Big Ten bummer: Houser helps lift Purdue past OSU

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Purdue’s freshmen offered a promising glimpse of what might lie ahead for coach Sharon Versyp’s program.

K.K. Houser scored a career-high 18 points, and the Boilermakers handed No. 4 Ohio State its first conference loss, 63-61 on Monday night.

Sam Ostarello, another freshman, added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Boilermakers (10-10, 5-4 Big Ten). A third freshman, Ashley Wilson, scored eight points.

It was a breakthrough victory for a proud program that reached the NCAA regional finals last season but has struggled while trying to replace forward Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton, who now plays for the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks.

The Boilermakers have been close. They pushed then-No. 3 Notre Dame on Jan. 4 before losing 79-75, but they refused to be disappointed again.

“It’s huge,” Versyp said. “Anytime you have a young team, you’re going to have ups and downs, but I think it shows that we’re continuing to grow and develop.”

Ohio State’s Samantha Prahalis missed an open layup at the buzzer that would have forced overtime. Her chance to tie was set up when Purdue’s Brittany Rayburn missed a free throw with 7.6 seconds left, the only free throw the Boilermakers missed in 15 tries.

Rayburn said once the Buckeyes rebounded her miss, the Boilermakers focused on preventing a game-winning 3-pointer or 3-point play.

“We didn’t want to foul a shooter, so if they got by us, worst-case scenario for a layup is overtime,” she said. “When she got past us, it was like, uh-oh, so everybody just backed up and she missed.”

Jantel Lavender led Ohio State with 17 points and 10 rebounds, but she shot 6 for 18 from the field. Purdue’s Alex Guyton and Chelsea Jones shared the responsibility for slowing the Big Ten’s leading scorer.

“I think they were physical,” Ohio State coach Jim Foster said. “I think they kept her off balance. And quite frankly, she missed some shots she usually makes.”

Brittany Johnson scored 16 points and Prahalis added 11 for the Buckeyes (20-2, 8-1), whose 12-game win streak was snapped.

Johnson made three consecutive 3-pointers to tie her season scoring average in the first two minutes. The Buckeyes held the Boilermakers scoreless for the first 6:40 as Purdue missed its first 10 shots and Ohio State took a 16-0 lead.

Houser helped the Boilermakers settle down. Her three-point play cut Ohio State’s lead to 26-23.

Purdue trailed 32-29 at halftime.

“I think it showed our team’s maturity,” Rayburn said. “We’ve had this happen to us before. Earlier in the season, we might have folded.”

Purdue twice took one-point leads in the early minutes of the second half, but the Boilermakers went cold, and Johnson hit another three to put the Buckeyes up 44-37 with 13 minutes to play.