The number 41 is a very significant number to Wisconsin women's basketball fans. It's the number Badger standout guard Jolene Anderson wears on her back.

Unfortunately, the 41 relevant to Sunday's match against No. 15 Purdue had nothing to do with Anderson at all — it was the number of points Boilermaker guard Katie Gearlds dropped on the Badgers in the Kohl Center.

Gearlds' jaw-dropping performance set all kinds of records Sunday afternoon. It snapped a Kohl Center record of 35 points by an opposing player, set by Ohio State center Jessica Davenport last season; it broke Shereka Wright's five-year Purdue school record of 40 points; and it shattered Gearlds' previous career-high mark of 32 points, set last season against Indiana.

"With all the players who have worn a Purdue jersey, it's special," Gearlds said of breaking her school record. "Anytime your name's on top of a record on top of some really great basketball players, it's special. It means a lot, but it definitely means more that we came out of here with a win."

In 40 hard-fought minutes, Gearlds shot 13-of-20 from the field, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, was 12-13 from the free-throw line, and collected nine rebounds. Needless to say, it was simply her day.

"One player had a heck of a game today," UW head coach Lisa Stone said after the game. "[Katie Gearlds] was a woman on a mission. A number of her shots were contested. Looking at the stat sheet, it's a different game without one player on the roster."

Purdue head coach Sharon Versyp was thankful that the senior from Beech Grove, Ind., was on her roster Sunday.

"[Katie's] been attacking a lot more in practice and doing some things that have elevated her game," Versyp said of Gearlds' recent improvements. "[She's] not just being a shooter on the outside. When she gets to the foul line, great things happen for us and when she makes her first couple shots, and she's fading away from the basket and it's just looking pretty, then you know she's going to be right on and then you have to ride her coattails."

Riding Gearlds' coattails is something the Boilermakers have been accustomed to all season long, as she ranks third in scoring in the Big Ten (16.8 points per game), behind only Davenport and Anderson. But she seems to be quite comfortable with the go-to role.

"I missed my first couple shots," Gearlds said. "Then I got a step-back to go down and it felt really good off my fingers. We just couldn't get any buckets [early] and in a situation like that you have to start attacking and being more aggressive and looking for a shot, and today's shots went in for me."

Wisconsin threw Anderson and Janese Banks, two of their best defenders at Gearlds but neither could slow her down.

"[No one could stop me] today," Gearlds teased. "This was the best I've felt shooting the ball in a long time. I was really aggressive trying to get to the basket. I tried not to settle for the [3-pointer] as much. [I tried to] get the 15-foot, mid-range game going. I was able to get to the basket a little bit more and shooting 13 free throws is fun — it gives me a nice break."

All aspects of Gearlds' game were on Sunday afternoon. The Badgers simply had no answer for her inside or out.

"[Gearlds'] height gives her a great advantage over a lot of defenders," Banks explained. "For a guard, she has a great body. She keeps the ball high and she elevates, so even with hands in her face, she can usually see right over defenders."

"She's an amazing player," Anderson continued. "She's an All-American for a reason. She works hard at both ends of the court and obviously her shots were just falling tonight."

Being ranked two and three in the conference in scoring, one might think there would be some sort of rivalry between Gearlds and Anderson.

"Definitely not," Anderson said. "It's a great opportunity to play against a great player. Unfortunately she got the best of us."

"[It's] not really a rivalry," Gearlds added. "Just mutual respect for each other."

Rivalry or not, the sharpshooter wearing black and gold won this head-to-head matchup, as Anderson finished with a quiet 11 points.