Box Score

INDIANAPOLIS – Senior Christina Cunningham pushed the IUPUI women’s basketball team past Oakland Monday night, coming away with a late steal and game-winning basket as the Jaguars defeated the Grizzlies, 64-61, at The Jungle.

With IUPUI (9-12, 5-4 Summit) trailing by two points with 1:00 to play, Cunningham hit a long jumper from the corner to tie the game with 42 seconds remaining. On the subsequent Oakland (13-6, 6-3 Summit) possession, the Indianapolis-native stole the ball from Jessica Pike, giving the Jags the ball with 31 seconds in regulation.

The Jaguars worked the ball around the perimeter, where Cunningham took a pass at the top of the circle, drove right, and laid the ball in with 12 seconds to play, giving IUPUI a 63-61 lead, their first lead of the second half.

Oakland pushed the ball up the court, but Brykeesha Tate stepped into a passing lane to steal the ball, and Julia Whitted hit 1-of-2 free throws with 2 seconds remaining to create the final margin. Oakland was not able to get a shot off before time expired.

Despite 24 turnovers and a frantic first-half pace, IUPUI stayed in the game in large part because of their defense. Oakland entered Monday night’s game averaging a shade over 15 turnovers per game, but the Jaguars were able to force 24 Golden Grizzly miscues, coming away with a season-best 21 steals.

The win was the first this season for IUPUI when trailing with 5:00 to play, as they improved to 1-11 overall and 1-4 in The Summit when behind late in the game. 

The rally began appropriately enough with a Cunningham jumper of the baseline to cut the Jaguar deficit to three. Both defenses dug in, with Oakland converting the next basket to push the lead back to five with 2:05 to play. It would be their final basket of the contest.

The Jaguars got a key three-pointer from Nicole James, who drained the three from the corner to slice the Oakland lead to two with 1:48 remaining. Cunningham’s two layups and Whitted’s free throw completed a 14-3 Jaguar run to close the game.

James finished with 15 points, while Whitted led all scorers with 19. Cunningham had 13 on 6-for-6 shooting. 

The opportunistic defense helped IUPUI stick around, as Oakland hit just 10-of-28 field goals in the second half after shooting 62.5% in the opening 20 minutes. The Grizzlies were led by Melissa Jeltema and Hanna Reising, each of whom had 16 points.

Six players wound up with steals for the Jags, led by James’s career-high 6. Cunningham matched her career high with 5, while Jernisha Cann had 4. In the interior, Whitted swatted 7 shots, matching her career best.

In an up-and-down first half, the teams traded the lead nine times and combined for 29 turnovers and 23 steals. IUPUI forced 15 Grizzly miscues, coming away with 14 first-half steals. Early in the half, the Jags used a 12-0 run to go up 14-4; however, Oakland responded with a 20-6 push to open a four-point lead.

Still, IUPUI stayed in the game by creating turnovers and getting the ball into Whitted, who had 12 in the half. At the intermission, Oakland held a slim 36-35 lead.

IUPUI improved to 4-0 on Mondays in conference play with the win.

The Jaguars will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 2, when they host UMKC in the opener of a doubleheader. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m., with Scott McCauley on the call for SummitTV.