WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) – Even when the Purdue Boilermakers
struggle to score, they can count on their defense.
|  | | Purdue's Kelly Komara, left, reacts to hitting the basket and drawing a foul. |
Purdue made 21 steals, harassed UC Santa Barbara into 24
turnovers and got 23 points from Camille Cooper to hold off the
Gauchos 75-62 Friday night in the first round of the Mideast
Regional.
The score was tied midway through the second half before the
Boilermakers finally wore UC Santa Barbara down with a relentless
full-court press.
"We made that run in the second half by getting a couple of
steals and a couple of layups," All-American Katie Douglas said.
"We didn't shoot very well, but we pressured them into a lot of
decisions they did not want to make. It was reflected in their
turnovers. That was a pretty awesome job."
Purdue will play Louisiana State, which beat Arizona State
83-66, in the second round Sunday. The Tigers beat Purdue 62-55 on
Dec. 16.
The Boilermakers held a seven-point lead early in the second
half against Santa Barbara after Douglas' 3-pointer. But the
Gauchos rallied to tie it at 39 on Jessica Hansen's jumper.
Douglas hit another 3 to give Purdue (27-6) a 42-39 edge, but
Santa Barbara's Nicole Greathouse tied it again with a 3-pointer on
the ensuing possession.
Shalicia Hurn's layup with just more than 10 minutes left made
it 44-42, and the Boilermakers took over from there.
Purdue clamped down on defense as the Gauchos (22-9) could not
solve its full-court press. Douglas had six steals, Erika Valek had
four, and Hurns and Cooper each had three.
Purdue opened another seven-point lead when Kelly Komara, who
scored 14 points, swooped in and put back Cooper's missed free
throw.
Two possessions later, Komara made a steal and went the length
of the court for an easy basket and a 56-47 lead.
The Gauchos never got closer than seven points the rest of the
way.
"I thought the last 10 minutes of the game, we played as hard
as we have all year on both ends of the floor. There was a sense of
urgency. It is survive and advance," Purdue coach Kristy Curry
said.
They Boilermakers survived despite shooting only 39 percent.
Douglas was scoreless in the first half, but she finished with 14
points and nine rebounds.
Lindsay Taylor had 12 points and 11 rebounds to give the Gauchos
a 41-37 edge on the boards. Greathouse and Kayte Christensen led
Santa Barbara with 13 points each.
Purdue, which lost at home in the second round of the tournament
last year, trailed 20-14 early in the first half. An 18-8 run gave
the Boilermakers a 32-28 halftime lead.
"It was kind of exciting for a while," UC Santa Barbara coach
Mark French said. "It's what the NCAA tournament is supposed to be
about. We withstood a couple of real runs by Purdue where the crowd
really got into it. We came back strong and made it close in the
second half."
The Boilermakers were 24-of-35 from the free-throw line, and the
Gauchos made nine of 14 attempts.
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ALSO SEE
Women's College Basketball Scoreboard
Santa Barbara Clubhouse
Purdue Clubhouse
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