to hold off a late Wildcat comeback attempt. The Boilermakers shot just 5-of-23 from deep and 42% from the field, but were able to use extra possessions created by 11 offensive rebounds and 21 Northwestern turnovers to eke out a tight victory.

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The Boilermakers entered the afternoon needing a win to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament, and they got it.

Lau played one of her best games as a Wildcat to close out her college career, leading all players with 19 points and 13 assists and connecting on a career-high eight threes. Meanwhile, Sullivan finished with 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting and 5 rebounds in her final game.

Purdue was led by joint-effort from Tara Daye, Kiki Smith and Nya Smith, who scored 18, 17 and 16 points respectively. Nya Smith also added 7 assists and 5 rebounds, impacting all levels of the court while playing every minute of the season’s final game.

Commemorating the seniors, Coach McKeown ran out an all senior starting lineup consisting of Lau, Lash, White, Turner and Sullivan. At the first deadball, with the score still deadlocked at 0-0, McKeown took out White to bring on Casey Harter.

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It was DaiJa Turner who got off to a fast start for the ‘Cats, scoring each of the game’s first four points. A couple possessions later, Lau drained a 25-foot triple, bringing the score to 7-5 Northwestern.

Purdue started somewhat sloppy on the offensive end, with four turnovers in the game’s first five minutes. However, Kiki Smith, who shoots 36.4% from distance for the Boilermakers, was able to get it going from outside, propelling Purdue’s offense with two first quarter threes.

Lau splashed another triple at 2:04 and then later got to the rim for a layup on the ‘Cats’ last possession of the first period, but outside of the Westport, Conn. native’s 3-for-5 start from the field, the ‘Cats went 3-for-12 and 0-for-3 from distance. One free throw from Tara Daye gave the Boilermakers an 18-14 lead heading into the break.

The Lau show would continue into the second quarter. The senior guard contributed to Northwestern’s first three buckets of the period, hitting a pretty step-back jumper from the mid-range and finding Tayla Thomas and Sullivan for easy baskets inside.

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Purdue would stay hot on the offensive end as well. The Boilermakers scored on three-straight possessions at point-blank around the rim, bringing their lead to 28-20 with 5:11 to play in the half. At this point, Purdue was shooting 52.0% from the field, outpacing its season average of 43.1%.

For the next couple of minutes, both teams fell accustomed to some careless offensive play, combining for three total turnovers. Northwestern and Purdue rank 14th and 15th, respectively, in offensive turnover rate in the Big Ten and continued to both have trouble with ball security in the first half, each turning the ball over a whopping 11 times.

However, the ‘Cats finally saw a bit of a breakthrough at the 3:53 mark, putting together a string of more organized offensive possessions. Northwestern finished the half on a 10-2 run, with Lau continuing to lead the way with another three pointer and two more assists, bringing her totals to three triples and six assists, while Casey Harter also got involved in the action scoring five points. Northwestern’s end-of-half surge tied the game at 30-30, leaving much to be decided in the back thirty minutes of action.

At the break, Lau led all players with 13 points and six assists, putting together one of her best halves of basketball in her final game wearing purple. Before Sullivan’s two free throws (which came following a well-executed entry pass from Lau), the senior guard either scored or assisted 18-straight Northwestern points.

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Nya and Kiki Smith (no relation) led the way on the other end, combining for 19 of the Boilermakers’ 30 first half points. After shooting over 50% from the field in the early going, Purdue’s pace slowed down, as it finished the half having shot an 11-for-30, 37%. Meanwhile, Northwestern was 12-for-27 from the field and 3-for-7 from three, with each of its triples coming from none other than Caroline Lau.

Nya Smith really started to assert herself at the start of the second half, scoring Purdue’s first five points of the half. The sophomore guard has been on a heater as of late, averaging 19.0 points per game in Purdue’s last three games, on 36.4% three-point shooting. Smith made just one three in the first half, but got one to go early in the second.

Behind Nya Smith and co. Purdue opened the half on a 9-1 run, as Northwestern was a bit lackadaisical on offense. The ‘Cats shot 1-of-4 to the first timeout at 5:52, committing four turnovers in the half’s first three minutes. Northwestern averages 15.6 turnovers per game and reached that 15-mark in just 23 minutes in this game.

But Lau remained determined to keep the ‘Cats in this one, refusing to let the game move out of sight. With Northwestern down 10, Lau made a deep 26-foot jumper, her fourth three-pointer of the game, and on the very next possession found Walton for a three with an acrobatic, cross-court jump-pass, her eight assist of the afternoon. Behind Lau, the ‘Cats took off on a 9-2 run, getting right back into the game with a quarter to play.

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At this point, I’m sure you could guess who the player of the hour was for the ‘Cats in the fourth quarter. Through three quarters, Lau was incredible. In the fourth, Lau was a hero. On the first possession of the quarter, Lau drained a stepback triple, her fifth three of the game — a career high for the senior.