Box Score
SOUTH BEND, Ind. –
Gretchen Gaskin scored a career-high 15 points and
Janna Eichelberger grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds, but an 11-2 run by Butler University mid-way through the second half opened up a double-digit lead that it wouldn’t relinquish and the Bulldogs defeated the IUPUI women’s basketball team, 63-51, Saturday evening in its second game of the WBCA Classic.
“I was really proud of our effort and our ladies executed the game plan the best they have all year to this point,” said head coach
Austin Parkinson. “At the end of the day, when we figure out how to eliminate some of our unforced turnovers, we will put ourselves in a better position to succeed.”
“I thought Gretchen and Janna really played well and brought a lot of energy to the floor,” Parkinson added. “We really needed some rebounding and Janna stepped in and provided that today and her shot selection was much better.”
The Jaguars (1-4) used a pair of fast break buckets by Gaskin and Eichelberger in the opening minutes to get the offense going. Following Gaskin and Eichelberger’s lay-ups, Eichelberger buried a 3-pointer and
Demetria Nunley-Lash converted an old-fashioned, three-point play that helped IUPUI take a 10-4 lead with 16:19 to play in the half.
Butler (3-2) slowly fought back and took a 15-12 lead at the mid-way point of the half, but the Jaguars were within two points, 24-22, with 1:51 remaining.
In the first 18 minutes, the Jaguars committed just six turnovers, but three turnovers in the final two minutes proved to be costly as Butler closed the half on a 5-0 run to take a 29-22 lead into halftime.
Five minutes into the second half, a three-point play by
Kerah Nelson closed the Jaguars deficit to three, 31-28, and after the teams traded lay-ups, a free throw by
Clara Mitchell brought IUPUI within two points, 33-31, with 13 minutes to play.
Just as the Jags closed within a bucket, four IUPUI turnovers over the next two minutes helped Butler go on an 11-2 surge that opened up a 44-33, Bulldogs lead.
From that point, IUPUI stayed within striking distance and closed within nine points with 4:16 on the clock, but the Bulldogs went on defeat the Jags, 63-51.
Nelson followed Gaskin with nine points, while #Shakeeta Cotton’s# seven points were her most in a Jaguars uniform.
Additionally,
Dawn Luster earned the start at the point guard position for the first time in her career.
“While it doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, I thought Dawn played well considering she saw extended minutes for the first time this season. She does a nice job of getting us into our offense and our ball movement tonight was the best it’s been thus far,” Parkinson said.
IUPUI closes out the WBCA Classic on Sunday, Nov. 28, when the Jaguars take on Wake Forest at Noon at the Purcell Pavilion on the University of Notre Dame campus. Wake Forest is 1-1 on the tournament with an overtime win over Butler and a loss to No. 16 Notre Dame.
