ESTERO, Fla. – The Drake University women's basketball team struggled shooting the basketball and Purdue broke open a tight game in the second quarter in a 67-47 Boilermakers' win Friday night in the  team's opening game of the Gulf Coast Showcase at Hertz Arena.
 
Drake (4-2), which was held by Purdue (5-0) to just 29.0 percent shooting and made just one three-pointer, will look to bounce back Saturday afternoon when it faces Maine (2-3) at 12:30 p.m. CST.
 
Sara Rhine led the Bulldogs with 16 point and six rebounds. Becca Hittner added eight points while Allie Wooldridge had six points and six boards off the bench.
 
Drake's defense stifled Purdue early as Hittner scored the game's first points almost four minutes in. After Rhine made a layup, the Boilermakers finally got on the scoreboard with five minutes left in the first quarter. But Drake struggled shooting the basketball making just three field goals and going 2-of-6 from the free throw line. Purdue made a three at the buzzer to lead 12-8.
 
Purdue broke open the close game with a 29-point second quarter, that included making all five of its three-pointers. Subpar shooting continued to hurt the Bulldogs as they finished 25.8 percent from the floor and 0-of-11 from beyond the arc in the first two quarters and trailed 41-22. Rhine led Drake with eight points.
 
Drake scored the first four points out of halftime and outscored Purdue 14-13 in the third quarter. Down 54-36 in the fourth quarter, Drake twice trimmed its deficit to 13 points. But the Boilermakers went on a 6-0 run to pull away for the victory in the first-ever meeting of the teams. Freshman Sarah Beth Gueldner made the Bulldogs' only three-pointer with 8:43 left in the fourth.
 
Drake and Maine have played twice before the Black Bears winning both games. The last game in the series was Dec. 7, 2003 at the Knapp Center.