University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Purdue
Mastey's Career-High Not Enough in 60-50 Loss
2/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Junior guard Brianna Mastey scored a career-high 17 points, but Purdue's Brittany Rayburn had a game-high 27, as the Boilermakers held off numerous Minnesota runs to record a 60-50 victory before 3,402 at Williams Arena Thursday night.
Mastey, who had played sparingly over the past six games, had the best game of her career. The 6-foot-1 guard from Becker, Minn., made 6-of-8 field goals and 5-of-6 free throws, and tied her previous career-high with 13 points in the first half. But she was the lone Minnesota player to reach double-figures on a night when the Gophers were held to just 18-of-63 (.286) field goals, including 0-of-9 treys.
Sophomore forward Katie Loberg had nine points and five rebounds, and junior forward Jackie Voigt pulled down a team-best 11 boards to go with eight points for the Gophers (11-15, 3-10 Big Ten).
But Minnesota was unable to stop Rayburn, who made 6-of-13 field goals and 12-of-14 free throws to lead the Boilermakers (18-9, 8-6 Big Ten). Drey Mingo had a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 12 boards, as Purdue held a slim 44-41 edge in rebounding. (Story continues below)
Both teams got off to a sluggish start, as each team made just 1-of-6 field goals over the first 4:10. Minnesota pulled ahead, 5-2, on layups by Voigt and junior guard Brianna Mastey. But the Boilermakers went on a 7-2 run over the next 3:10 to take a 9-7 lead at the 12:16 mark.
The Gophers tied the score at 11-11 on a turnaround one-hander along the right baseline by Kristen Dockery and a driving layup along the right side by Leah Cotton. Purdue answered by going on a 10-2 run, with Brittany Rayburn making a pair of three-pointers, to build a 21-13 advantage.
But Minnesota went on an 8-2 run over the next one minute, 49 seconds, with Mastey scoring six points during the stretch, to close the gap to 23-21 with 6:40 left in the half.
The teams then traded baskets, with Purdue maintaining either a two-point or a four-point lead until Mastey made a free throw and Voigt added a pair from the line to cut it to 29-28 with 0:54 left. After Purdue scored to move back in front by three, Mastey added a layup with 0:27 left to tie her career-high with her 13th point of the half, and the Boilermakers went into the break with a 31-30 lead.
Minnesota regained the lead early in the second half when Loberg scored on a putback layup and a short jumper in the lane on a nice assist from China Antoine to give the Gophers a 36-35 advantage.
But Purdue scored the next eight points, keyed by a three-point play by Rayburn, to build a 43-36 lead with 12:18 remaining. The Gophers were held scoreless for almost four minutes until Voigt broke the spell with a putback basket with just under 12:00 left.
Mastey established a new career-high for points, and cut Purdue's lead to 43-40, by scoring on a short jumper that rolled in off the glass at the 10:30 mark. That gave her 15 points, which surpassed her previous single-game best effort of 13 points in the overtime loss to Indiana on Jan. 2.
Purdue's Rayburn scored to give the Boilermakers a 45-40 edge, but Minnesota fought back with an 8-2 run keyed by four points by Buford to take a 48-47 lead at the 5:55 mark.
But the Boilermakers outscored Minnesota 13-2 from that point on to pick up the victory in the lone regular season meeting between the team this season.
The Gophers hit the road for their next two games, beginning with Sunday's contest at Northwestern. That game will tip off at Noon (CST) and will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
