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  Saturday, Mar. 4 6:30pm ET
Boilers to meet Penn State in finale
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Defending NCAA champion Purdue got some revenge Saturday and the Boilermakers still want more.

Purdue (No. 20 ESPN/USA Today, No. 18 AP) avenged a regular-season loss to Michigan 74-59 Saturday, sending it into a game against No. 5 Penn State on Sunday with the Big Ten tournament championship and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA on the line.

Camille Cooper
Michigan's LeeAnn Bies draws a foul from Purdue's Camille Cooper, one of two Boilermakers with 21 points.
The Boilermakers (21-7) will need to end a 10-game winning streak of Penn State (26-3), which defeated it twice en route to the regular-season crown.

Katie Douglas and Camille Cooper, two returning starters from last year's championship team, each scored 21 points on Saturday to keep alive its bid for a third consecutive tournament title.

"We learned a valuable lesson there at Michigan (a 74-67 loss for Purdue), how one or two people can't win the game," Cooper said. "Tonight the bench came ready to play. That was a big boost for us."

Penn State advanced in the opening semifinal in Conseco Fieldhouse with a 81-74 triumph over Illinois.

"Penn State is a great team. We're looking to put the film together, see what we need to do, and get it right the third time," Douglas said.

Michigan (No. 23 ESPN/USA Today, No. 22 AP) stayed with Purdue for most of the game. Leading 50-44, the Boilermakers put together a 9-2 run to pull away.

"Purdue plays good defense," said Michigan coach Sue Guevera. "We had some inside open shots we just missed. We had penetration and dumped it into the post, but we were hurrying."

Michigan (22-7), which was seeded second, trailed nearly the entire game. The Wolverines shot 38 percent for the game.

"It was an incredible overall team effort," Purdue coach Kristy Curry said. "We spent three hours today going over their offensive calls. You bet we thought about the last game. We were embarrassed on national television."

Douglas, who also had a game-high seven assists, ignited the run by hitting two free throws with 6:30 to play. She then hit a 3-pointer and after Kenisha Walker scored for the Wolverines, Shinika Parks capped the run by making four free throws to give Purdue a 59-46 lead with 5:04 remaining.

Douglas had 15 of her points in the second half.

"I was a little tentative in the first half. In the second half, I was a little more in an attacking mind frame," Douglas said.

Anne Thorius led Michigan with 16 points.

"They knew our offense very well, so they knew how to defend us. I thought we had some good shots at the basket, but they just weren't falling," Thorius said. "I don't think it was the defense, as much as ourselves."

The Boilermakers trailed only once, 10-9, before moving ahead to stay with nine consecutive points. Cooper began the run with two consecutive layups and a 3-pointer by Parks put Purdue ahead 18-10 with 10:37 left in the opening half.

The Boilermakers went on to lead by as many as 13 in the first half and held a 33-24 lead at the break.

Michigan was limited to just 29 percent (9-of-31) in the first half.

"I was very concerned in the shootaround. We weren't making layups and short jump shots. If you're going to struggle when there's no defense out there, you're going to have one heck of a time when you're playing a defense like Purdue," Guevera said.

Free throws made a big difference. The Boilermakers hit 19-of-22 from the line, while Michigan was 7-of-14.

Kelly Komara contributed 15 points to the victory, including three 3-pointers.

 


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