FahKara Malone scored a career-high 23 points.

Feb. 7, 2008

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - FahKara Malone scored a career-high 23 points, and Purdue beat No. 19 Ohio State 68-67 on Thursday night.

Malone also made 5 of 7 3-pointers and had five assists and five steals for the Boilermakers.

Danielle Campbell had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Lakisha Freeman and Keshia Mosley both scored 10 points for Purdue (13-10, 9-3 Big Ten). The Boilermakers are tied with Iowa for first place in the league.

Ohio State freshman Jantel Lavender scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and Ashlee Trebilcock scored 14 points for the Buckeyes (17-6, 8-4), who fell to third place in the conference.

Freeman put Purdue up 68-67 with a driving layup with 20 seconds left. Ohio State had a chance to win in the closing seconds, but Purdue's Kalika France stole the ball, and the Boilermakers ran out the clock.

Purdue took its first lead of the game when Malone hit a 3-pointer with 14:35 to play that made it 50-48. A basket by Mosley gave Purdue a 55-48 lead.

Ohio State rallied quickly. A bucket and a 3-pointer by Trebilcock helped the Buckeyes trim Purdue's lead to 58-57. Sarah Schulze scored from in close to give the Buckeyes a 59-58 lead with just under 7 minutes to go, and Lavender quickly followed with two baskets to increase the edge to 63-60.

The Buckeyes maintained the lead until Malone drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put Purdue ahead, 66-65 with 1:24 to play.

Ohio State took a 27-13 lead in the first half before Purdue went on a 12-0 run. The Boilermakers held the Buckeyes scoreless for 5 1/2 minutes to cut their deficit to 27-25.

Ohio State led 31-30 before a 7-0 run pushed the advantage to 38-30.

Purdue scored the last four points of the half, but Ohio State led 40-36 at the break. Lavender had 18 points at halftime and Malone had 17