INDIANAPOLIS - IUPUI plays its final home game in January when it welcomes North Dakota State to the Jungle for a 2 p.m. tip on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day (Jan. 17). Admission for all fans is free for Monday’s game.

·         The Jags hit the road for their lengthiest trip of the season beginning with a game at Southern Utah on Saturday, Jan. 22.

·         IUPUI then heads off to Kansas City, Mo. to meet UMKC on Monday, Jan. 24.

·         Saturday’s game time is set for 7 p.m., while Monday’s start will be at 8 p.m.

·         Vying for the program’s first win over South Dakota State, IUPUI 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 on Saturday.

·         Facing a taller front court, the Jags outrebounded SDSU, 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.

·         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.

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

·         Despite a career-high 34 points by Abby Plucker, North Dakota State dropped a 68-66 decision to Western Illinois in its last outing on Saturday, Jan. 15, as it fell to 7-9 overall and 3-3 in Summit League play.

·         Leading the team offensively is the third-highest scoring duo in the conference in Katie Birkel and Plucker. Birkel is averaging a team-high 15.1 ppg, while Plucker is close behind at 14.4 ppg.

·         On the glass, Plucker leads the team and the conference in rebounding averaging 9.9 boards per game. In conference-only play, she is the only player averaging a double-double, leading the Summit League in scoring (21.8 ppg) and rebounding (10.0 rpg).

·         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.

Below are where IUPUI players rank among the Top 10 in Summit League statistical categories (overall/conference):

.. Rebounding.................................. Janna Eichelberger (8th, 6.8)

.. Rebounding.................................. Janna Eichelberger (T-6th, 7.0)

·         In Summit League play, freshman point guard Dawn Luster has seen her productivity increase along with increased minutes.

·         In IUPUI’s last outing vs. South Dakota State, Luster contributed in all facets of the game scoring eight points, dishing out five assists, and grabbing three rebounds in 33 minutes of play.

·         In 23.5 minutes during conference games, Luster is averaging 5.0 ppg, 3.5 apg, 2.5 rpg, and 2.0 spg.

·         More importantly as a point guard, she owns an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.2.

·         Following a one-game absence, Kerah Nelson bounced back in impressive fashion against the Jackrabbits on Jan. 15.

·         Nelson scored 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting and grabbed five rebounds in the hard-fought loss.

·         It was Nelson’s highest scoring output since scoring 22 points vs. Oral Roberts on Dec. 4, 2010.

·         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 212 points and in the first five minutes of games, opponents have outscored the Jags by 52 points (126-74).

·         During that opening five-minute stretch, the Jaguars have also been careless with the ball averaging 3.5 turnovers.

·         Finally, opponents are shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three, while IUPUI is shooting just 32.7 percent from inside the arc and 28.0 percent from behind-the-arc.

·         The slow starts have been more evident over the last six games as the Jags have been outscored, 48-17.

·         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.

·         IUPUI has played six games in conference action with four of those coming at home.

·         The Jags have fared pretty well at home, posting a 1-3 record, which includes a 13-point loss to first-place Oral Roberts, a one-point defeat to Western Illinois, and a six-point loss to South Dakota State.

·         In The Jungle, IUPUI is averaging 63.8 ppg, while shooting 47.0 percent from the floor and 36.9 percent from three in its four home conference games.

·         In those four tilts, Shea Collins is leading the team in scoring, averaging 13.8 ppg off the bench. She is also shooting a blistering 47.1 percent (16-of-34) from three.

·         The Jaguars have also had an inside game in front of the home crowd as Kerah Nelson and Janna Eichelberger are averaging 21.8 ppg and 12.5 rpg. The rebounding between the duo has helped IUPUI own a slight 31.8 to 29.8 rebounding edge.