INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Katie Douglas had 23 points and Camille Cooper had 20 points and 10 rebounds as defending NCAA champion Purdue (No. 20 ESPN/USA Today, No. 18 AP) beat Wisconsin 72-65 on Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament.

	Purdue's Mackenzie Curless keeps the ball away from Wisconsin's La Tonya Sims.

Purdue opened its bid for a third consecutive conference tournament title by building an 11-point lead in the first half, but then had to survive a comeback by the Badgers.

Wisconsin (16-12) had four players in double figures and took a 42-41 edge with 15:21 remaining. Purdue (20-7) tied it on Cooper's free throw and moved ahead to stay 46-42 on consecutive baskets by Cooper and Michelle Duhart.

Four players finished in double figures for the Badgers, led by Jessie Stomski with 15 points.

Turnovers also played a key role in the outcome. Purdue scored 23 points following 25 Wisconsin turnovers. The Boilermakers had only 13 turnovers, which produced 13 Wisconsin points.

Wisconsin got into early foul trouble in the second half.

Officials called 41 fouls, 27 coming in the second half. However, Purdue failed to take control as it hit only 15-of-23 attempts in the second half.

Free throws produced a 57-46 Purdue lead with 7:57 to play. But, the sixth-seeded Badgers cut the deficit to 62-59 on two free throws by Kelley Paulus with 3:12 remaining.

Shinika Parks drove around a defender and hit a layup to give Purdue a 64-59 advantage and Cooper made it 67-59 when she hit a free throw and jumper 37 seconds apart.

Purdue will play No. 22 Michigan in Saturday's second semifinal at Conseco Fieldhouse. Fourth-ranked Penn State takes on Illinois in the other semifinal.