INDIANAPOLIS – Left for dead with 2:09 remaining, the IUPUI women’s basketball team closed on a 9-0 run to pick up a much-needed 69-66 win over Oral Roberts Saturday afternoon in The Jungle. Jernisha Cann and Julia Whitted each posted double-doubles in the win.

IUPUI (12-14, 8-6 Summit) used two layups from Whitted to cut their deficit to two before Brittany Ransom hit two free throws to knot the game with 33 seconds to play. A defensive stand led to a Whitted rebound, where she was fouled 80 feet from the basket, leading to the go-ahead free throw.

The Jaguars’ pressure led to a Christina Cunningham steal right in front of the ORU bench, where she called a timeout with 2.8 seconds in the game. The Golden Eagles intentionally fouled Brykeesha Tate prior to the inbounds pass, and she sank one of two free throws to make it a 68-66 game. Ransom hit one more free throw after the subsequent inbounds pass to seal the game with 0.8 seconds remaining.

Oral Roberts (14-10, 8-5 Summit) did not attempt a shot prior to time expiring.

With the win, IUPUI pulled into a tie with Oakland for fifth place in The Summit League, one-half game behind Oral Roberts. However, due to the ineligibility of South Dakota State and North Dakota State for the conference tournament, the Jaguars and Grizzlies are tied for the third seed if the tournament were today.

For the second consecutive game and third time this season, Cann and Whitted posted double-doubles in the same game. IUPUI was 0-2 when the duo achieved the feat previously.

Cann helped the Jaguars jump out to a nine-point lead early and helped bring IUPUI back from an eight-point deficit in the second half. Whitted provided the final hammer in the second half, scoring 18 of her points in the final 20 minutes of play, despite playing with three fouls the entire time.

Trailing 42-40, the Golden Eagles staged a 10-0 run, bookending the streak with three-pointers by Rachel Watman and Janae Voelker.

From there, Whitted took over, scoring 14 points in the final 12:54 of the game. The 6-foot-5 center finished the game 10-of-16 and hit a career-high 6 free throws in a career-best 10 attempts.

IUPUI forced 22 Oral Roberts turnovers, leading to 21 points, enabling them to stay in the game when ORU threatened to pull away. Four of those miscues came in the final 3:50 of the game, helping the Jags fuel the closing run and to seal the game.    

Throughout the second half, it appeared that the Jaguars would squander a golden opportunity to move up in The Summit League standings. Despite receiving 21 points and a season-high 17 rebounds from Cann and a game-high 26 points and 14 boards from Whitted, the Jags trailed by as many as 8 points in the half because of sloppy play and poor free-throw shooting.

Despite matching their season high with 30 trips to the charity stripe, IUPUI only knocked down 16 of their attempts, failing to extend an early nine-point lead in the first half. Despite foul trouble on the Oral Roberts’ interior, the Jags began settling for three-point attempts, gradually letting the Golden Eagles back into the game.

Six free throws, two layups and a jumper fueled a 12-3 Oral Roberts run to close the first half. At the intermission, the teams were knotted at 34. 12 of Cann’s points came in the opening 20 minutes.

With 21 points in the game, Cann moved closer to becoming the 18^th IUPUI women’s basketball player to score 1,000 points in her career. The 5-foot-10 forward needs just 8 points to achieve the feat.

Cann will have that opportunity when the Jaguars host Centenary College on Monday. Tipoff from The Jungle is scheduled for 7 p.m. Scott McCauley will have the play-by-play on SummitTV, available at www.thesummitleague.org.