Box Score | Box Score (.pdf)

INDIANAPOLIS -- The IUPUI women's basketball team played North Dakota State nearly even in the second half; it was the first half, when the Bison buried seven first-half three pointers, that doomed the Jaguars in a 69-55 loss at The Jungle on Saturday evening.

IUPUI (1-7, 0-1 Summit) started the game off red hot, knocking down 7 of their first 10 field goals.  However, over the same stretch, North Dakota State (4-3, 1-0 Summit) hit 5-of-6 attempts from beyond the three-point arc, putting the Jaguars in an early 25-15 hole.

"I thought we played relatively well in the first half," IUPUI head coach Shann Hart said.  "On our end of the court, we were executing our sets, but between turnovers at the wrong time and not defending the three-point line, we hurt ourselves."

The Bison capitalized on 11 Jaguar turnovers in the opening 20 minutes, turning them into 17 points.  Conversely, IUPUI was able to score just four points on nine NDSU miscues. 

Down 11 at the half, the Jaguars knew that by defending the three-point line, they could work their way back into the game; however, NDSU blitzed IUPUI in the opening minute of the half, as Inger Hodgson went on a 5-0 run to boost the Bison lead to 16.

Jessica Huffman answered after a timeout with three of her team-high 13 points, and the Jaguars' defense subsequently dug in, holding NDSU without a field goal over a 6:25 stretch.  Down 12, IUPUI had three chances to cut their deficit to nine or 10, but could not come up with the momentum-building basket.

On their fourth trip to their offensive end, a Jaguar turnover spurred a transition three-ball for the Bison, and after another empty trip down the court, Hannah Linz knocked down her fourth three of the game, giving NDSU an 18-point advantage and sucking the wind from IUPUI.

The Bison built a 24-point lead before the Jaguars gained some life with the all-freshman lineup of Clara Mitchell, Alyse Poindexter, Ebony Davis, Alexis Taylor and Briannica Tye down the stretch.  The quintet outscored the Bison 12-2 down the stretch to create the game's final margin.

Huffman and Kerah Nelson each had 13 points in leading the Jaguars, while Tye added 12. 

For the game, North Dakota State finished 11-for-25 from three-point range, led by Linz's four long balls.  Hodgson led all players with 15 points.  The Bison finished the contest with 30 points on 24 IUPUI turnovers.

The Jaguars will close their home set with a conference contest versus last year's Summit League champion, South Dakota State, on Monday.  Tip-off from The Jungle is scheduled for 7 p.m., with Scott Taylor (play-by-play) and Tully Bevilaqua (color) on the call on IUPUI Live!