MINNEAPOLIS — Abbey Ellis scored 25 points, 10 in the fourth quarter when she made six free throws in the last 40 seconds, and 12th-seeded Purdue women’s basketball rallied to beat 13th-seeded Northwestern 78-72 in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday.
Freshman reserve Rashunda Jones had 17 of her 19 points in the second half, nine in the fourth quarter, including a pair of three-point plays. She opened the fourth with a fast break layup, with the ensuing free throw tying the game. It also kicked off an 11-1 run. Her second and-1, followed by Jeanae Terry’s free throw, made it 71-61 with 1:30 to play.
That was cushion enough to send the Boilermakers (13-17) into a second-round matchup with fifth-seeded Nebraska on Thursday.
Madison Layden scored 11 points for Purdue. Terry had 16 rebounds and Ellis 10, which helped the Boilermakers take control of the boards in the second half. They finished with 20 on the offensive end.
A turnover and foul, which led to two free throws, helped Northwestern get within 74-70. Ellis, who had 18 points in the second half, was clutch at the line, leading Purdue’s 15 of 18 from the line in the fourth quarter.
Caileigh Walsh had 26 points and eight rebounds for the Wildcats (9-21). Melannie Daley added 21 and Caroline Lau had 10. Northwestern went 0 for 11 from 3-point range in the second half.
Walsh and Daley combined for 25 points on 11 of 18 shooting in the first half to help Northwestern take a 39-35 lead. The Wildcats went 3 of 7 behind the arc and shot 50% overall.
Northwestern had an 8-0 run in the first quarter and led 20-18 at the end.
Walsh had six points in an 8-0 run that pushed Northwestern’s lead to 49-37 in the middle of the third quarter. Jones had eight points and Ellis had seven, with a three-point play by Jones cutting Purdue’s deficit to 55-52 entering the fourth with momentum on their side.
