Purdue Sports Update Nov. 13

WBB Drops Road Tilt at PFW

The women’s basketball team dropped its road contest at Purdue Fort Wayne on Wednesday night, 68-67. Purdue held a two-point lead under a minute to play, before PFW (1-2) guard Rylee Bess connected on a game-winning 3-pointer with five seconds on the clock.

Purdue (2-1) was led offensively by Hila Karsh’s 18 points with a pair of 3-pointers. Kiki Smith stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, three 3-pointers, six rebounds, two assists, a career-high five steals and one block. Tara Daye joined them in double figures with 13 points and six rebounds.

The Boilermakers shot 47.4% from the floor and connected on seven 3-pointers. Purdue held a 13-rebound advantage at the end of the night 36-23 and did not allow a second chance point on one offensive rebound.

Purdue Fort Wayne finished the night shooting 48% form the field and went 15-of-23 at the line. The Mastodons took advantage of 24 Boilermaker turnovers to score 24 points.

NOTES
• Purdue leads the all-time series 7-1.
• There were 14 lead changes, 18 ties and neither club opened a lead greater than six points.
• Madison Layden-Zay connected on one 3-pointer to pull her within 34 of the all-time career record of 244.
• Lana McCarthy finished with eight points, three rebounds, a pair of assists and one steal.
• Purdue turned eight rebounds into nine second chance points.
• Karsh has finished in double figures in all three games this season.

UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will hit the road for the second straight game with a trip to No. 23/20 Kentucky next Tuesday night. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. on SEC Network.

Karsh Named Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week

Purdue’s Hila Karsh has been named the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Co-Freshman of the Week after helping the Boilermakers start the season 2-0.

Karsh shared the league’s initial honor with USC guard Jazzy Davidson.

In her first two collegiate games, Karsh tallied 18 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists with a half steal and half block per game in wins over FDU and Eastern Illinois. The native of Rishon LeZion, Israel, ranks 10th nationally in freshman scoring. She was one of four guards who played multiple games last week to average 18 points per night and shoot 65% or better from the field.

She is the only freshman in the country to average better than 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and 2.5 3-pointers per game this season. Her 71.4% clip from behind the arc leads all freshmen nationally among qualified shooters.

In her debut for the Boilermakers against FDU, Karsh scored 12 points on an efficient 4-of-5 shooting with five rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal. She was the ninth Purdue freshman in the last 25 seasons to tally 10 points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block and the only one to do it in her debut.

Karsh lit the scoresheet up against Eastern Illinois with a 24-point outing on 9-of-14 shooting. She was 5-of-7 from behind the arc and added seven rebounds. She also led the team with four assists on the night. She was the first Purdue freshman with a 20-point, five-3-pointer, five-rebound performance since Courtney Moses did it against Michigan in the 2010-11 season.

Volleyball Inks 4 on National Signing Day

Purdue volleyball welcomed four on National Signing Day, announced by Art and Connie Euler head coach Dave Shondell. The Boilermakers signed middle blocker Lily Bosworth, defensive specialist Elle Schara, defensive specialist MaryKate Scheumann and pin hitter Sydni Vice.

The four signees hail from three states: Indiana (Schara from Crown Point and Scheumann from Decatur), Illinois (Bosworth from Mahomet) and Tennessee (Vice from Collierville).

Schara, Scheumann and Vice will graduate early and join the Boilermakers in January. Bosworth will join the team next summer.

Two signees: Schara and Vice were named to the AVCA All-Region team, announced last week.

The Boilermakers are currently ranked No. 9 in the AVCA Coaches’ Poll and No. 6 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings with just six matches remaining in the regular-season.

Boilers Close Out ITA South Sectionals

Nour Fathalla closed out the ITA South Sectionals with a singles consolation finals victory, winning his way through the consolation bracket to bring his win total in Athens, Georgia to three wins.

Fathalla, who fell in the main draw round of 32, went on to pick up wins against Georgia’s Cooper Johnson (Consloation Round of 16) in three sets (5-7, 6-3, 6-3), South Alabama’s Braden Hanng (Consolation Quarterfinals) in two sets (6-3, 6-1) and the finals vs. Georgia’s Derrick Chen (6-2, 6-3).

The ITA Sectionals wrapps up play for the majority of the Purdue men’s tennis team. Aleksa Krivokapic and Maj Premzl will continue playing after winning the ITA Great Lakes Region Doubles title for the bid to the NCAA doubles championship. The duo will play at the tournament, which runs Tuesday, November 18 through Sunday, November 23 in Lake Nona, Florida.

Purdue Uses Opengate Technology for fan safety

Purdue Athletics is installing OPENGATE entry systems to all of its venues to improve fan security and efficiency at entry points across the athletics campus.

OPENGATE reduces the need to search bags manually through its detection system. Fans will walk through two pillars that automatically screens bags, purses and other items on their person. If additional screening is deemed necessary by security personnel, fans will be asked to step aside so they can be screened manually to ensure safety.

The OPENGATE system will be phased in across the athletic venues according to the following schedule:

• Holloway Gymnasium – All entrances beginning on Friday, Nov. 14
• Mackey Arena – All entrances beginning on Sunday, Nov. 16
• Ross-Ade Stadium – Student entrances beginning on Friday, Nov. 28. Full implementation for the 2026 season.
• Alexander Field and Bittinger Stadium – Full implementation by March 2026
• Folk Field – Full implementation by Fall 2026

OPENGATE is an addition to the entry procedure at Purdue Athletics events; the current clear bag policy remains in place. For more information on Purdue Athletics’ Clear Bag Policy, please visit https://purduesports.com/clear-bag-policy-prohibited-items