INDIANAPOLIS — Purdue women’s basketball freshman guard Hila Karsh found her rhythm.
Karsh, a native of Rishon LeZion, Israel, hadn’t hit a shot in her last eight attempts in the final two regular-season games against Oregon and Northwestern.
Karsh gave Purdue a spark off the bench after being down 23 points in the first half during her first appearance in a Big Ten Conference tournament game.
What started as a runaway victory for Oregon became more competitive late in the third and fourth quarter when Karsh stepped on the floor for Purdue.
Karsh finished with 11 points off three 3-pointers as No. 14-seed Purdue fell to No. 11 Oregon 82-64 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Purdue trimmed the deficit to its closest margin of 13 after Karsh’s 3-pointer with 1:27 in the third quarter.
“Getting to see the ball go through the net is the most amazing thing,” Karsh said. “I wish we could’ve won but we are going to get better.”
Wednesday night marked the first time Karsh had played in an NBA arena.
“It was an amazing arena, a great crowd,” Karsh said.
It wasn’t just Karsh’s first time playing in the tournament, the same could be said about sophomore forward Lana McCarthy while Purdue displayed positive steps in 2025-26 after failing to reach the Big Ten tournament last season.
“I’m just so grateful for the experience and super happy to be here,” McCarthy said. “I’m so grateful to play in my first Big Ten tournament. I would’ve loved to have gotten another shot at Maryland but I’m grateful for where I am.”
McCarthy finished with 14 points and nine rebounds and held the responsibility of defending 6-foot-3 forward Sarah Rambus and the strong 6-foot Luxembourg native Ehis Estute.
Etute scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and nearly had her double-double in the first half. Guard Katie Fiso scored 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting and forward Mia Jacobs scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Oregon (20-11).
Purdue (13-17) improved its win total by three games this season and could still be invited to a postseason tournament.
Purdue entered the 2025-26 season with three returning players from last year’s roster and six players from the transfer portal, including three of its leading scorers in Nya Smith (UNC Greensboro), Kiki Smith (Arkansas) and Tara Daye (St. John’s).
Daye finished with 11 points and two rebounds, Kiki Smith added four points and Nya Smith ended with two points, six rebounds and four assists.
Daye reflected on the leadership role she took within the program and how she hopes will continue to grow for next season.
“I feel like with just being a newcomer, you always want to put your best foot forward,” Daye said. “(Puryear), Lana, (Madison Layden-Zay) and McKenna (Layden) all gave me something to play for.”
Ethan Hanson is the sports reporter for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette. He can be reached at ehanson@jconline.com, on Twitter at EthanAHanson and Instagram at ethan_a_hanson.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Purdue women’s basketball to ‘put your best foot forward’ after Big Ten tournament loss
Reporting by Ethan Hanson, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Indianapolis Star
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