No. 2 Ohio St. falls to Purdue for 3rd straight loss

COLUMBUS, Ohio — With Ohio State making a run in the fourth quarter, Purdue buckled down defensively and knocked off the No. 2 Buckeyes.

Abbey Ellis made a season-high five 3 pointers and Purdue earned its first top-five road victory in program history, beating Ohio State 73-65 on Sunday.

“We made a promise to ourselves that we were going to be tough throughout the whole game, especially in the fourth quarter, and we were,” Ellis said. “We just stuck to what we’re good at, what we know, and we knew that defense was going to get us through. And I think that showed in the end.”

It was the second consecutive win over a Top 25 team for the Boilermakers.

“It’s pure joy, pure happiness,” Ellis said. “I think we brought that hype from the Illinois game, came in here [an] underdog, nothing to lose, so proud of the girls. We held tight the whole time.”

The Buckeyes (19-3, 8-3 Big Ten) lost their third consecutive contest after winning the first 19 games of the season.

Leading by as many as 17 points early in the third quarter, the Boilermakers saw their lead dwindle as Ohio State and Taylor Mikesell rallied in the second half.

Mikesell, who went 0-of-6 in the first two quarters, made back-to-back 3-pointers in the third while Purdue shot 29.4% in the frame.

Ohio State used a 9-0 run to bring the score to 55-53 with 6 minutes, 58 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and Taylor Thierry tied it up at 58 after laying in a score with 4:28 remaining. Thierry fouled out 19 seconds later.

Purdue (15-6, 6-5) created separation over the next two minutes as Madison Layden scored five straight points and Ellis made a jumper to put the Boilermakers up 65-58.

The Buckeyes made three of eight field goal attempts in the final 2:15 and went 1-of-2 at the free throw line in that span.

Ellis made her fifth 3-pointer with 43 seconds left and sealed Purdue’s win. She finished with 26 points, while Cassidy Hardin totaled 15.

“We talked about [how] this game could go one of two ways for us. It could be a really, really embarrassing loss, or we could find a wounded animal,” Purdue coach Katie Gearlds said. “They stayed resilient and they stayed with it. And our kids were just tough down the stretch, making some plays.”

Purdue shot 44.8% from 3-point range and 43.1% from the field.

Thierry led Ohio State with 18 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks and a pair of steals.

“It’s just really frustrating, because even within the game, we had stretches where we had good focus and good energy,” Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said. “Credit Purdue. They came in, they were more focused and more ready from the tip, and that ultimately was the difference.”

The Boilermakers notched their first back-to-back wins against ranked opponents since 2017-18 and their first top-five win since 2011.

“What happened this week, that’s this week. We got to focus on IU,” Ellis said. “It’s a big rivalry game at home. We got to protect our house.”

Purdue hosts No. 6 Indiana next Sunday. Ohio State travels to Wisconsin on Wednesday.