Purdue women's basketball cruises past Northwestern

WEST LAFAYETTE − Sporting a George Karlaftis No. 5 Purdue football jersey to honor the Kansas City Chiefs rookie defensive end who'd win a Super Bowl later in the night, Purdue women's basketball coach Katie Gearlds had her team dialed in at Mackey Arena on Sunday.

The Boilermakers got double-digit scoring from four of their five starters and were lights out from the field in the middle two quarters, defeating Northwestern 76-61 for their fifth win in the past six games.

In the second and third quarters, Purdue (17-7, 8-6) shot a combined 50 percent and scored 45 points. The Boilers finished the game shooting 43.1 percent and also made 26 of 30 free throws.

Caitlyn Harper scored a game-high 18 points and Cassidy Hardin added 16, making 4 of 8 3-pointers. Lasha Petree contributed 12 points and Abbey Ellis added 11, while Madison Layden scored eight off the bench. Jeanae Terry provided four points, five assists and seven rebounds.

Northwestern (8-17, 1-13) was led by Hailey Weaver's 14 points.

Purdue returns to Mackey Arena Wednesday against Michigan State at 7 p.m. for its annual Pink Out game. The Boilermakers will wear pink jerseys to be auctioned off afterwards benefiting the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research.