No. 22 Purdue 95, Arkansas State 58

11/29/2005 9:41 PM

By CLIFF BRUNT
Associated Press Writer

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Purdue shook off its shooting slump against Arkansas State.

The No. 22 Boilermakers, coming off poor offensive performances in their last two games, shot 60 percent in the first half en route to a 95-58 win over the Lady Indians on Tuesday night.

Purdue led 62-25 at halftime, the second-most points the Boilermakers have scored in a half. The Boilermakers shot 30 percent from the field in a loss to George Washington and 36 percent in a win over South Carolina last week, but frequently found the net early against the Lady Indians.

``I thought it was the best half of basketball that we've played this year,'' Purdue coach Kristy Curry said. ``We need to bottle this effort up and carry it with us on the road.''

Katie Gearlds scored all 17 of her points in the first half. Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton added 16 points, Erin Lawless had 15 and Sharika Webb 11. Natasha Bodganova grabbed 13 rebounds for Purdue (3-1).

The Boilermakers had 19 assists at halftime.

``We passed the ball extremely well in the first half,'' Gearlds said. ``We got good looks and shots just went down.''

In all, the Boilermakers had assists on 26 of their 37 baskets and outrebounded Arkansas State 46-30.

Rudy Sims led the Lady Indians (3-2) with 14 points. Arkansas State center Adrienne Davie entered the game averaging 16 points and finished with 12 on 5-for-13 shooting and seven rebounds.

Purdue shot 35 percent from the field in the second half and was unable to satisfy the crowd's hopes for 100 points. The teams scored 33 points each in the second half.

Purdue has held all four opponents to less than 60 points. The Boilermakers forced 23 Arkansas State turnovers.

The Lady Indians lost to top-ranked Duke last Saturday, but beat Big 12-member Missouri on Nov. 19 and were looking for a second win over a team from a major conference.

``Missouri is no Purdue,'' Arkansas State coach Brian Boyer said. ``Right now, the way we're playing, we're out of our league against Purdue and Duke.''