FARGO, N.D. – Down eight with two minutes to play, the IUPUI women’s basketball team closed to gap to just one with under a minute remaining, but could not complete the comeback, falling 65-60 to North Dakota State Saturday afternoon at the Bison Sports Arena.

IUPUI (11-13, 7-5 Summit) mounted a furious comeback after North Dakota State (12-10, 7-5 Summit) went ahead 61-53 with 2:11 to play. Jernisha Cann knocked down a jumper before Nicole James converted a layup to cut the deficit to four with 1:42 to play. 

After another stop, Christina Cunningham hit a contested three from the top of the circle to make it a one-point game with 27 ticks left on the clock.

Needing to foul, the Jaguars nearly came away with a loose ball before sending the Bison to the line, where they hit both free throws to force IUPUI’s hand.

Down 63-60 with 13.9 to play, James’s three from the corner was blocked, and the Bison sealed the game with two more free throws.

Making their first trip to the Flickertail State, the Jaguars ran hot and cold, routinely pulling even with the Bison only to see them pull away again.

Taking a 43-42 lead midway through the second half, North Dakota State came out of a timeout with a 5-0 spurt to resume control of the game. Still, the Jaguars battled back to close the deficit to two only to see NDSU keep a two-possession margin until IUPUI’s late run.

The foul trouble of Cann and Julia Whitted allowed North Dakota State to go inside in the second half, as forwards Brenda Slyt and Jill Zaruba each had eight points in the final 20 minutes of play. Slyt led the Bison with 17 points, off-setting IUPUI’s defensive effort on Lisa Bue. Bue, who entered today’s game averaging 17.1 points per game, was held to 9 as Cunningham led the defensive effort against her. 

Despite being hampered by foul trouble, Whitted led the Jaguars with 18 points, while James came through with 16 points. Cann was the only other IUPUI player in double-figures, finishing with 10 points.

With temperatures in Fargo hovering below zero and winds whipping at up to 35 miles per hour, IUPUI weathered an early three-point flurry from North Dakota State in the opening four minutes. The Bison knocked down four threes in the first 3:59 of the game, building a 14-5 lead, and in the process, costing head coach Amy Ruley $400.

Ruley, a breast cancer survivor, promised to donate $100 for every Bison three-pointer to Breast Cancer Research. For the game, NDSU finished with 5 three-pointers.

Whitted’s inside effort was nearly matched by James, who knocked down two critical threes and two jumpers to post 10 points in the opening 20 minutes.

Going inside seemed to calm IUPUI, as they traded the lead with NDSU seven times, the last coming when North Dakota State used a driving basket from Jerri Penley to go up 28-27. The Bison threatened to stretch their lead in the final minutes, but a James leaner from the free-throw line dropped just before the buzzer, putting IUPUI down, 34-31, at the intermission.

The Jaguars will head south Sunday, traveling to Brookings, S.D., to take on the Jackrabbits of South Dakota State. Tipoff from Frost Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and the game can be seen via SummitTV at www.thesummitleague.org.