Box Score

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas -- Adapting quickly to the humid conditions at the South Padre Island Convention Center, the IUPUI women's basketball team raced out to a 12-point halftime lead and made it stand up, defeating Virginia Tech, 64-52, in the first round of the South Padre Island Shootout.

IUPUI (6-4) shot 48.3 percent in the opening 20 minutes of play while holding Virginia Tech (6-3) to an 8-for-24 performance.  The Hokies hit the first two baskets of the game, opening a 5-0 lead before the Jaguars clamped down, using an 18-2 run to seize control.

Jernisha Cann, who was named to the Naismith Trophy early season watch list earlier in the day, finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds, increasing her school record for double-doubles to nine.  With six steals in the contest, Cann became IUPUI's all-time steals leader, with 268 for her career.

Cann's first points came via three-point play early in the half that tied the score at 5, but with IUPUI down by two, Kiara Butler stepped onto the court and immediately made an impact, scoring seven points in a 1:29 stretch of the half.

Butler, who finished with a career-high 13 points, hit 1-of-2 free throws to cut IUPUI's deficit to one before hitting a jumper to put the Jags ahead for good at 8-7, 4:20 into the half.  After a Nicole James jumper, the Franklin Central-product came away with a steal, and after Julia Whitted passed out of a double team in the post, Butler knocked down an arcing three from the corner, pushing IUPUI ahead, 13-7, and forcing an early Virginia Tech timeout.

Still, IUPUI kept using a stingy defense, holding the Hokies without a field goal for over four minutes, fueling the run.  A Cann jumper increased the Jags' lead to eight and Whitted capped the run with a hook in the paint, giving IUPUI a 20-9 lead just before the 12-minute media timeout.

Virginia Tech closed to within seven points on two occasions in the half, but each time the Jaguars responded, using a layup by Whitted and a jumper  from Cann to resume their nine-point lead. 

Cann scored six of IUPUI's last eight points of the half, and at intermission, the Jaguars led, 32-20.

IUPUI seemed to have the game in control early in the second half as well, scoring the first seven points after halftime to build a 19-point advantage.  Cann sandwiched jumpers around a  James three to give the Jags a 39-20 lead with 17:40 to play.

However, Virginia Tech found their way back into the game via a harassing, trapping defense, forcing the Jaguars into forced shots and quick possessions.  The Hokies answered IUPUI's opening run with a 6-0 run of their own, forcing the Jags into a 30-second timeout.

Butler, as she was in the first half, was a spark again for the Jaguars, knocking down a three to stem Virginia Tech's momentum and give IUPUI a 42-26 lead.  Still, the Hokies kept pushing, cutting their deficit to seven with 7:51 remaining after a 20-8 run.

Still, the energy that the Hokies had to put forth to come back seemed to fade in the humid South Padre Island Convention Center, as the Jaguars began to hit their foul shots and use crisp ball movement to rebuild the lead down the stretch.

Brykeesha Tate put the icing on the cake for IUPUI with a three-pointer as the shot clock expired with just under a minute to play, creating the game's final score.

For IUPUI, it was their first win over an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent.

James and Whitted each finished with 11 points, as the Jaguars put four players into double figures for the first time this season.

The Jaguars will play for the South Padre Island Shootout championship tomorrow, Dec. 20, at 7 p.m. CT.  IUPUI will take on the winner of the Jacksonville-SMU contest.