CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton and Brittany Rayburn led five Boilermakers in double figures with 18 points apiece, and sixth-seeded Purdue beat third-seeded North Carolina 85-70 on Monday night in the second round of the Oklahoma City Regional after losing to the Tar Heels in two of the past three NCAA Tournaments.
“It’s hard to beat a team so many times, and I think this was our team,” said Wisdom-Hylton, a fifth-year senior. “It was our time. We wanted it more. I felt like we were executing, playing a little bit harder. I think we really wanted it a bit more.”
The Boilermakers (24-10) will play Rutgers, an 80-52 winner over Auburn, on Sunday in their third trip to regional semifinals in the last four years.
“We’ve got the pieces of the puzzle as long as everyone connects. . . . We kept saying, ‘It’s our time,’ and they believed in that,” Purdue coach Sharon Versyp said.
North Carolina (28-7) had dominated the series between these teams coming in and had won the past three overall. The Tar Heels failed to reach the regional semifinals for the first time in five years.
Lakisha Freeman scored 16 points for Purdue. FahKara Malone and Danielle Campbell added 12 apiece.
North Carolina senior Rashanda McCants had written a reminder to herself on her shoe that it could be her last game and was coming off a 1-for-9 performance in the first round. It didn’t help as she shot 3-for-15 and scored six points.
The teams combined for eight ties and seven lead changes, with Purdue taking control when Campbell tied it 43-43 with a layup, and Rayburn put Purdue ahead to stay with a jumper with 13 minutes remaining that was the start of a 13-2 run.
