Purdue holds off Rutgers

OKLAHOMA CITY – Purdue’s suddenly sizzling offense has the Boilermakers one win away from what would be an improbable berth in the Final Four.

For the second straight game, Purdue built a big lead with strong shooting, and the sixth-seeded Boilermakers held off a late rally to beat Rutgers 67-61 on Sunday night to advance to the round of eight in the NCAA tournament.

Lakisha Freeman scored 18 points, FahKara Malone hit a key basket in the final minute and Jodi Howell added the clinching free throws with 6.2 seconds left for Purdue (25-10), which will play top-seeded Oklahoma on Tuesday in the regional final.

The Boilermakers became the second No. 6 seed to reach the round of eight, joining Arizona State. Purdue, which shot 52.9 percent from the field, will make its eighth appearance in a regional final and has made the Final Four three times, winning the 1999 national championship.

“We play our best basketball when we are relaxed and not tense and not worrying about things,” said Purdue forward Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton, who had 13 points and eight rebounds. “We had nothing to lose here, so we had to go and play our hearts out. And whoever plays the best wins the game, and we’re playing our best basketball right now.”

Brittany Ray scored 19 points and Epiphanny Prince added 15 for seventh-seeded Rutgers (21-13), which upset second-seeded Auburn in the second round.

But the Scarlet Knights couldn’t match Purdue’s hot shooting, falling behind by 16 in the first half and never digging out of that hole. They came close, twice pulling within two in the final minutes, the last time at 63-61 with 1:44 left.

After the teams traded empty possessions – with Rutgers senior Kia Vaughn throwing the ball away after a Purdue miss – Malone made a 15-foot jumper with 46.7 seconds left for Purdue as the shot clock expired.

Rutgers freshman Khadijah Rushdan traveled at the other end. Malone missed the front end of a one-and-one with 16.5 seconds left, but Prince missed a 3-point attempt for Rutgers, and her follow shot was blocked by 6-foot-4 Danielle Campbell.

Howell then made her free throws, sealing the win for Purdue, which was only the second team this season to shoot better than 50 percent against Rutgers.

“More than hurt, I’m disappointed,” Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer said. “We knew what we had to do and we went out there and were foolish.”