The Purdue Northwest Women's Basketball team started the season winning an overtime thriller against Hillsdale in Day 1 of the GLIAC/GLVC Crossover on Friday night, 75-74.
The Basics
- Records: Purdue Northwest (1-0), Hillsdale (0-1)
- Location: John Friend Court - Hammond, Ind.
- Attendance: 300
Inside The NumbersÂ
- Senior Akiya Baker led the Pride with 21 points and recorded four assists with two steals.
- Senior Cherrelle Newsom (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis)Â added 17 points off the bench including going 4-of-8 from the three-point line.
- Senior Nessa Walsh (Chicago, Ill./St. Joseph) and freshman Riley Milausnic (Dyer, Ind./Lake Central) chipped in eight points each.
- As a team, the Pride ended the game shooting 30-of-60 (50.0%) from the floor and went 7-of-19 (36.8%) from deep.
- Lauren McDonald led Hillsdale with a game-high 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
- As a team, the Chargers finished the contest going 27-of-67 (40.3%) from the field and shot 7-of-22 (31.8%) from behind the arc.
The Breakdown
- Both teams battled in the first period and saw Hillsdale take a slim 13-12 lead.
- The teams traded baskets in the second period but saw the Pride with a 27-26 advantage until the Chargers drilled a half-court shot to take a 29-27 lead into halftime after a contested first half battle.
- The Chargers started the third period strong going on a 15-5 run to take a 44-32 advantage with over five minutes left in the third. Purdue Northwest didn't quit and responded with a 9-0 run to cut their deficit to 44-41. Hillsdale still held a slim 46-43 lead heading into the fourth period.
- The fourth period was a battled by both teams and with one minute left saw the Pride up three, 62-59. Hillsdale's Caitlin Spain drilled a three-pointer with 15 seconds left to tie things up 62-62. The Pride had a chance to win but came up short in the final seconds and game went into overtime tied up 62-62.
- The final minute of overtime saw exciting basketball played. Purdue Northwest was down 72-68 until Newsom hit a three-pointer to cut it to 72-71 with 36 seconds left. Hillsdale then stepped up to the free throw line and hit their two free throws to go back up 74-71. With the score 74-72 and Hillsdale inbounding the ball, the Prides junior Thaya Luse (Elburn, Ill./Example Academy) stole the inbound pass after a scrum and threw it to Newsom who launched a three and banked it in to take a 75-74 lead with five seconds remaining in the game. Purdue Northwest held on defensively in the final seconds to seal the thrilling victory, 75-74.
- Purdue Northwest led in points off turnovers, 24-17.
- The Pride dominated the Chargers in bench points, 41-12.
- Purdue Northwest held a slim advantage in fast break points, 17-12.
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Up Next
- The Pride return to home action when they host Tiffin in Day 2 of the GLIAC/GLVC Crossover on Saturday, November 9. Tip-off is set for 3:00 PM CT at John Friend Court in Hammond, Indiana.
