WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. – FDU women's basketball (0-1, 0-0) dropped their regular season opener to Purdue (1-0, 0-0) by a score of 67-48.
The Knights came out of the gate firing. Leah Crosby knocked down a three to open the scoring, and Ava Renninger quickly followed with a layup, allowing FDU to take a 5-0 lead just thirty seconds in.
Purdue came charging back following the Knights' start, going on a 10-0 run to take the lead. As the first quarter wound to a close, the Knights defense turned up the heat, holding the Boilermakers to just six points over the final five minutes of the quarter. The Knights held Purdue to just a 31.3% from the floor in the first.
The quarter was capped by a Reese Downey three to beat the buzzer, cutting the Purdue lead to just 16-13 heading into the second. The three-pointer was good for the first points of Downey's collegiate career.
The pesky Knights continued to hang around into the second quarter. A three-pointer from Madlena Gerke and a pair of free throws by Leah Crosby helped the Knights keep things a two-possession game through the first three minutes of the quarter. Then, the Purdue offense snapped out of its funk.
Purdue ripped off a 19-3 run to close the quarter, pulling away from the Knights defense that had given them fits in the first quarter. The Boilermakers shot 47.1% from the field in the frame, and began to pull away. Purdue out-scored FDU 26 to three in the second. When halftime came around, the Knights trailed 42-21.
The halftime deficit proved to be too much to overcome. FDU managed to out-score the Boilermakers nine to seven in the third quarter, and matched Purdue with 18 points in the fourth, en route to the 67-48 final.
- The Knights were led in scoring by Ava Renninger, who dropped ten points.
- Rebecca Osei-Owusu held down the frontcourt in her first collegiate start, securing ten rebounds to go with five points.
- Osei-Owusu's ten rebounds led all players in the contest.
- The Brooklyn, N.Y. native played a career-high 22 minutes.
- Leah Crosby impressed in her regular season debut, scoring nine points.
- Crosby played 26 minutes and earned the start in her collegiate regular season debut.
- Freshman Akeelah Lafleur saw her first collegiate minutes, recording three points, four rebounds, and dishing out two assists.
- Reese Downey knocked down two three-pointers en route to six points in her college debut.
- Downey's two threes led FDU in the loss.
- Purdue controlled the glass, out-rebounding FDU 46 to 30.
The Knights will remain in the Hoosier State to open their season. FDU travels up to Notre Dame to face the Fighting Irish on November 5. Tip-off will come at 7 p.m, with coverage available on ACCNX.
Connect with FDU Women's Basketball on X and Instagram, @FDUKnightsWBB.
Segovia Steakhouse is the presenting sponsor of the 2025-26 FDU women's basketball season.
