Purdue Wins First Title

Pretty, it wasn’t. But Purdue will take it.

After starting the season by beating three-time defending champion Tennessee, Purdue ended it by winning the title.

Purdue bounced back after the worst half ever in an NCAA championship game and beat Duke, 62-45, Sunday night for its first national title. And for the top-ranked Boilermakers, that was absolutely beautiful.

It happened because seniors Ukari Figgs and Stephanie White-McCarty, who had gone through so many tough times early in their career, refused to get down after the team’s terrible first half.

They were the driving force in a 12-1 second-half run that pulled the Boilermakers from behind and put them ahead to stay.

Figgs, scoreless in a 0-for-7 first half, had six points in the run and finished with 18. White-McCarty had one basket and helped keep the team together with her poise.

The Boilermakers (34-1), who finished with 33 consecutive victories, then made enough baskets and defensive stands down the stretch to keep Duke (29-7) at bay, even as White-McCarty, a unanimous All-American, sat out the final 4:01 after spraining her left ankle.

The loss by the Duke women ended any hope of a unique “double” for the Blue Devil basketball program. The Duke men are favored today against Connecticut.