Purdue women’s basketball capped off a trip to Fort Myers for their annual holiday tournament by going 0-2, falling to No. 4 South Carolina 99-51 on Saturday afternoon. The Boilermakers dropped the first game of the trip to Middle Tennessee on Thursday and have now lost back-to-back games to fall to 4-3 on the young season.
Saturday’s defeat was the second by 40+ points for the Boilermakers this season.
The first half of the opening frame saw South Carolina assert its dominance down low, but being unable to create much separation from the Boilermakers. South Carolina began the day shooting 4-14 from the field, but Purdue allowed the Gamecocks to grab five offensive rebounds through the first five minutes, leading to six second chance points.
Chloe Kitts dominated the low post, having eight points and three offensive rebounds, while forcing Lana McCarthy and Reagan Bass to the bench with two fouls apiece.
After tying the game at 10-10, thanks to triples by Destini Lombard and Ella Collier, Purdue saw South Carolina sprint out to a big lead. During a scoring drought of over three minutes for the Boilermakers, South Carolina went on a 9-0 run to take a 19-10 lead with 2:24 left in the first quarter.
Ella Collier’s jumper briefly stopped the run before the Gamecocks got a pair of layups to go to close the quarter and outscore Purdue 13-2 over the final 4:38 of the first frame.
The Boilermakers had six turnovers in the opening quarter, handing South Carolina 11 points off turnovers, which wound up being the difference, as the Gamecocks held a 23-12 lead after ten minutes.
Purdue saw that deficit quickly expand in the second quarter as South Carolina’s MiLaysia Fulwiley scored six straight to help guide a 10-2 run. The Boilermakers’ struggled to get into an offensive flow against the long and athletic Gamecocks, who turned those defensive stops into transition opportunities time after time.
Purdue found itself trailing 33-16 with just under eight minutes remaining in the first half.
South Carolina continued to add to that lead, expanding it to 26 with 3:25 left in the first half to cap off a 15-0 run. That run was spurred by Purdue’s 3-12 shooting and nine turnovers in the second quarter, allowing the talented Gamecocks to build an insurmountable lead. A lead that grew to 35 after another 11-0 South Carolina run.
Purdue shot just 32% in the first half and handed South Carolina 25 points as a result of 15 turnovers. Ella Collier and Destini Lombard were the only Boilermakers with more than two points, having seven and five respectively.
The Boilermakers found a little more success offensively in the third quarter, as Destini Lombard had seven points in the first five minutes of the second half. Despite that, the Gamecocks continued their onslaught, expanding the lead to 41 with 3:59 left in the quarter.
Back-to-back triples, followed by a layup by South Carolina’s Tessa Johnson then made it a 47-point game. MiLaysia Fulwiley connected on a buzzer beater from beyond half court before having it waved off, which would have handed the Boilermakers an 81-31 deficit heading into the fourth quarter.
That 50+ point lead for South Carolina would later materialize thanks to a 9-0 run early in the fourth quarter, all of which stemmed from layups by the Gamecocks. South Carolina would coast to an easy victory and handed Purdue its second loss by 40 points or more this season.
Destini Lombard was the lone bright spot for the Boilermakers on Saturday, scoring a career-high 24 points on 9-17 shooting from the field, including 4-5 from three-point range. Lombard was the only Boilermaker in double-figures, as the next closest was Ella Collier with nine points.
As a team, Purdue shot 39.6 from the field and was 7-13 from three-point range, but having 20 turnovers for a third time this season spelled doom for the Boilermakers against a caliber of opponent like South Carolina.
Purdue will now head back to West Lafayette and will be back in action on Wednesday evening against Maine in Mackey Arena before starting the early Big Ten stretch against Maryland next Saturday.
