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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Survive and advance.  The mantra of basketball tournament season certainly helped the IUPUI women's basketball team, as they overcame a late six-point deficit and used two Nicole James free throws with 3.6 second left to sneak by fifth-seeded IPFW, 61-59, in the quarterfinals of The Summit League Tournament.  With the win, the Jaguars set up a date with #14 South Dakota State in the tournament semifinals.

IUPUI (16-14) led by as many as eight points in the second half, but found themselves on the wrong end of a 57-51 score with just 4:29 left on the clock.  Still, the Jaguars clamped down defensively, holding IPFW (9-21) without a field goal the rest of the way.

After two Eva Ivanova free throws helped the Mastodons open their six-point advantage, Brykeesha Tate found Julia Whitted on the left block for a layup, cutting the Jags' deficit to four.  After Ivanova missed a contested jumper, Jernisha Cann drove the lane for a jumper, knocking it down to make it a one possession game with 2:57 on the clock.

A missed IPFW three-pointer gave the Jaguars an opportunity to knot the contest, and Elizabeth Mercer did just that by sinking two free throws after an Evanova foul.

Tied at 59 with 1:43 remaining, it was James who almost cost the Jaguars the game by fouling Jordan Zuppe at the top of the key while going for a steal.  With IPFW in the double bonus, Zuppe hit both freebies to put the 'Dons in front once again, 59-57.

The Jaguars worked the clock down on their possession, with Tate breaking down her defender and lining in a leaner with just 51.3 ticks left on the clock, tying the game for the sixth time.  Again the Jags' defense came through, as Chelsey Jackson overthrew Tina Moen on a pick-and-roll, giving IUPUI an opportunity to hold for a final shot.

However, coming out of a timeout, Whitted took the ball straight to the bucket, with her shot rolling over the rim.  Fortunately for IUPUI, Moen missed a runner on IPFW's possession and fouled James on the rebound.

James, a 67.4-percent free-throw shooter, calmly sank both free throws, despite IPFW's attempt to ice her with a timeout.

"We were in the huddle [during the timeout] and I told her, 'you almost lost the game, so you'd better win it,'" IUPUI Head Coach Shann Hart said in the post-game press conference.  "Nicole is a good free-throw shooter, so I knew she'd knock those down."

After James hit both free throws, Zuppe's half-court heave fell short, allowing the Jaguars to advance to The Summit League Tournament semifinals for the fourth straight season, the second-longest current streak in the conference.

For stretches of the first and second half, it did not appear that the game would come down to the wire, as IUPUI opened an early 11-point lead on the back of a stifling defensive effort.  The Jaguars came out of the opening tip aggressively, forcing a shot clock violation on IPFW's first possession to set a tone. 

Offensively, Cann and Kiara Butler carried the Jaguars, as Cann finished the half with 12 points and Butler cashed in two three-pointers to help IUPUI on a 10-0 spurt that created their 16-5 lead.  Still, an offensive malaise kept the Jags from pushing their lead.

"I thought we lost our aggressiveness," Hart said.  "Instead of punching back and going for the knockout, I felt like we were passive at times, and it almost came back and cost us."

Though IPFW never led in the first half, they did cut their deficit to just two points by halftime, and took their first lead of the game, 30-29, on a three-point from Ivanova just a minute into the second half.  At that moment, however, it appeared that IUPUI woke up, as they went on a 9-0 run to go back ahead, 38-30.

The Mastodons whittled that lead away however, taking their second lead of the game, 47-46, with 9:06 remaining, setting up the back-and-forth finish.

Cann finished with 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, her Summit League-leading 19th double-double of the season.  With six rebounds against South Dakota State, Cann will become the conference's all-time leading rebounder.

Whitted can also make history on Monday; her 17 points in the win leave her just two shy of becoming the 19th player in IUPUI women's basketball history with 1,000 career points.

With the win, the Jaguars set up their third meeting with #14 South Dakota State, who have defeated IUPUI by an average of 31.5 points this season.  However, the numbers are skewed by a 96-49 defeat the Jaguars absorbed on Jan. 12 - a game they played without Cann.  On Feb. 9, the Jags hung with SDSU in a 64-48 loss at The Jungle.

"We were hoping to get the Jacks. We are always hoping for this game and this challenge, Hart said.  "Obviously in this kind of atmosphere, I appreciate of the fact that you guys are very supportive of women’s basketball, keep that support for the Jacks. More importantly for us, we are accustomed to playing in crowds like this nature. We played a very strenuous schedule, non-conference. We are accustomed playing in front of 10,000; we went to Iowa State [in 2005], played [Purdue], Cincinnati. We played a tough non-conference schedule.”

Tip-off for tomorrow's game will be at 12:00 p.m. CST, with live coverage being available on IUPUIJags.com.