Saturday, December 21
Fort Wayne, Ind.
2 PM
Purdue Fort Wayne
8-5,3-0Horizon
83
vs
75
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Western Michigan
3-7,0-0MAC
1
2
3
4
F
Western Mich.
18
10
19
28
75
Purdue Fort Wayne
27
19
15
22
83
Sydney Freeman
Photo by: Josh Gales
Ross and Freeman Lead Mastodons Past Broncos
12/21/2024 4:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Lauren Ross and Sydney Freeman led the Purdue Fort Wayne women's basketball team past Western Michigan 83-75 on Saturday (Dec. 21).
Ross scored 27 points on 8-of-11 shooting, 4-of-6 from 3-point land and 7-of-7 from the charity stripe against her former squad. Freeman scored 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting and added six steals.
Freeman is the first Mastodon since 2011 and fourth in the Division I era to score 25 points and record six steals. She's the only one of those four to also add three assists to that line. There have only been 17 other Horizon League players to record that line since 2002. She is also the first Mastodon to record five or more steals in consecutive games since that same season.
The Mastodons allowed Western Michigan just 20 rebounds, the fewest by a Mastodon opponent this season. It is also the 11th time in the program's Division I history to have an opponent grab 20 or fewer rebounds.
Amellia Bromenschenkel finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine boards.
The Mastodons led for 37:22, trailing just once at 11-10, and only for 19 seconds. Purdue Fort Wayne was 49.2 percent (29-of-59) from the floor and 85.7 percent (18-of-21) from the charity stripe.
In an extended run between the first and second quarters, the Mastodons went on a 14-2 push that resulted in five Western Michigan turnovers. The 'Dons finished the second quarter on a 9-1 run that put them up 18 at the break.
From there, the Broncos never truly threatened a comeback, but got it back to single-digits several times in the fourth quarter. Ross hit a timely pair of 3-pointers in the final four minutes, then iced the game with four of her seven free throws in the final 30 seconds.
Purdue Fort Wayne improves to 8-5 as non-league concludes. Western Michigan falls to 3-7. The Mastodons will resume Horizon League play and look for a 4-0 start with a trip to Wright State on Saturday (Dec. 28) at 2 p.m.
Ross scored 27 points on 8-of-11 shooting, 4-of-6 from 3-point land and 7-of-7 from the charity stripe against her former squad. Freeman scored 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting and added six steals.
Freeman is the first Mastodon since 2011 and fourth in the Division I era to score 25 points and record six steals. She's the only one of those four to also add three assists to that line. There have only been 17 other Horizon League players to record that line since 2002. She is also the first Mastodon to record five or more steals in consecutive games since that same season.
The Mastodons allowed Western Michigan just 20 rebounds, the fewest by a Mastodon opponent this season. It is also the 11th time in the program's Division I history to have an opponent grab 20 or fewer rebounds.
Amellia Bromenschenkel finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine boards.
The Mastodons led for 37:22, trailing just once at 11-10, and only for 19 seconds. Purdue Fort Wayne was 49.2 percent (29-of-59) from the floor and 85.7 percent (18-of-21) from the charity stripe.
In an extended run between the first and second quarters, the Mastodons went on a 14-2 push that resulted in five Western Michigan turnovers. The 'Dons finished the second quarter on a 9-1 run that put them up 18 at the break.
From there, the Broncos never truly threatened a comeback, but got it back to single-digits several times in the fourth quarter. Ross hit a timely pair of 3-pointers in the final four minutes, then iced the game with four of her seven free throws in the final 30 seconds.
Purdue Fort Wayne improves to 8-5 as non-league concludes. Western Michigan falls to 3-7. The Mastodons will resume Horizon League play and look for a 4-0 start with a trip to Wright State on Saturday (Dec. 28) at 2 p.m.
~ Feel the Rumble ~
Team Stats
WMU
Pur-FW
FG%
.568
.492
3FG%
.375
.333
FT%
.760
.857
RB
20
31
TO
22
16
STL
14
13
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
27
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
7
Pts
25
FGM
10
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
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