After No. 12 Purdue’s leading scorer Shereka Wright broke a bone in her hand Thursday, the Northwestern women’s basketball team had thoughts of stealing a victory from a ranked opponent.
But once the Wildcats (6-13, 1-7 Big Ten) met Erika Valek, they dismissed any ideas they had of a struggling Boilermakers team (16-3, 4-2).
Stepping in for Wright, Valek dominated Purdue’s offense with a game-high 26 points and six assists. Nineteen of those points came during the second half as the Boilermakers closed out the game 76-60 in front of 1,010 at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Sunday.
Valek, a 5-foot-6 point guard, matched her career-high in points, which she set Thursday when Purdue tromped Iowa. The back-to-back performances have helped Valek step out of the shadow of her preseason All-Big Ten selection teammate.
“Erika has her own game,” NU coach June Olkowski said. “She handles pressure well.
“Valek is their glue.”
But Purdue — the Big Ten champion for the past two seasons — gave NU ample opportunities for easy lay-ups and plenty of trips to the free-throw line.
The Cats took the lead with 11:35 left in the first half with a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Melissa Culver. NU led or tied for the next four minutes, until a jumper put the Boilermakers up by two.
“We were letting people attack us and letting people get to the paint,” Purdue coach Kristy Curry said about the early portion of the game.
At the half, NU was still close enough for a comeback — down only six points at 34-28 — but it wouldn’t come within three points of Purdue for the rest of the afternoon. The Boilermakers went on a 9-0 run late in the game to put the contest away.
“Fatigue set in during the second half, and we made our errors,” Olkowski said.
Turnovers ranked high on the Cats’ list of errors. After giving the ball up only seven times in the first half, NU finished with 18 turnovers, compared to 14 for Purdue.
The inability of some of NU’s more dependable scorers to execute was also a problem. Senior forward Natalie Will finished scoreless for the game, despite 31 minutes of playing time, and senior guard Emily Butler tallied only two points.
“We need people to score for us,” Olkowski said. “We don’t want our players to force anything, but we want people to honor everyone.”
The game came down to a battle of point guards. NU’s Samantha McComb scored 15 points while trying to pressure Valek on defense.
“(Valek) is a great point guard,” McComb said. “She’s not the quickest player, but she’s smart and plays the right angles.”
The teams combined to shoot 41 foul shots, with NU making 15 of 17 and Purdue knocking down 21 of 24.
“You can’t put them on the line that much and beat anybody,” Olkowski said.
Overall, NU is happy with improvements in putting points on the board. Sophomore center Sarah Kwasinski paced the Cats with 16 points, and NU outnumbered Purdue in offensive rebounds 11 to eight.
“Our offense is definitely better than against Michigan,” McComb said. “But are we satisfied? Definitely not.”
The Cats’ opponents are taking notice of the developing NU squad, as well.
“This is the best Northwestern team we’ve played in my four years here,” Curry said. “When you beat Michigan State, which beat Purdue and Minnesota, you’re a pretty good team.”
