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CEDAR CITY, Utah -- The IUPUI women's basketball team had their chances down the stretch, but ultimately, two huge Southern Utah runs proved too much to overcome for the IUPUI women's basketball team to overcome in a 57-52 loss to the Thunderbirds on Monday night at the Centrum Arena.

IUPUI (2-18, 1-8 Summit) held a brief 34-31 lead in the second half, coming on Mariah Fleming's first career three-pointer.  The freshman's bomb from the right corner gave the Jaguars their first lead since the 8:07 mark of the first half, but Southern Utah (6-14, 4-5 Summit) countered with a 9-0 run to reassume a 40-34 advantage with 10:49 left on the clock.

The Jaguars would never reclaim the lead, but continually gave themselves chances to tie and or take the lead.  A Gretchen Gaskin three from the left wing brought IUPUI within a point, 46-45, with 5:12 to go, but the Jags went without a field goal over the next 3:26.  In the same span, the Thunderbirds scored the game's next five points, rebuilding a two-possession lead.

Still, IUPUI kept coming at Southern Utah, as Kerah Nelson went coast-to-coast for a layup and the foul, cutting their deficit to four with just under 2 minutes remaining.  Challis Pascucci answered with a jumper from the elbow, but Gaskin drained her second three ball of the game, making it 53-50 with 70 ticks left on the clock.

Needing a stop, the Jaguars committed a foul on the ensuing possession, sending Pascucci to the line; the junior knocked down 1-of-2 free throws to give the Thunderbirds a 54-50 lead, and the Jags turned it over on a feed into the post.  Southern Utah hit 3-of-4 free throws to ice the game before a Janna Eichelberger layup created the final margin.

"It's frustrating," IUPUI head coach Shann Hart said following the game.  "We were right there at the end, with a chance to win the game, but ultimately turnovers cost us again."

The Jaguars came out determined to set the tone defensively, holding Southern Utah without a field goal for the game's first 7:37, enabling IUPUI to build a 9-3 lead early.  However, the Thunderbirds went on the first of their two decisive runs, using four three-pointers to race out on a 15-4 run.

By the time the T'Birds hit their final three-pointer of the half - Jadie Parsons' second of the first 20 minutes - SUU led 26-15.  Still, free throws from Ebony Davis and a Nelson jumper made it 27-19 at the half. 

Once again, though, the Jaguars clamped down defensively to start the second half; IUPUI held Southern Utah to one field goal in the half's first 5:21, cutting their deficit to a single point, 31-30, on a jumper from Davis.

Nelson went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe to tie the game before Southern Utah used their second large run of the game to put IUPUI behind the eight-ball over the game's last 10 minutes.

At the halfway point of the Summit League season, the Jaguars sit one game out of the eighth and final tournament slot.

Nelson's 21 points matched her career high, while Gaskin and Davis each had 8 points.  Pascucci led Southern Utah with 14 points, while Caitlyn Sears and Parsons finished with 10 apiece.

The Jaguars will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 30, when they host in-state rival IPFW.  Tip-off from The Jungle is scheduled for 4:30 p.m., and fans can catch the game on IUPUIJags.com.  IUPUI will honor the 2010 IUPUI Athletics Hall of Fame Class at halftime of the game.