WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Senior
Morgan Jones and sophomore
Rodneysha Martin were North Carolina Central University's top scorers with seven points apiece in a 61-27 women's basketball road loss at Purdue University on Sunday afternoon.
The Boilermakers shot 51.9-percent from the field and held the Lady Eagles to 23.5% accuracy.
Purdue won its fifth straight game to improve to 8-4 overall while NCCU lost for the fourth consecutive time in falling to 1-6.
Jones and Martin accounted for six of NCCU's 12 made field goals as the Lady Eagles scored a season-low 27 points. Senior guard
Chantal Thomas contributed four points, four rebounds, four assists and one steals. Sophomore guard
Dominique Adams chipped in five rebounds and two steals.
The Boilermakers scored the contests first four points and steamed ahead 17-4 in leading wire-to-wire. Freshman forward Ae'Rianna Harris made three layups and senior guard Ashley Morrissette tallied five points during the opening run.
Martin scored five points in the final 30 seconds of the first quarter to cut NCCU's deficit to eight points, 17-19, after 10 minutes of play. Martin banked in a runner with 25 seconds left and then drilled a buzz-beating 3-pointer at the top of the arc.
Purdue doubled up the Lady Eagles, 16-8, in the second quarter to pull out to a 33-17 advantage at halftime. Junior guard Andreona Keys led the Boilermakers into the locker room with eight points as the hosts scored 26 of their first 33 points in the paint, most of which were layups.
Thomas highlighted play for NCCU in the first half with four points, three rebounds and three assists.
The Lady Eagles were held to one made field goal on 10 attempts (10%) in the third quarter and Purdue kept increasing its lead before winning by 34-points.
Morrissette paced four Boilermakers in double-digit scoring with 14 points. She also dished out six assists and made two steals. Junior guard Andreona Keys netted 11 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds while Harris and senior Bridget Perry both sank 10 points.
NCCU next plays at North Carolina State University on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
