Whalen, second half push lead Flyers women’s basketball to big road win over Purdue

Graduate guard Erin Whalen (No. 21, pictured Nov. 5 against IUP) finished one point shy of her career-high with 26 points in a 78-62 win over the Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday. Photo courtesy of Keegan Gupta, Flyer News.

Peter Burtnett | Sports Editor

Graduate guard Erin Whalen scored 26 points in a 78-62 win for Dayton women’s basketball Saturday against Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind.

In the first half, neither team could fully separate themselves, though the Flyers once led by nine points with 6:14 left in the second quarter after a three by sophomore guard Makira Cook. Cook led the Flyers with 13 points in the first half, though the Flyers’ lead was trimmed to 33-31 at the break.

At halftime, UD was shooting 50 percent from the field, and Whalen joined Cook in double figures with 11 points.

With 6:52 left in the third quarter, Whalen knocked down a three to give the Flyers a six-point lead and cap a 9-0 run during a 2:40 Purdue scoring drought.

By the end of the quarter, the Flyers had grown their lead to 12 and headed into the final quarter with a comfortable lead.

Purdue made a quick 4-0 push to cut the deficit to 59-48, but Dayton called timeout with 6:04 left. In the final six minutes, Whalen scored eight of the final 19 points and finished 10-19 from the field (3-9 from three) as the Flyers saw out a well-earned 78-62 road win over the Boilermakers.

“Being able to get road wins is huge for us,” graduate guard Jenna Giacone said after the Flyers’ 69-60 win over Toledo Nov. 17 in anticipation for Saturday’s game. “(Winning) builds our confidence home or away. Coach Green likes to schedule hard, and we know that in order to play the best of the best, we’re gonna have to travel more than being able to get teams to come play us at home. So we got to be able to take that with a grain of salt and be able to get some wins when we travel.”

Next up for the Flyers (3-1) is the Daytona Beach Invitational Nov. 25-26, where the Flyers will face Mississippi State at noon on Thursday and Illinois at 2:15 p.m. on Friday.

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