MINNEAPOLIS — Purdue women’s basketball guard Sophie Swanson didn’t want her freshman season to end.
Swanson, who averaged 6.3 points per game during the regular season, had a career-high 25 points and hit all seven of her team’s made 3-point baskets (also a career-high) in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday with six of them coming in the final 11 minutes of the game.
She helped the No. 12 seed Boilermakers keep pace with No. 5 seed Nebraska into the fourth quarter, but it just wasn’t enough. The Cornhuskers pulled away in the final eight minutes for a 64-56 win that advanced them to the quarterfinals on Friday for a game against No. 4 seed Michigan State.
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After Swanson hit a 3-pointer to cut Nebraska’s lead to 45-43 with 8:06 to go, the Cornhuskers went on a 14-0 run while hitting six straight field goal attempts. Purdue (13-18, 5-14 Big Ten) struggled shooting the ball the entire game — it shot 34% overall — and while Swanson was 7 of 9 from 3-point range, the rest of the team went 0 for 13.
Nebraska (20-10; 12-7 Big Ten) guard Jaz Shelly, who played all but 22 seconds, led the team with 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Callin Hake (15 points) and Alex Markowski (12 points) all scored in double-digits.
It was a one-possession game going into the fourth quarter despite Nebraska going on a late 10-0 run in the third. Purdue’s leading-scorer Abbey Ellis responded with a 3-point play — she had 11 points on 5 of 16 shooting — and Swanson nailed a 3-pointer from deep in corner with 20 seconds on the clock to cut the Cornhuskers’ lead to 40-37.
While Purdue led by as many as seven points in the first half, Nebraska evened things out by going 4 of 7 from 3-point range in the second quarter. The Cornhuskers’ 8-0 run at the start of the quarter was the most efficient scoring stretch for either team with Callin Hake and Natalie Potts each hitting uncontested 3-pointers.
Nebraska guard Jaz Shelley beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer to send the game into halftime tied 25-25. She had a game-high nine points in the half and was 3 of 6 from 3-point range.
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Swanson came off the bench and scored seven straight points in the second quarter. Terry had a productive half as well with four points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocks.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Big Ten women’s basketball tournament: Purdue vs. Nebraska final score
