INDIANAPOLIS – Behind a career-high 27 points from Julia Whitted, the IUPUI women’s basketball team dominated inside, outscoring Southern Utah 44-10 in the paint to cruise to a 71-46 win over the Thunderbirds Monday night at The Jungle.

Whitted knocked down 13-of-21 attempts, setting career highs in both categories. Her 27 points eclipsed the 25 she had against Cleveland State on Dec. 5, 2007. The 27 points were a season-high for the women’s basketball team, while the 68 field-goal attempts were also a season best.

IUPUI (11-12, 7-4 Summit) continued their climb to .500 overall and moved into third place in the conference standings.

From the outset, the Jaguars controlled the interior, pounding the ball into Whitted and Jernisha Cann. IUPUI used a 19-0 run over 8:33 of the half, getting four baskets from the Northview High School-product.

Whitted’s success opened up the perimeter, as the Jags used crisp ball movement to get three-pointers from Christina Cunningham and Nicole James to complete the run. Following a Southern Utah (5-17, 3-8 Summit) three-pointer, IUPUI closed the half with buckets by Cann and Whitted to take a 25-point lead into the locker room.

In the first half alone, the Jaguars outscored the Thunderbirds, 20-2, on the inside, while converting 12 Southern Utah turnovers into 15 points. IUPUI hit 17-of-34 field goals in the opening 20 minutes, assisting on 12 of the baskets.

While Southern Utah closed to within 14 points with 12:31 to play, they would get no closer, as the Jaguars used a 17-6 run to push their lead to as many as 30 points.

Eight of the nine Jaguars who saw the court finished with at least one basket, with Brittany Ransom and Amy Cook leading the players off the bench with 3 points apiece.

Cunningham finished with 18 points for the Jags, her best scoring output since putting up 26 against Miami (Ohio) University on Nov. 17.

Cann was the third Jaguar in double figures, finishing with 10 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. The Kansas City, Mo.-native moved into second place on the IUPUI career rebounding list, eclipsing Kristen Pritchett, who finished her career with 746 boards. Cann finished the evening with 748 rebounds, leaving her 127 shy of Tiffany Kyser’s school record.

However, Cann did move past Kyser on the career steals list, recording 4 thefts to finish the night with 202 steals, good for sixth on the IUPUI career list. The junior is also 66 points shy of becoming the 18^th IUPUI women’s basketball player with 1,000 career points.

The Jaguars moved to 5-0 on Mondays in conference play and went 3-1 on their four-game homestand, winning their last three contests. The weekend sweep was the second of the season for the Jags.

IUPUI will be back in action on Saturday, Feb. 9, when they venture north to take on the Bison of North Dakota State. Tipoff from the Bison Sports Arena is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT, and the game can be viewed via SummitTV at www.thesummitleague..org.