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INDIANAPOLIS – Sophomore
Kerah Nelson scored 14 of her team-high 19 points in the second half leading a furious rally, but the IUPUI women’s basketball team fell just short in its bid for a victory dropping a Summit League decision to North Dakota State, 63-58, Monday afternoon at the Jungle.
Nelson connected on all six of her field goal attempts in the second half en route to her team-high scoring output and she was joined in double figures by
Jasmine Horne, who chipped in 10 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
“Kerah did a nice job and she played well without turning it over,” said head coach
Austin Parkinson. “We were trying to get the ball to her inside and when she got the ball she converted.”
Unfortunately for the Jags, they were unable to overcome a 23-2 run from the Bison spanning from the 4:42 mark at the end of the first half until the 15:48 mark of the second half. During that run, IUPUI hit just 1-of-15 attempts from the floor reversing a four-point lead into a 17-point deficit.
“Defensively, we are not executing well enough, but I thought a couple of the ladies really stood out tonight,” Parkinson added. “Kerah Nelson continues to get better,
Shakeeta Cotton, Jasmine Horne, and
Demetria Nunley-Lash played extremely hard, but as a collective group we have to have more focus on what we are doing.”
The first half consisted of four major runs, two coming from each squad. Trailing 6-2 following the first media timeout, the Jags used a seven-point run behind an easy fastbreak lay-up off a steal from
Gretchen Gaskin, and consecutive buckets by Horne to place them on top, 9-6, at the 13:14 mark.
North Dakota State used a 9-1 response to recapture a five-point lead, 15-10, and kept that cushion until there was a little more than seven and half minutes to play.
A quick 9-0 spurt by IUPUI from the 7:36 mark to the 4:43 mark, which featured baskets by four different players, catapulted the Jaguars back on top, 24-20, but the Bison jabbed back with a 10-2 run in the final four minutes to take a 30-26 lead into halftime.
Out of the half, the Jags couldn’t buy a basket missing its first nine looks. Meanwhile, the Bison hit five of their first six shots and a pair of free throws during IUPUI’s shooting drought, pushing their halftime lead of four points to 17 points, 43-26, just 4:30 into the second half.
Still trailing by 15 points with 7:30 to play, a Nunley-Lash jumper from the top of the key kick started a 9-2 run trimming the Jags deficit to single digits, 45-53, with 5:09 remaining.
North Dakota State held its lead at eight points with 3:21 on the clock, but Nelson outscored the Bison 7-2 over the next 2:43, bringing IUPUI within one possession, 59-56, with 47 seconds remaining.
Unfortunately for the Jaguars, Abby Plucker knocked down four free throws in the final seconds securing a 63-58 road victory for the Bison.
Free throws proved to be the difference in the game as both IUPUI and NDSU hit 24 shots, including five three’s, but North Dakota State outscored the Jaguars 10-5 at the charity stripe.
“Every game we are behind the eight ball at the free throw line and at the end of the day we have to find a way to get to the line, especially at home,” Parkinson said. “We need to have an attacking mentality and in these end of game situations we have to become tougher.”
Danielle DeGagne led all scorers with 22 points, while Plucker methodically scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
IUPUI begins a three-game road trip on Saturday, Jan. 22, when it heads to Cedar City, Utah, to take on Southern Utah at 7 p.m. Scott Taylor will have the call on IUPUIJags.com.
