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INDIANAPOLIS – Vying for the program’s first win over South Dakota State, the IUPUI women’s basketball team overcame an early 14-point deficit and had a chance to win the game in the final minutes, but the Jackrabbits hit some key shots down the stretch to give them a 67-61 win over the Jags Saturday afternoon at The Jungle.

“The ladies really fought hard in the final minutes and I told them that if they keep fighting, good things will eventually happen,” said head coach Austin Parkinson. “We haven’t been in many late-game situations so the more times we are in these situations, hopefully it will help us break through and get a win.”

Facing a taller frontcourt, the Jags (3-13; 1-5 Summit) outrebounded SDSU (7-10; 3-3 Summit), 37-31, and connected on 23-of-54 shots from the floor, but the Jackrabbits hit nine three’s and outscored IUPUI by 10 points at the free throw line.

“If you look at the game statistically, we won every category except for two as they hit nine three’s and doubled us up at the free throw line,” Parkinson said. “We hit a high percentage of our free throws but we just didn’t get attack the basket enough to get into the bonus earlier in the game, which would have helped us down the stretch.”

Following a one-game absence, Kerah Nelson scored a team-high 17 points and grabbed five rebounds. Nelson’s 17 points are her most since scoring 22 on Dec. 4 vs. Oral Roberts.

Despite finding itself in an early 6-0 hole, the Jags were able to close within two points, 8-6, off a Shea Collins trey from the right corner with 14:40 on the clock.

Over the next 7:30, the Jackrabbits continued to knock down open outside looks with Kristin Rotert and Jill Young each knocking down a pair of treys during an 18-6 run that widened the SDSU lead to 26-12 with seven minutes of action remaining in the opening half.

Just as South Dakota State moved its lead to double figures, IUPUI was able to pick away at its deficit by outscoring the Jackrabbits 14-8 over the final 6:43 to enter halftime trailing by eight points, 34-26. During the Jaguars end-of-half spurt, Nelson and Dawn Luster combined to score 10 of the 14 points, with all of Nelson’s points coming in the paint and all of Luster’s points coming from the free throw line.

The momentum IUPUI picked up from the end of the first half carried into the second half allowing the Jags to take the lead for the first time in the game. A 12-2 run out of halftime, which was capped off by Collins’ third 3-pointer of the day, gave the Jaguars a 38-36 lead with 12:19 on the clock.

South Dakota State’s leading scorer Jennie Sunnarborg and Rotert ended the Jackrabbits’ scoring drought by scoring their next 11 points, but a pair of 3-pointers from Gretchen Gaskin kept the Jags close until a Jasmine Horne fast-break lay-up saw the Jaguars recapture a 50-49 lead with six minutes to play.

Two ties ensued, with the last coming at 55-55 after a Nelson fastbreak lay-up, but a 3-pointer by Jennifer Schuttloffel preceded a Katie Lingle bucket giving SDSU a five-point advantage with just under two minutes to play. The 3-pointer by Schuttloffel was her first shot of the game.

Down the stretch, the Jackrabbits were able to hit enough free throws to hold on to a 67-61 victory.

Rotert led all scorers with 24 points, while Jill Young and Sunnarborg scored 15 and 13 points, respectively.

In 33 minutes of action, Luster scored eight points, dished out a team-high five assists, and grabbed three boards.

“Dawn did a great job getting us into our offense tonight,” Parkinson said. “She did a little bit of everything tonight scoring eight points with five assists and three rebounds.”