Bess Called Game - Mastodons Knock Off Purdue 68-67

Wednesday, November 12

Fort Wayne, Ind.

7 PM

Purdue Fort Wayne

1-2,0-0Horizon

Purdue

2-1,0-0Big Ten

Purdue

Purdue Fort Wayne

Rylee Bess hit the game-winning 3-pointer

Photo by: Josh Gales

Bess Called Game - Mastodons Knock Off Purdue 68-67

11/12/2025 11:32:00 PM | Women's Basketball

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FORT WAYNE, Ind. - On a day riddled with potential distractions, the Purdue Fort Wayne women's basketball team was anything but distracted.

The Mastodons, who pregame had unveiled a banner for the accomplishments of last year's squad's run to the WNIT Great 8, could have coasted on the quality and successes of their former vintage.

The pregame Party in the Paint or the 1,158 screaming fans could have pulled the Mastodons' focus. But as Lili Krasovec said in her media availability earlier in the week, "our focus is to be focused."

The Mastodons sure did that.

Freshman Rylee Bess drilled a step-back 3-pointer with 5.7 seconds left to knock off Purdue 68-67 in the Gates Sports Center for the Mastodons' first-ever win over the Boilermakers.

Out of a Mastodon timeout, Purdue Fort Wayne designed a play for Krasovec, who had dominated in the post all evening. Lauren Lee found Krasovec in the post and a double-team approached. The veteran from Hungary was patient, flung a pass to the top of the key for Bess. Bess shook her single defender with a step-back and buried the triple, marking an instant classic that will go down as one of the most clutch shots in Mastodon history.

RYLEE BESS!!!!!#FeelTheRumble #HLWBB pic.twitter.com/0PjjfLKVu8
— Purdue Fort Wayne WBB (@MastodonWBB) November 13, 2025

With the win, Purdue Fort Wayne moved to 1-2 and handed the Boilers their first loss as they fell to 2-1.

While the freshman Bess' game-winning 3-pointer stole the highlights and the hype of the game, the play of the experienced upperclassmen that made the difference in the contest. Jordan Reid finished with 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting, seven rebounds and three steals. Krasovec was 4-for-6 from the floor and 7-for-8 from the line for 15 points. Alana Nelson went 6-for-13 from the floor for 14 points.

Purdue Fort Wayne never gave in to Purdue's inside pressure. While the Boilermakers finished 20-of-34 (58.8 percent) inside the arc, the Mastodons never trailed by more than six. It was a back-and-forth contest, but the Mastodons forced 24 turnovers en route to 24 points off those turnovers. There were 18 ties and 14 lead changes.

The Mastodons led by one at the halftime break, but Purdue had an 8-0 run that put the Boilers up six early in the third quarter. The aforementioned upperclassmen sparked a 10-2 run to go back up two. In the fourth quarter, free throws started to pile up on both sides, eventually putting the Boilermakers up two with 1:29 left.

Purdue's Hila Karsh grabbed an offensive rebound after a missed free throw, but a good defensive stand gave the 'Dons a chance. A miss by the Mastodons gave Purdue a look on the following possession, but the Mastodons played 29 seconds of smothering defense that led to a missed 3-pointer. That set up Bess' shining moment and sealed the Mastodon victory.

Purdue Fort Wayne finished the game shooting 24-of-50 (48.0 percent) from the floor while Purdue shot 27-of-57 (47.4 percent). The Mastodons led 24-9 in points off turnovers and 32-28 in points in the paint.

Purdue Fort Wayne (1-2) will host Southern Illinois on Saturday (Nov. 15) at 5 p.m. in the Gates Sports Center. It will be a doubleheader with the men's program, which plays Boyce at 2 p.m.

~ Feel the Rumble ~