Kempton, Wirth help No. 22 Gonzaga women beat Purdue 63-50
ESTERO, Fla. -- Melody Kempton had a career-high 18 points, LeeAnne Wirth and Jessie Loera each scored 12, and No. 22 Gonzaga beat Purdue 63-50 on Sunday night to win the Gulf Coast Showcase.
Kempton made 7 of 12 from the field and 4 of 5 from the free-throw line.
Purdue used a 9-2 spurt to close the third quarter and open the fourth to trim its deficit to five points, but Kempton and Jessie Loera made back-to-back layups before Jill Townsend scored four straight points to spark an 11-1 run that gave the Bulldogs (6-1) a 15-point lead when Loera made another layup with 41 seconds remaining.
After Kayana Traylor's layup made it 52-57 with seven left in the game, the Boilermakers missed their next 11 field-goal attempts before Fatou Diagne's layup capped the scoring with 32 seconds to go.
Dominique Oden had nine points and eight rebounds for Purdue (6-1).
The Bulldogs made just 1 of 12 from 3-point range and shot just 38% from the field but committed a season-low eight turnovers. They had nine steals, including three by Loera, and scored 26 points off 21 Purdue turnovers.
The Boilermakers, who went into the game shooting 43.9% percent from the field, shot a season-low 34.7% (17 of 49).
Gonzaga has won four games in a row -- all by double figures -- since a 76-70 overtime loss to No. 3 Stanford on Nov. 17.
Purdue won its first six games of the season for the first time since 2011-12 and for the sixth time in program history.
Gonzaga plays at Montana State, and Purdue visits Virginia Tech, on Thursday.
Game Information
- Referees:
- Doug Knight
- Michael McConnell
- Teresa Turner
2023-24 Big Ten Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Ohio State | 16-2 | - | 26-6 |
Iowa | 15-3 | 1 | 34-5 |
Indiana | 15-3 | 1 | 26-6 |
Michigan State | 12-6 | 4 | 22-9 |
Nebraska | 11-7 | 5 | 23-12 |
Penn State | 9-9 | 7 | 22-13 |
Michigan | 9-9 | 7 | 20-14 |
Maryland | 9-9 | 7 | 19-14 |
Illinois | 8-10 | 8 | 19-15 |
Wisconsin | 6-12 | 10 | 15-17 |
Minnesota | 5-13 | 11 | 20-16 |
Purdue | 5-13 | 11 | 15-19 |
Northwestern | 4-14 | 12 | 9-21 |
Rutgers | 2-16 | 14 | 8-24 |
2023-24 West Coast Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Gonzaga | 16-0 | - | 32-4 |
Santa Clara | 12-4 | 4 | 25-9 |
Portland | 10-6 | 6 | 21-13 |
San Francisco | 10-6 | 6 | 14-16 |
Pacific | 8-8 | 8 | 19-15 |
Saint Mary's | 6-10 | 10 | 13-18 |
Loyola Marymount | 5-11 | 11 | 11-19 |
San Diego | 4-12 | 12 | 9-22 |
Pepperdine | 1-15 | 15 | 5-25 |