WESTVILLE, Ind. – After a slow start, the No. 15 Purdue University Northwest women's basketball team used a second-half surge to cruise to a big 72-48 conference victory over visiting Governors State University Wednesday night at the James B. Dworkin Center.

PNW (16-6, 11-2 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference) led by just seven, 38-31, at the half, then held the Jaguars (5-15, 4-8) to just 17 second-half points to pull away in the final 20 minutes.

Seniors Darien Thompson (Anderson, Ind./Anderson) (Anderson, Ind./Anderson) and Cassidy Deno (Otterbein, Ind./Benton Central) (Otterbein, Ind./Benton Central) led the way, with Thompson pouring in a game-high 19 points with four assists and Deno adding 15 points, eight boards and two blocks. PNW classmate Katie Wampler (Scottsburg, Ind./Scottsburg) (Scottsburg, Ind./Scottsburg) chipped in 10 points on a crisp 3-of-5 from the floor to go along with six rebounds and two assists and sophomore Michaela Kikendall (Morristown, Ind./Morristown) (Morristown, Ind./Morristown) added nine points, three assists and three steals.

Governors State, in its first season as a member of the CCAC, started the game out hot, as the Jaguars took a five-point lead with 1:56 to go in the first before PNW rallied to lead by just three, 20-17, after the opening frame. The Jaguars looked like they might take the momentum in the halftime break before the Pride got a spark off the bench from sophomore Heather Burton (Valparaiso, Ind./Washington Township) (Valparaiso, Ind./Washington Township), who hit back-to-back triples in the final 1:16 of the second quarter to send the home team into the locker room up seven.

PNW then outscored the Jaguars 12-8 in the third quarter to take a 50-39 lead into the fourth,  before using a big fourth quarter to put GSU away. The Pride opened the final frame on a 12-3 run, fueled by seven points – including a 3-pointer – from Deno and layups from both Wampler and Jessica Kiser (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville).

Purdue Northwest shot 33.8 percent (22-of-65) for the game compared to 27.5 percent (19-of-69) for the Jaguars, and the Prides' bench outscored GSU, 24-8. The Pride also won the battle on the  boards, 53-47, thanks in large part to a game-high 14 rebounds from Ellie Michalski (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago).

Achuynnua Robinson led the Jaguars with 18 points on 9-of-27 shooting from the field in the loss.

PNW takes the weekend off before returning to action Wednesday, Jan. 25, with a CCAC contest at Calumet College of St. Joseph. Game time in Whiting, Ind., is set for 5 p.m. CT.