Box Score | Box Score (.pdf)

BROOKINGS, S.D. -- Buried under a flurry of three-pointers early and free throws late, the IUPUI women's basketball could not dig out from the holes, suffering a 77-55 loss to South Dakota State on Saturday evening at Frost Arena.  The loss eliminated the Jaguars from the possibility of qualifying for The Summit League Tournament.

IUPUI (3-25, 2-15 Summit) went toe-to-toe with South Dakota State (18-10, 13-4 Summit) early, but quickly fell behind as their two-point baskets were countered with threes from the Jackrabbits.  SDSU opened the game by connecting on 5-of-6 three-point attempts, opening a 17-6 lead after Jill Young nailed a three from the right wing; to that point of the game, the Jacks had five three pointers to one two-point field goal.

Still, the Jaguars kept battling, using layups from Ebony Davis and Kerah Nelson to stay within single digits of SDSU.  Continuing to apply full-court defensive pressure on the Jackrabbits, IUPUI was able to climb within seven, 26-19, after a steal, missed layup and an offensive board and bucket by Clara Mitchell.

However, turnovers plagued IUPUI throughout the game, and a stretch of four turnovers in five possessions helped SDSU rebuild a double-digit lead heading into halftime, as the Jaguars trailed 39-27 as the teams went into the locker room.

16 Jaguar turnovers were turned into 13 points by the Jackrabbits in the half, while the work of Davis, Nelson and Mitchell helped IUPUI control the paint, 18-12.

The theme in the locker room at halftime was to continue applying pressure on the Jacks, as SDSU committed 9 turnovers in the game's first 20 minutes. 

The Jaguars did just that in the opening minutes of the second half, getting a three from Briannica Tye to start the half and coming up with a steal off of full-court pressure, leading to a layup from Nelson, making it 39-32 with just under a minute gone in the second half.

However, South Dakota State began crashing the offensive glass, creating second-chance opportunities and heading to the free-throw line with regularity.  After taking 10 free throws in the first half, SDSU took 21 in the second half, helping them initially hold off IUPUI and eventually pull away and put the game away.

At the same time that the Jackrabbits hit the glass, IUPUI went cold from the floor, getting one field goal in their next 10 trips down the court.  By the time Janna Eichelberger hit a layup with 10:43 to go, the Jaguars trailed by 16, 53-37.

Still, IUPUI had one run left, beginning with Eichelberger's layup.  After a steal, Tye drained a three to bring the deficit to 13, and Nelson corralled an offensive board on the Jags' next trip down the court and hit a layup to make it 55-44 with 9:53 remaining. 

Three minutes later, the Jaguars would put the Jackrabbits into the bonus, and SDSU capitalized, scoring 12 of their final 17 points at the charity stripe.

The loss assured the Jaguars of finishing with the fewest wins and lowest winning percentage in school history.

The Jaguars will wrap up the 2009-10 season on Monday, March 1, when they meet North Dakota State.  Tip-off from the Bison Sports Arena is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET, and Bill Potter will have live coverage of the game on IUPUIJags.com, beginning at 7:50.