Press Release

FEBRUARY 9, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: CHRISTINE FRANCIES, ASST. SID
260-481-0729

'Dons Fight Hard at #9 Purdue

West Lafayette, IN - The Mastodons finished off their road games with a trip to #9 Purdue University on Thursday night. At Mackey Arena the game was close, IPFW tied the game up at 40, but Purdue pulled away in the end, 76-52.

Purdue came out running in the first, taking a 12-6 lead just five minutes in before the Mastodons came fighting back on a 6-0 run to tie the game up at 12. Purdue held a 12 point lead with under a minute to go before IPFW took the Boilermakers lead to under 10. The 'Dons finished the first only down by nine after shooting 45.5% from the field.

After intermission, the Boilermakers had a 6-3 start before IPFW began to work away at their lead, going on a 13-0 run to tie the game up with 14 minutes left with Johnna Lewis-Carlisle taking a shot to take the 'Dons first lead that fell short . At that point, Purdue began to open up their lead to as much as 26 before defeating the 'Dons by 24 with a final of 76-52.

Lewis-Carlisle led IPFW on the court with 19 points. She was 4 of 7 from beyond the arc and pulled down four boards.

Ashley Johnson was the top defender for the 'Dons with seven boards. She also had 11 points, three assists and three steals. Johnson was 4 of 9 from the field.

Purdue finished with three ladies in double figures. Katie Gearlds led the way with 20 points while Aya Traore followed closely with 17. Sharika Webb rounded out the top three with 12 points.

The Mastodons (2-20) will finish out their season at home with a six game home stand starting the 18th with a rematch with Texas Pan American starting at 1 pm.

~ Dons ~