Purdue Sports Update: Oct. 30

Women’s Basketball Scores 118 in Exhibition Win over Purdue Northwest

The women’s basketball team rolled to a 118-42 exhibition win over Purdue Northwest on Monday night in Mackey Arena, marking the third most points by a Boilermaker squad in an exhibition in program history.

All 10 players who entered the game put their name on the scoresheet. Purdue was led offensively by sophomore forward Lana McCarthy’s 16 points, with Nya Smith, Hila Karsh and Tara Daye adding 15 points each.

The Boilermakers shot 63.9% from the field and connected on 10 3-pointers. Eight of the 10 active players dished out an assist, as Purdue finished with 31 helpers on 46 made field goals.

Purdue tallied 39 points on 23 Pride turnovers, while scoring 68 points in the paint.

Purdue pitched a shutout over the opening 7:40 of the first quarter. The Boilermakers jumped out to a 17-0 lead on 7-of-13 shooting with five assists on the run, leading to a 23-5 advantage after the first quarter.

After adding 10 points to the lead in the second, the Boilermakers outscored Purdue Northwest by 27 points in the third and 21 points in the fourth.

NOTES
• Purdue has won 46 straight exhibition contests.
• The record for most points in an exhibition was 120 when the Boilermakers defeated Moldavia 120-62 ahead of the 1993-94 season.
• Purdue is 5-0 in exhibitions under Katie Gearlds, scoring 100 or more points in the last three contests.

UP NEXT
The Boilermakers will open the 2025-26 regular season next Monday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. against Fairleigh Dickinson at Mackey Arena. The game will be streamed on B1G+.

Heaney, Anderson Receive Big Ten Weekly Award Accolades

Following a pair of wins against teams ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA poll, Grace Heaney was selected as Big Ten Player of the Week and Taylor Anderson Big Ten Setter of the Week,  guiding the volleyball squad to a dominant 3-0 sweep at Illinois (10/24) and a 3-2 reverse sweep against No. 20 Minnesota (10/26).

In total, Purdue has racked up a league-leading seven Big Ten weekly awards and stands as the only program to have two different athletes earn the Player of the Week nod this season.

Heaney earned her first-ever weekly award as the only player in the league to rank in the top-10 in kills per set (4.38) and hitting % (.431%).  The Omaha, Nebraska native began the weekend with a one-attack-error-match with 16 kills on 28 swings for a .536 hitting % – marks which led all players in kills and efficiency.

Then, two days later against No. 20 Minnesota, she totaled 22 kills on a .364 clip with 11 digs for her third career double-double. Heaney started the match strong, going errorless on the attack in the first set (8-0-11) for a .727 attack %. Moreover, her performance was key in the reverse-sweep win, scoring the final two points for Purdue as the Gophers nearly swept the Boilers, scoring the go-ahead point for the 26-25 advantage and then was on the set-winning block immediately after to force a fourth set.

Anderson earned her second straight Setter of the Week nod after leading all Power 4 players with her 59 assist-showing against No. 20 Minnesota. The 59 assists were a Big Ten match career-high and one shy of her overall career-best. Moreover, in the match, she came two digs shy of a double-double.

Overall, she ran an efficient offense with saw a .310 average attack % while totaling 91 assists (11.38 per set). The junior started the week by registering a double-double with 32 assists, 11 digs at Illinois. In the match, she led the team to hit .376%, with just eight attack errors (second-lowest mark this season) and two sets with the team hitting above .440%.

Also announced on Monday, Purdue has risen one spot to No. 10 in the AVCA poll, re-entering the top-10 for the second time this season. Purdue has been ranked for 137 consecutive weeks, have ranked in the top-10 for 43 weeks since the Spring 2021 season, and have spent 71 of the last 88 weeks in the top-15.

This week, the Boilermakers will once again hit the road for the last back-to-back away matches of the season. First, Purdue will take on Michigan State on Friday at 7 p.m. ET followed by a Sunday afternoon 2 p.m. start at Michigan. Both matches will be streamed on B1G+.

Edwards, Santa Cruz Earn Final Big Ten Weekly Awards

For the second time this season, two Purdue student-athletes have been named to Big Ten Weekly honors. Purdue’s Emily Edwards was named Goalkeeper of the Week, while Megan Santa Cruz was named Offensive Player of the Week.

This is the first-career Big Ten honor for Santa Cruz, while Edwards has earned the award for the second-time this season. Her first coming back on Sept. 16 when she helped the Boilers to defeat No. 23 Wisconsin.

Edwards was unstoppable in goal, using 7 saves, one off of her career-high, to help seal the victory over Minnesota in the final game of Big Ten play. She played 84 minutes in goal, with 7 saves, a 1.000 save percentage, while earning the sixth shutout of the year for Purdue. Edwards finished the season with 18 games in goal, 1,600 minutes played, with one assist, 69 saves, and a 1.13 GAA, which were all career-best marks.

Santa Cruz scored the game-winning goal against Minnesota just 11 minutes into the match, and then earned her second assist of the season, on a goal from Irene Campo. Santa Cruz finished the season with four goals, a single-season career high mark.

Edwards is the first goalkeeper to earn a Big Ten award since earning it earlier in the season, while Santa Cruz is the first offensive player to earn the honor since Sarah Griffith in 2021.

The Boilers will play host to the Big Ten Tournament coming to Folk Field on Thursday, Oct. 30, beginning with a 4:30 p.m. est. matchup between No. 9 seeded Illinois and No. 8 Ohio State.

Purdue to Host Big Ten Soccer Tournament

Purdue is hosting the 2025 Big Ten Women’s Soccer Tournament at Folk Field beginning tomorrow, Oct. 30 and running through Nov. 2.

Purdue last hosted the tournament in 2014, and have hosted once before in 2001, where the Boilermakers were defeated 2-1 in the quarterfinals by Ohio State. 

The 2025 Big Ten Women’s Soccer Tournament is presented by Allstate and consists of a two week-long, 10-team event that kicks off Thursday, Oct. 30, at Purdue, with the first round and quarterfinals continuing through Nov. 2. The semifinals and championship match will be held at Energizer Park in St. Louis, beginning on Thursday, Nov. 6, with the championship match on Sunday, Nov. 9.

The first round and quarterfinals will be streamed on B1G+. The semifinal rounds and the championship match will be televised live on the Big Ten Network and can be streamed from the web, smartphones, tablets and connected devices through FOX Sports Go and the FOX Sports App.