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INDIANAPOLIS -- Using a stingy defense and an opportunistic offense, the IUPUI women's basketball team equaled their best start of the last 10 years with a 66-57 win over defending Ivy League champion Cornell Saturday night at The Jungle.

IUPUI (3-1) matched their starts from the 2006-07 and 1999-2000 campaigns with the win; Jernisha Cann, Nicole James and Julia Whitted all finished in double figures for the Jaguars, with Cann and Whitted each posting double-doubles.

Cann had a team-high 15 points, while Whitted and Cann each had 13.  The interior duo of Cann and Whitted each pulled down 12 rebounds.

"I wasn't necessarily pleased with the way we played tonight," Head Coach Shann Hart said.  "I thought we could have executed better on both ends of the court, but we're finding ways to win, which is encouraging."

Despite playing with four fouls, Cann was able to carry the Jaguars midway through the second half, helping IUPUI build an 11-point lead with 7:27 to play.  After a Cornell (1-2) turnover, Cann took the ball in the post and converted a jumper, pushing the Jags' lead to 44-33; with the Big Red within nine later in the half, Cann spun in the post, went under the basket and converted the reverse layup to regain an 11-point edge for the Jags.

"One of the nice things about having Cann as a senior is that I can trust her in more situations," Hart remarked.  "When she was a sophomore or even a junior, maybe we don't rush her back into the game because of her foul trouble, but we needed her tonight, and I thought she played very smart basketball after she picked up her fourth foul."

Cornell never came within six points the rest of the contest, as Cann converted a three-point play with 6:07 remaining, and Whitted hit a hook from the post with 5:35 left in the contest.

Despite not hitting a field goal the rest of the way, the Jaguars knocked down 13-of-18 free throws in the final 4:37 of play.

Early in the game, each team traded runs, as the Jaguars jumped out to a 4-0 lead, only to see Cornell score the next nine points of the game and force Shann Hart into taking an early timeout.  Whatever Hart mentioned during the 30-second break seemed to work, as IUPUI immediately landed the next blow with a 21-6 burst.

IUPUI's pressure defense initiated the run, as the Jaguars forced six Big Red turnovers during the stretch.  Quanisha Turner began the run with a crossover layup, Kiara Butler hit consecutive three-pointers to push the lead to 10, and James capped the burst with a breakaway layup on an assist from Whitted.

Still, leading, 27-15 with 6:30 left in the half, the Jaguars' comfort was soon ended by a 14-4 Cornell run to end the half.  Back-to-back three-pointers fueled the Big Red run, as Lauren Benson hit a three from the wing to bring Cornell within eight, and Allie Fedorowicz knocked down a three from the corner to cut into the IUPUI lead.

At the half, the Jaguars held a slim 31-29 lead.

Using their pressure defense, the Jags were able to hold Cornell without a field goal for the first 4:02 of the second half, enabling IUPUI to push their lead to seven, at 36-29, following jumpers from James and Whitted.

A Fedorowicz jumper cut the lead to five, but Turner calmly drilled a three from the left wing, giving the Jags a 39-31 advantage with 15:37 to play. 

Cann would pick up her third and fourth fouls within 11 seconds of each other, at the 14:56 and 14:45 marks of the half, but was able to play through the trouble, taking over on the offensive end.

Butler's six points were a new career high for the Evansville Harrison H.S.-product.

Benson led all players with 19 points on 5-of-12 shooting, while Fedorowicz and Shanna Scarselletta had 14 and 11 points, respectively, for Cornell, who hit 18-of-51 attempts and just 6-of-21 three-point field goals.

The Jaguars' five made three-point field goals were a season high.

The Jaguars will continue to make history in their game, when they host South Carolina-Upstate on Tuesday.  The game will be at Conseco Fieldhouse, marking the first time in IUPUI women's basketball history that the Jaguars have played at Conseco.  Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. ET.