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INDIANAPOLIS -- This was the team IUPUI head coach Shann Hart felt could surprise teams in Summit League play.  Having struggled to this point in the season, the Jaguars emerged from their cocoon and went toe-to-toe with defending conference champion South Dakota State, falling short, 85-77, at The Jungle on Monday night.  The Jaguars shot a season-best 51.9 percent in the loss.

IUPUI (1-8, 0-2 Summit) seemed to turn a corner offensively in the second half of the game, cutting their turnovers in half from the opening 20 minutes and exploding for 45 points - their best scoring half of the season.  The Jaguars shot 60 percent from the field over the game's final 20 minutes, including a 4-of-7 performance from three-point range.

"I told our kids after the game that if we execute offensively the way we did tonight, we'll be fine," Hart said after the game.  "We hadn't been as consistent with our outside shooting this year as we would like, but tonight we were making the right pass, finding the open man and knocking down some shots to stay in the game."

Trailing 38-32 at halftime, the Jaguars were blitzed by South Dakota State (4-4, 2-0 Summit) out of the gate to start the second half; the Jackrabbits quickly built an 11-point lead on a layup and transition three, forcing Hart to burn a timeout 43 seconds into the half.

Whatever words she shared in the huddle settled the team, as the Jaguars used layups from Jessica Huffman and Julia Whitted to slice their deficit to seven, 43-36.  Two more free throws by Huffman brought the Jags within five, but the Jacks responded with a three-pointer to push their lead to eight, 46-38.

Given a step on the perimeter, Janna Eichelberger drained a three from the wing to answer SDSU, and after the teams traded free throws, a layup from Briannica Tye brought the Jaguars were within two.

Again the Jackrabbits knocked down a triple to regain momentum, but it was short-lived, as Gretchen Gaskin stuck a dagger from the left corner to keep it a two-point game at the under-16 media timeout.

SDSU was able to build a two-possession lead for most of the half, but two free throws from Huffman brought IUPUI within five, 65-60, with 7:54 to go, giving the Jaguars hope of one last push to steal the game.  However, Macie Michelson stuck a three from the wing - her only basket of the night - to spur a 16-5 Jackrabbit run over the next 3:56.

Still, IUPUI kept fighting, as Huffman drilled a three to bring the Jaguars within 11; on the inbounds pass, Huffman came away with the steal and fed Clara Mitchell for the layup, cutting it to a three-possession game with just over two minutes to play. 

However, the Jacks were able to hold off IUPUI down the stretch, hitting two free throws with 1:20 left on the clock to go back in front by 10.  A Tye three-pointer with seven ticks left created the final margin.

Despite the defeat, Hart had plenty to be happy about following the game - Huffman finished with 22 points, a career high, while Tye's 18 points were a season-best for the freshman.  Whitted looked her sharpest since returning from injury, finishing with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks.

"This is more what we thought we would have when the year started," Hart remarked.  "We've battled some injuries and inconsistency, but if we can sustain this effort and lock down defensively, we're going to be a tough team to play."

The Jaguars will hit the road for a non-conference contest against Louisville on Sunday, Dec. 13.  Tip-off from Freedom Hall is scheduled for 2 p.m., and can be heard live on IUPUIJags.com.