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INDIANAPOLIS – Kerah Nelson scored 22 points and the IUPUI women’s basketball team shot a season-high 58.0 percent from the field, but the Jaguars were unable to overcome 29 turnovers as they lost their Summit League opener, 83-70, Saturday afternoon at The Jungle.

The Jags posted season highs for assists (21), steals (19), and 3-point field goal percentage (47.0 percent), but the Golden Eagles shot 56.8 percent from the floor and outscored the Jaguars 32-19 in points off turnovers, proving to be the difference.

“Every game we are trying to take positive steps and tonight I was proud of the way we competed and we started to figure things out offensively,” head coach Austin Parkinson said. “What continues to be our Achilles heel is turning the ball over. Once we figure out how to make better passes, we’ll be able to take the next step.”

Over the first six games, IUPUI struggled scoring in the point but the trend reversed against the Golden Eagles. The Jags scored a season-high 40 points in the paint.

“One of our goals was to get to the basket and I liked our team’s attitude about attacking the rim tonight,” Parkinson said. “We also shared the basketball really well and hopefully we can build on that Monday.”

Turnovers plagued the Jaguars in the early going of the first half as seven IUPUI miscues helped Oral Roberts jump out to a 9-0 lead by the first media timeout.

Following the media timeout, IUPUI was able to force the Golden Eagles into a few turnovers resulting in easy transition buckets at the other end. Nelson, Dawn Luster, and Shea Collins, each cashed in fast-break lay-ups helping the Jags cut their deficit to three points, 11-8, with 13:15 to play.

Over the next 8:50, IUPUI slowly chipped away at the Oral Roberts lead and used a trey by Gretchen Gaskin at the 4:25 mark to knot the score at 21-21.

ORU used a pair of 3-pointers by Christian Key to open up a six-point lead, 29-23, but a pair of buckets by Nelson and a 3-pointer by Collins with 50 seconds on the clocked helped IUPUI cut its deficit to 35-30 entering halftime.

The Jags come out of the locker room on fire connecting on its first seven shot attempts of the second half, including a pair of three’s by Janna Eichelberger and a trey by Gretchen Gaskin, evening the score at 47 with 14:58 on the clock.

Both teams continued to execute well offensively and a pair of Clara Mitchell free throws brought the Jaguars within two points, 58-56, with 10:55 to go, but a 15-2 run over the next 4:27 by the Golden Eagles widened the ORU advantage to 73-58 with six and a half minutes to play.

A quick 7-0 IUPUI response over a 1:30 stretch sparked by full-court pressure brought the Jaguars within eight points, 73-65, but ORU came away with a hard-fought 83-70 win.

Nelson’s 22 points marked her second 20-plus point performance of the season, and she was joined in double figures by Collins, who tied a career-high with 13 points.

Both #Del’Niqua Bellamy# and Luster set new career highs in assists with four apiece, while Luster also added a career-best five steals.