FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Withstanding an IPFW rally in the final minute of the game, the IUPUI women’s basketball team received nine points from Julia Whitted in overtime to post a 72-62 win over the Mastodons Monday night at the Hilliard Gates Sports Center.

IUPUI (14-15, 10-7 Summit) was leading 55-49 with 1:05 to play before IPFW got hot from behind the arc to force the extra period. Two Jernisha Cann free throws made it 57-51 with 53 seconds remaining, but Jordan Zuppe knocked down a three from the top of the key to cut the lead in half. 

Following a Cunningham miss, Zuppe drove and over the outstretched arm of Cunningham, drained another three with nine seconds left. Two IUPUI attempts with 2.7 and 1.2 seconds left missed the rim.

With momentum squarely on the side of the Mastodons, the Jaguars got the ball inside to Julia Whitted early in the half, with promising results. Whitted gave the Jags a lead they would not relinquish with two free throws at the 4:23 mark of overtime.

The Staunton, Ind.-native followed that up with a turnaround jumper to push the lead to three, and after an IPFW layup, Tate drove the lane to re-establish the IUPUI lead.

The 6-foot-5 Whitted came away with a steal on IPFW’s next possession, leading to her layup on the other end of the court to make it a 65-60 with 1:34 left.

From there, the Jaguars iced the game at the free-throw line, hitting 7-of-8 freebies down the stretch.

It was free throws that kept IUPUI from winning the game in regulation. The Jags hit just 8-of-15 shots from the charity stripe in the second half, keeping them from pulling away from IPFW. The Mastodons repeatedly cut into the Jaguars lead, only for IUPUI to respond with a miniature run to build a seemingly comfortable margin.   

After starting slowly, IUPUI began using their speed to create problems for IPFW. Getting solid ball movement, the Jaguars were able to go on an 11-3 run midway through the half as James knocked down a long jumper and a three-pointer to push the Jaguar lead to 21-13. 

Whitted was able to find an open Brittany Ransom in the corner to add to the lead, and Cunningham drove the lane for a pull-up jumper that made it a 27-16 Jaguar game with 4:31 to go in the half.

IPFW whittled away at the deficit, cutting it to four before the teams settled on a 31-25 IUPUI lead at the break.

The win assured IUPUI of no worse than the No. 4 seed in the upcoming Summit League Tournament and avenged a 68-50 defeat from IPFW on Jan. 28, 2008.

The Jaguars will be back in the friendly confines of The Jungle, on Saturday, March 1, when they host Western Illinois in the regular season finale. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m., and the Jags will honor seniors Ashley Conner, Amy Cook and Cunningham as well. 

The men’s game versus Western Illinois will follow. Both contests can be seen on SummitTV at www.thesummitleague.org.