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Sam Ostarello’s only issue Sunday was with teammate Taylor Manuel.

It certainly wasn’t with Liberty, which entered the NCAA tournament first-round game as the nation’s leader in rebounding margin. Ostarello single-handily destroyed those numbers after pulling down 17 rebounds, as the 21st-ranked Boilermakers rolled past the Lady Flames 77-43 at the KFC Yum! Center.

Manuel, Purdue’s freshman center, accidently hit Ostarello in the stomach late in the first half.

“It was Taylor, so I couldn’t get really mad,” said Ostarello, who posted her 11th double-double of the season after adding 10 points. “She was going up for the offensive rebound, she came down and had a strong power move and kind of gut-checked me right under my sternum.

“It took a while for me to catch my breath. That was troubling for me.”

That was the only hiccup in an otherwise easy victory. Purdue advanced to Tuesday’s second-round matchup against 16th-ranked and fifth-seeded Louisville, which ran away from Middle Tennessee 74-49 in Sunday’s second game. The winner advances to the Sweet Sixteen in Oklahoma City.

In winning its 16th straight opening-round game, No. 4 seed Purdue was able to rebound and run effectively to open up a double-digit lead in the first 8 minutes. Thanks to Ostarello’s rebounding and KK Houser and Courtney Moses igniting the transition game, the lead was 33-17 by halftime and ballooned to 42-21 3 minutes into the second half.

Moses and Houser combined for 36 points, making 13-of-21 field goals, as the Boilermakers shot 50 percent overall and from 3-point range in snapping Liberty’s 14-game winning  streak. Devon Brown led the Lady Flames with 21 points, surpassing the 2,000-point mark.

The story line was Ostarello’s assault on the boards.

With Liberty outrebounding opponents by 17.5, Ostarello elevated an already strong part of her game even higher. Her 17 rebounds set a Purdue record in an NCAA tournament game, surpassing Donna Gill’s 15 against Maryland in 1992.

“I think I was just really focused on that assignment,” said Ostarello, whose 16 defensive rebounds also set a program record in the NCAA tournament. “They get a lot of their points on second-chance opportunities, which is my defensive rebounds.

“I just needed to go in there and get every ball; every board was going to be mine. If not, my teammates were there to clean it up.”

Ostarello’s performance left a lasting impression on a team that prides itself on rebounding. She also added four blocked shots to help the Lady Flames shoot a season-low 26.3 percent from the field.

“She was relentless,” Liberty fifth-year senior forward Tolu Omotola said. “She uses her height well, her arms well and we knew she was going to be an offensive rebounder. She also showed us on the defensive end too that she can rebound. Much respect to her.”

Led by Ostarello, Purdue became the fourth team to outrebound (40-38) the Lady Flames this season, joining Baylor, Texas A&M and Radford.

“I thought she did a phenomenal job on being more physical,” coach Sharon Versyp said. “When she rebounds, great things happen. For her to have 12 defensive rebounds in the first half really helped set the tone.”

The Boilermakers will need Ostarello and others to help set another tone Tuesday in a hostile environment. It will be the fifth time Purdue faces an opponent on its home floor during the NCAA tournament, and the first since 2011 at Connecticut.

The only win came at Stanford in the 1994 Elite Eight.

“We take this momentum and go with it,” fifth-year senior Chantel Poston said. “We’ll get the scouting report, watch a lot of film and bring that same energy, that same intensity with rebounding and defense.”