No. 1 UCLA 83, Purdue women's basketball 49: Takeaways
The Bruins demonstrated why they're top-ranked team in the nation and one of the favorites to win the national championship
Thoughts from Tuesday’s loss at Mackey Arena:
• The Bruins are good. Excellent in a lot of areas. They have size, quickness, and a collection of skilled players. Sharp ball movement on offense. Tough and physical on defense. Strong on the glass. They have plenty of depth and rotate McDonald’s All-Americans. UCLA hit its first four 3-pointers and was 10 of 14 overall to start the game. It's a solid team that will be difficult to beat, not only in the Big Ten and nationally.
• Superstar post player Lauren Betts didn’t attempt a shot in the first half. Purdue fouled her in the post, and she went to the line four times, and she was double and tripled team. She’s an imposing figure with her big body and long arms. UCLA went inside to Betts to start the second half, and she delivered. Betts finished with 17 points and seven rebounds.
• It was 13-0 to start the game. And the Bruins added a 14-0 run later in the first half. That was all they needed to dispose of the Boilermakers. But the one thing Katie Gearlds wanted to see was a fight from her team after falling behind by double digits. Purdue stayed engaged, diving on the floor and playing physical on defense. There’s only so much the Boilermakers can do against a team like the Bruins.
• Early foul trouble to Lana McCarthy and Kendall Puryear created problems for the Boilermakers inside. They had two fouls in the first quarter, and both had four by the end of the third. They both fouled out.
• An example of the fight. In the second quarter, McKenna Layden ripped the ball away from a Bruin and started a fastbreak, which ended with a Reagan Bass layup. We’ll see if this attitude carries to Saturday against Michigan.
MORE: Box score | Chad Krockover Photography | Dave Weigel Photography | Mark Elsner Photography
• Layden gave the Boilermakers a lift. She was aggressive on offense, looking for her shot. As the game progressed, Layden looked comfortable going against UCLA’s size. She finished with eight points, hitting two 3-pointers and four rebounds. We’ll see if this performance equals more minutes for Layden, who took a charge in the second half. She struggles on the defensive end, trying to match up against post players. But the smaller lineup could allow Layden to shine on the perimeter.
• Second-chance points: UCLA 17, Purdue 0. It was going to be tough to grab offensive rebounds against this team.
• Rashunda Jones and Destini Lombard were the only players who created their own offense. They scored 11 of Purdue’s 13 points in the first quarter and kept attacking, either off the dribble or looking for opportunities on the perimeter. Lombard finished with 16 points. Jones totaled eight points, seven assists and three rebounds.
• Mahri Petree gave the Boilermakers good minutes. She didn’t score a lot, but it looked like she belonged on the floor against the Bruins.
• Turnovers weren’t the main story of why Purdue lost. The Boilermakers committed 15, 10 fewer than they had at Michigan State last week.
• Curious what the lineup looks like moving forward. Jones has excelled off the bench but might be needed at the start of games. As long as Jones is playing starter minutes, it probably doesn't matter.
• Freshman Jordyn Poole didn’t see action Tuesday.
“Honestly, just a really bad matchup,” Gearlds said. “We want to switch one through four and we thought it gave us the best chance. Watching them (and) what they would do to her, bringing her to the block. She's battling, and the same thing with the Amiyah (Reynolds) - both of them have some shin stuff. If we could rest her just a little bit more.
“Jordy hasn't done anything wrong. She's going to get her opportunities, and she's going to be ready.”
Gearlds also rested Ella Collier in the second half. She played nine minutes.
• UCLA’s Janiah Barker had an impressive dunk in pre-game warmups.
• Purdue’s start to the Big Ten season has been a brutal path, facing five straight top-25 teams. UCLA was the fourth ranked team in this stretch, and No. 5 is Michigan, which is ranked No. 25, on Saturday. The Boilermakers are the first Big Ten team to face five straight ranked conference opponents to open the league season. It doesn’t change the 0-4 Big Ten record but adds some context to the current situation.
Well—- the game turned out the way I think that most fans thought it would— I can’t be disappointed in the way Purdue hustled—- they were out manned at every position— that’s why UCLA is undefeated— Purdue played hard— got beat by a better team—that’s it— period. Purdue has another tough game coming up Saturday . I will say— we have players coming that will make us better and the players we have —-we’ve got some talent on this team— just not UCLA talent—personally—we have a good team— not where we want to be right now — but I have no doubt we will get there and I’m proud of the players we have— they play hard— give it their all—. That’s all that I expect— Katie is key— the way we play and is at the top of the game when it comes to recruiting—-thank you for listening— go BOILERS !!! ED from WANAMAKER