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Kerah Nelson
Brian Drumm

ICE COLD FIRST HALF KILLS JAGUARS IN 56-46 LOSS TO UMKC

IUPUI must win the remainder of their games to potentially play in The Summit League Tournament

2/22/2010 9:25:29 PM

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INDIANAPOLIS -- It was Bob Geldof who penned the hit single "I Don't Like Mondays" for the Boomtown Rats, but the IUPUI women's basketball team can certainly relate, as they fell to 0-7 in the back end of Summit League weekends with a 56-46 loss to UMKC on Monday night at The Jungle.

Playing their home finale, IUPUI (3-24, 2-14 Summit) suffered through another first-half cold stretch after taking a 5-0 lead on the back of Briannica Tye.  The 5-foot-2 guard scored the contest's first five points by utilizing her speed, breaking down the UMKC (14-13, 11-5 Summit) defense to kick off the game with a three-point play.

Tye broke past the perimeter defense once more, hitting a runner with 1:52 into the game.  From that moment, however, the Jaguars broke down, committing 12 turnovers over the contest's next 13 minutes.

To compound the mistakes, IUPUI failed to dent the scoreboard for the next 13:12, finally capturing their sixth and seventh points on a jumper from Kerah Nelson at the 4:59 mark of the half.  By that time, however, the Kangaroos had scored 20 straight points to assume control of the game.

The turnovers doomed the Jaguars to their 12th first half of the season in which they failed to crack 20 points; despite forcing 12 Kangaroo turnovers, IUPUI went into the break down 15, 29-14.

Still, despite holding an 0-22 mark when trailing at the half, the Jaguars kept fighting, scoring the first four points of the half to close within 11 and force UMKC into a quick timeout.

"We talked in the locker room about eliminating our mistakes," IUPUI head coach Shann Hart said.  "While the first half was difficult, we knew we could get back into the game if we executed - especially on the offensive end - by not forcing things."

Slowing the tempo, IUPUI began to chip away at the double-digit deficit, using two Mariah Fleming three-pointers to come within 7, 43-36, with 8:46 remaining.

The Kangaroos countered with a three in the corner by Heather Davis as the shot clock wore down, reestablishing the 10-point UMKC lead, but the Jags had one last push in them though, scoring seven straight points, capped by a Nelson three from the wing, that made it a two-possession game, 48-43, with 5:31 showing on the clock.

However, the mistakes that have plagued IUPUI throughout the year came back in the end, as five turnovers down the stretch prevented the Jaguars from putting more points on the board.  The toughest turnover came on a charge call against Janna Eichelberger with 1:20 to play; Eichelberger's layup was waived off, which would have given IUPUI a chance to turn a 52-43 deficit into a two-possession game.

Instead, UMKC converted on late layup by LeAndrea Thomas before Tye connected on a deep three to close the scoring.

Nelson led the Jaguars with 12 points, while Tye added 11.  IUPUI held Chazny Morris, UMKC's leading scorer, to 14 points on 4-of-11 shooting.

IUPUI will be in action on Saturday, Feb. 27, when they head to Brookings, S.D., for a meeting with South Dakota State.  The Jaguars will need victories at both South Dakota State and North Dakota State, along with Southern Utah losses, in order to qualify for The Summit League Tournament.  

Tip-off from Frost Arena is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. EST, with Scott McCauley's pregame show beginning at approximately 5:50 p.m. on IUPUIJags.com. 
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