NCAA Women’s Tournament 2017: Notre Dame In Sweet 16 After Surviving Purdue

The Notre Dame women’s basketball team scored a Pyrrhic victory Sunday, beating Purdue, 88-82, but losing their leading scorer with a left knee injury.

Junior center Brianna Turner landed awkwardly after catching a pass from sophomore guard Arike Ogunbowale underneath the basket with 48.4 seconds remaining in the first half. Turner had 10 points, 2 assists and 1 rebound, including the previous eight points scored by either team immediately before her injury.

Notre Dame (32-3) outscored Purdue, 32-16, in the second quarter and led by as many as 16 in the third quarter. But the Boilermakers outscored the Irish, 19-8, in the fourth quarter to force overtime.

Sophomore guard Marina Mabrey led the Irish with 21 points, while had freshman guard Jackie Young had 16 points and 5 assists. Senior guard Lindsay Allen had 12 points, 8 assists and zero turnovers in her 147th straight start.

Senior guard Ashley Morrissette led Purdue with 23 points, while senior forward Bridget Perry added 22 points and nine rebounds.

Notre Dame will play five-seed Ohio State (27-6) next Friday in Kentucky. The Buckeyes are already in Lexington, having beaten four-seed Kentucky on their home floor, 82-68. Ohio State and Notre Dame did not play during the regular season, but the Buckeyes lost to every other No. 1 seed in this tournament - Baylor, Connecticut and South Carolina.

It is unclear, at present, if Turner would be available for any of the remainder of the tournament.