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INDIANAPOLIS -- The consequences were clear: a loss would eliminate the IUPUI women's basketball team from a chance at postseason play.  Instead, the Jaguars dup deep and hung on for a tough 59-55 win over Southern Utah Saturday night at The Jungle.

IUPUI (3-23, 2-13 Summit) closed within two games of Southern Utah (6-20, 4-11 Summit) with the win; the Jaguars will need to win at least two of their next three games while needing the Thunderbirds to drop their remaining games down the stretch.

"We know we're behind the eight ball," IUPUI head coach Shann Hart said following the game.  "But for us, every game the rest of the way will be like playing in the [Summit League] tournament, so if we can get in, we'll be battle-tested."

The Jaguars nearly led wire-to-wire, trailing 5-4 early, before opening as much as a 14-point lead midway through the first half.  After a Challis Pascucci free throw knotted the game at 6, the Jags scored 11 of the game's next 13 points, opening a 22-8 lead with 9:05 to go in the half on an Elizabeth Mercer three from the left wing.

The IUPUI lead hovered in the teens for much of the half, until turnovers began to rear their ugly head for the Jaguars.  Three miscues down the stretch allowed the Thunderbirds to whittle the Jags' lead to a half dozen at the intermission, 31-25.

"I was happy we came out aggressively," Hart said.  "We have had a nasty habit of letting other teams dictate tempo on us of late."

"By the end of the game, though, you could tell that we haven't played many close games this season."

As both teams struggled to find their offense throughout the half, the Jaguars were able to dodge several Southern Utah chances to tie or take the lead.  It was the IUPUI defense that clamped down midway through the half, holding the T'Birds without a field goal for a 9-minute, 3-second stretch.

However, a 7:25 field-goal drought kept the Jaguars from pulling away; when Janna Eichelberger connected on a layup with 4:40 to go, IUPUI led, 44-39.  Four Kerah Nelson free throws gave the Jags a six-point edge on two occasions, but Southern Utah kept coming at IUPUI, closing within four with under two minutes left, utilizing the offensive glass to create multiple scoring chances.

Consversely, IUPUI struggled to generate second-chance offense, grabbing just five offensvie boards in the game.  

It was the fifth offensive board of the game that may have proven the difference in the game.

With the shot clock ticking down, a jumper from Kerah Nelson came off the rim, and following a scramble for the loose ball, Nelson came away with the board - her 10th of the contest.  The freshman hit fellow classmate Briannica Tye, who drilled a three to put IUPUI ahead, 51-44, with 1:36 showing on the clock.

From there, Southern Utah was forced to foul, as the Jaguars went 7-for-11 from the charity stripe down the stretch to help seal the game.

However, the end was not without excitement, as two late Thunderbird threes brought the Jaguar lead down to 57-55 with 12.3 ticks remaining on the clock.  An errant inbounds pass gave Caitlyn Sears a clean look at a game-tying layup, but the ball hung on the rim before rolling away and into the arms of Ebony Davis.

Davis, a 47.7-percent free throw shooter entering the game, drained both to seal the win.

Nelson was 4-of-7 from the field, but went 11-for-12 from the charity stripe to lead all scorers with 19 points, to go along with her 10 boards.  Davis chipped in with 12, while Eichelberger added 11.

Challis Pasccuci and Sears each had double-doubles for the Thunderbirds, as Pasccucci posted 17 points and 15 boards, while Sears finished with 19 points and 11 caroms.

Prior to the game, IUPUI honored Nelson, Eichelberger and senior Farren Stackhouse, along with hosting the WBCA Pink Zone contest.  Nelson received the team's Shannon McPherson Award, while Eichelberger was the recipient of the Emily Seiler Award.

The Jaguars will be back in action on Monday, Feb. 22, when they host UMKC.  Tip-off from The Jungle is slated for 7 p.m., and fans can follow all the action on IUPUIJags.com, with Scott Taylor on the call of the game beginning at approximately 6:50 p.m. ET.