Box Score WESTVILLE, Ind. – Despite a second-half comeback from visiting Trinity Christian College, the No. 15 Purdue University Northwest women's basketball team withstood the charge to capture its 22nd win of the year in Wednesday's 76-68 league victory.
Senior Cassidy Deno (Otterbein, Ind./Benton Central) (Otterbein, Ind./Benton Central) led the Pride (22-7, 17-3 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference) with 22 points and eight rebounds and classmate Katie Wampler (Scottsburg, Ind./Scottsburg) (Scottsburg, Ind./Scottsburg) added 20 points, six boards and four steals.
PNW senior Darien Thompson (Anderson, Ind./Anderson) (Anderson, Ind./Anderson) chipped in 15 points and juniors Ellie Michalski (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) and Jessica Kiser (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) did the job on the boards, each contributing eight points and 10 and 11 rebounds, respectively.
The Pride led after one quarter, 24-13, and then at the break, 50-32, behind 54.8 percent shooting from the field and 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from behind the arc. Wampler had 17 of her 20 in the first half, shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, and Thompson scored all 15 of her points in the first 20 minutes to help the Pride take a big lead heading into the third quarter.
But the Trolls (9-20, 8-12) didn't go away, outscoring PNW 20-5 in the third frame to head into the final 10 minutes down just 3, 55-52. PNW, though, held strong.
TCC's Jessica Bianchi brought Trinity Christian within two, 58-56, with 6:56 to go, but Deno would answer by getting fouled on a 3-point attempt and draining all three free throws to push the lead back to five.
TCC would get within two one last time, 63-61, on a Bethany Jansma layup, but Deno would answer the call once again with a jumper in the lane to give PNW a four-point advantage, 65-61.
PNW would close the game out at the charity stripe, going 9-of-10 --6-of-6 by Deno -- in the final 1:26 to finish the game.
The Pride shot 46.0 percent (23-of-50) from the field for the game compared to 44.6 percent (29-of-65) for the Trolls, and PNW dominated the boards, 42-22, to lead to a 17-4 advantage in second-chance points. But the Trolls took advantage of 31 PNW turnovers, scoring 37 points off those miscues.
Jansma led the Trolls with 23 points and Lauren Stokes added 16 in the loss.
Purdue Northwest returns to action Saturday with a road contest at Governors State to close out the regular season. The CCAC Tournament quarterfinals begin Wednesday, Feb. 22.
