A cold-shooting night and a tough Big Ten opponent were too much for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's basketball team in a 66-34 loss to Purdue on Thursday at McKenzie Arena.
UTC (1-3) shot just 14-of-64 from the field and gave up 26 points on 21 turnovers against the bigger and faster Boilermakers (2-0). The Mocs have lost two straight home games, falling 84-55 to Hampton last Saturday.
"We've got to cut down on turnovers, and details has got to be our focus moving forward," senior guard Lakelyn Bouldin said. "If we can take care of little details, we'll see improvements."
After an early bit of back-and-forth play, Purdue began to take control by hitting 78% of its shots in the first quarter to lead 26-12 going into second. Ae'Rianna Harris in the post was a key player during the early run.
"We always talk about the need to initiate and dictate on offense and defense. I felt we did that by going down low to Harris, who scored 10 points in the first quarter," Purdue coach Sharon Versyp said. "I just liked how hard our kids played. They played hard every single second."
The Boilermakers then used their suffocating defense in the second quarter to hold the Mocs to just one Abbey Cornelius putback basket in the period and head to halftime with a 41-14 lead.
Purdue used its speed and size to get 12 steals and outscore the Mocs 18-2 on fast-break points.
With a big lead in hand, Versyp went to her bench. The Boilermakers used 11 players by halftime, with eight of those scoring in the opening 20 minutes.
Despite the huge deficit, the Mocs were able to turn up the defensive pressure to begin the second half. UTC won the rebounding battle 40-39 and had 23 offensive rebounds to help limit the damage.
"We did at least try to give ourselves second opportunities and third opportunities," Mocs coach Katie Burrows said. "That is a positive, and it's not the effort. It's about channeling all that effort into controlled effort."
Eboni Williams got the Mocs on the board first in the second half with a driving layup, and UTC held Purdue scoreless for the first four minutes. Despite shooting struggles, Williams kept fighting to lead the Mocs with eight points and 10 rebounds.
"We knew that obviously we were down by a lot, but we fight," senior NaKeio Burks said. "That's what we do. We just couldn't finish."
Bouldin missed her first 12 shots from the field before finally connecting on an open 3-pointer with 6:22 remaining in the game. Cornelius finished with six points, while Bouldin and Bria Dial each had five.
UTC now hits the road for two more tough games - against Cincinnati on Tuesday and against No. 9 Louisville next Thursday. Burrows said her team and the entire coaching staff know they will need to improve to avoid more lopsided losses.
"They are fully aware that these last two home games have been atrocious," she said. "They're not in denial; they know it's not what they're capable of doing.
"I've got to figure out how to prepare them better. I've got to figure out how to get more intense practices and (progress) on the defensive side of things. I've got a lot of work to do to make my team better."
Contact Jim Tanner at JFTanner@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JFTanner.