WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Veronica Burton scored a career-high 27 points and helped No. 16 Northwestern get off to a fast start en route to a 70-54 win over Purdue on Thursday night.
Burton had 12 points in the first quarter, including seven straight for the Wildcats, who took a 22-13 lead and had 20 at the half when the advantage was 40-29. Her three-point play started a 9-0 run that made the lead 37-24 and the lead remained in double figures the rest of the way.
Sydney Wood scored 11 points for Northwestern (3-0, 2-0 Big Ten Conference) and Lindsey Pulliam and Jordan Hamilton added 10 points apiece.
Fatou Diagne scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Boilermakers (3-2, 0-1).
Burton opened the second half with a 3-pointer and Northwestern used an 8-0 to get the lead to 55-35 at the 3:24 mark. Both teams scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, the first time this season Northwestern didn’t outscore its opponent in a quarter.
Arkansas transfer Rokia Documbia was declared eligible on Wednesday morning and scored a basket in her debut for Purdue.
The big difference in the game was in turnovers. The Wildcats turned the ball over 14 times but forced Purdue into 27 giveaways and turned those into 29 points. Burton had five of Northwestern’s 15 steals and Hamilton had four.
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