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INDIANAPOLIS - Following a tough three-game road trip last week, IUPUI looks to get back on the winning track when it hosts South Dakota State at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 15.Saturday’s contest between the Jaguars and the Jackrabbits will be the first game of a men’s and women’s doubleheader, with head coach Ron Hunter’s men’s team taking on SDSU at 7 p.m.
UP NEXT
· The Jags host North Dakota in a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day matinee at 2 p.m. in The Jungle.
· Admission to Monday’s contest will be free for all fans.
LAST TIME OUT ...
· Following a slow start offensively, the IUPUI women’s basketball team battled back to take the lead midway through the first half, but a 20-4 run to close the first half by Oakland gave the Golden Grizzlies a double-figure lead that it would not relinquish as Oakland defeated IUPUI, 73-50, at the Athletics Center O’rena.
· Janna Eichelberger paced the Jaguars in scoring and rebounding with 13 points and nine rebounds, while Malika Glover scored 13 of her game-high 16 points in the first half to lead Oakland.
· Defensively, IUPUI held the Summit League’s second-leading scorer, Bethany Watterworth, to 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting in addition to holding Oakland to 18.2 percent shooting (2-of-11) from behind-the-arc.
· IUPUI got off to another slow start on the offensive end of the floor, but played tight defense on the Golden Grizzlies to stay close early.
· Oakland held a 10-3 lead approaching the second media timeout as IUPUI went 1-for-8 from the floor during that stretch, but Kayla Cripe drilled consecutive buckets on back-to-back possessions, including a 3-pointer from the top of the key, to quickly bring the Jaguars within two points, 10-8, with 11:31 to play in the half.
· Buckets from Eichelberger and Dawn Luster at 10:05 and 9:33, respectively, capped off a 10-0 run that placed the Jags in front 12-10, the Jaguars first lead of the game.
· After another Eichelberger basket kept the IUPUI lead at two points, 14-12, with 8:36 on the clock, six Jags turnovers coupled with 2-of-13 shooting over the final eight and half minutes allowed the Golden Grizzlies to close the half on a 20-4 run as Oakland took a 32-18 lead into the half.
· Out of the half, Eichelberger scored IUPUI’s first seven points, but that come over a 9:37 stretch that saw the Golden Grizzlies widen their 14-point halftime lead to 20 points, 45-25.
· Trailing by 21 points with 9:44 on the clock, IUPUI used a quick 7-0 run over the next 2:01, which included a 3-pointer by Shakeeta Cotton, to close within 14 points, 49-35, with 7:43 to play.
· Down the stretch, however, Oakland connected on some timely buckets while knocking down some free throws and closed out a 73-50 win over the Jaguars as it improved to 11-6 overall and 5-1 in Summit League play.
ABOUT THE JACKRABBITS
· South Dakota State upped its record to 6-10 overall and 2-3 in Summit League action with a dominating 89-37 win over Centenary on Monday, Jan. 10.
· Jennie Sunnarborg, who leads SDSU in scoring averaging 13.3 ppg, led the Jackrabbits over the Ladies with 17 points and eight rebounds in just 22 minutes of action.
· Sunnarborg’s 13.3 ppg ranks ninth in overall games in the conference, while her .565 shooting clip sits first in the league.
· As a team, SDSU’s 44.1-percent shooting from the floor ranks best in the league, while its field goal percentage defense clip of .397 ranks second in the conference.
· Defensively, the Jackrabbits block over 4.0 shots per game, but they rank last in the Summit League in turnover margin.
SCHEDULE UPDATES
· IUPUI has set its game time for Martin Luther King, Jr., Day against North Dakota State for 2 p.m., at The Jungle.
· The IUPUI Athletics Department also announced changes to the basketball schedule for the month of February, affecting both the men’s and women’s slate.
· IUPUI will now host Oakland University in a doubleheader at Conseco Fieldhouse on Feb. 5.
· The women’s game will start at 4:30 and be followed by the men’s contest at 7 p.m..
· Originally, the women’s game was to be played in The Jungle on Saturday, Feb. 5 and the men’s game was going to be on Sunday, Feb. 6 at Conseco at 1:30 p.m.
STARTING BLOCKS
· One of the things that have hurt the Jaguars up to the midway point of the season is getting off to slow starts.
· For the year, IUPUI has been outscored by 206 points and in the first five minutes of games, opponents have outscored the Jags by 49 points (120-71).
· During that opening five-minute stretch, the Jaguars have also been careless with the ball averaging 3.7 turnovers.
· Finally, opponents are shooting 48.1 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from three, while IUPUI is shooting just 34.4 percent from inside the arc and 29.1 percent from behind-the-arc.
· The slow starts have been more evident over the last five games as the Jags have been outscored, 42-14.
· Due in part to struggling in the opening stages of the games, IUPUI has only held three halftime leads this season, but the Jags are 2-1 when leading at the half. Its lone loss when leading at the half came at the hands of Western Illinois, 51-50.
BACK IN THE JUNGLE
· IUPUI has played five games in conference action with three of those coming at home.
· The Jags have fared pretty well at home, posting a 1-2 record, which includes a 13-point loss to first-place Oral Roberts and a one-point defeat to Western Illinois.
· In The Jungle, IUPUI is averaging 64.7 ppg, while shooting 48.4 percent from the floor and 35.8 percent from three in its three home conference games.
· In those three tilts, Shea Collins is leading the team in scoring, averaging 15.3 ppg off the bench. She is also shooting a blistering 46.4 percent (13-of-28) from three.
· The Jaguars have also had an inside game in front of the home crowd as Kerah Nelson and Janna Eichelberger are averaging 21.7 ppg and 13.0 rpg. The rebounding between the duo has helped IUPUI own a slight 30.0 to 29.3 rebounding edge.
CONFERENCE-ONLY LEADERS
· Five games into the conference season, six IUPUI players rank among the Top 10 in nine statistical categories in Summit League-only action..
· Shea Collins is tied for ninth in the Summit League in 3-point field goal percentage (.419), while her 2.6 treys per game are tied for second.
· Janna Eichelberger ranks among the league’s best in two categories. Eichelberger is eighth in rebounding (7.2 rpg) and is sixth in defensive rebounds (5.6).
· Kerah Nelson finds herself in the Top 3 in field goal percentage ranking third at a .588 clip.
· Dawn Luster ranks among the league leaders in assists (t-7th, 3.2), while fellow freshman Del’Niqua Bellamy is tied for ninth with 2.0 steals per game.
· Clara Mitchell is the newest addition to this group ranking in two categories. Mitchell is tied for seventh in offensive rebounds (2.5), and tied for 10th in blocks (1.0).
MID-SEASON ADDITION
· Junior Kayla Cripe saw her first action in an IUPUI uniform against Western Illinois on Dec. 31 after transferring from Kankakee Community College.
· In two seasons at Kankakee CC, Cripe averaged 9.8 ppg and 6.9 rpg in 70 contests.
· During the 2008-09 season, Cripe helped lead Kankakee to a fifth-place finish in the NJCAA Division II women’s basketball championship and was named to the All-Tournament Team.
· During that season, she nearly averaged a double-double in 35 games scoring 12.6 ppg and grabbing 9.8 rpg.
· In 2009-10, Cripe averaged 9.8 ppg and 6.9 rpg as the team finished fourth in the NJCAA Division II women’s basketball championships.
· Cripe scored her first two points in an IUPUI uniform in a loss at Murray State on Jan. 4 in 10 minutes of play and has played in the Jags’ last four games.
· She came off the bench and provided an offensive spark in the first half connecting on two shots, including her first career 3-pointer, and finished with five points and four rebounds in 10 minutes of play.
