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JAGS RESUME LEAGUE PLAY VS. LEATHERNECKS ON SATURDAY

IUPUI looks to improve to 2-1 when it welcomes Western Illinois for a New Year's Eve Clash

12/30/2011 9:00:00 AM

By: John Berry, IUPUI Sports Information
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INDIANAPOLIS - After nearly a month break, IUPUI returns to Summit League action on Saturday, Dec. 31, when it hosts Western Illinois in a New Year’s Eve clash at 2 p.m. inside The Jungle.
 
SCOUTING THE LEATHERNECKS
  • Western Illinois comes into the weekend with a 4-8 overall record and a 1-1 conference mark.
  • A 21-point win over William Woods in its last game snapped a four-game losing skid for WIU.
  • Sadie Webb leads the team in scoring averaging 14.4 ppg and is one of three players scoring in double figures for the Leathernecks.
  • On the season, WIU is being outscored, 77.3 to 64.5, and its opponents are shooting 45.7 % from the floor and 35.1 % from three.
  • The Leathernecks average 38.5 rpg and Michele Salvatori leads them corralling 8.1 per game.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST WESTERN ILLINOIS
  • The Leathernecks lead the all-time series against IUPUI, 22-6, and have won the last four meetings.
  • IUPUI’s last win in the series came by a 59-43 margin on Feb. 28, 2009 in Macomb, Ill.
  • The Jaguars last home win came on Dec. 6, 2008.
  • When playing in Indianapolis, IUPUI is 5-8 against the Leathernecks.
 
A LOOK BACK AT THE LAST GAME
  • Kerah Nelson scored a season-high 27 points, Katie Comello broke out of her shooting slump with 14 points, and Claire Holba scored a career-high 13 points helping the IUPUI women’s basketball team snap a five-game losing skid with a 82-43 win over Marygrove College in non-conference action Wednesday evening inside The Jungle.
  • IUPUI’s 82-point outing marks its highest scoring output since scoring 97 points against Centenary on Feb. 18, 2008, and its 39-point victory over the Mustangs equal its largest margin of victory since that same night back in 2008 when IUPUI downed the Ladies by 52 points.
  • Nelson’s 27 points came in only 16 minutes of action as she scored 12 points in the opening 4:33 of the game, before scoring 13 of IUPUI’s first 17 points in the opening 8:33 of the second half.
  • The Jaguars outrebounded the Mustangs 50-28 and posted 15 steals en route to turning Marygrove College over 28 times.
  • Nevena Markovic paced the squad with a career-high 11 rebounds, her second double-figure rebounding game of the season, helping the Jags to their largest rebounding total since grabbing 55 nearly one year ago against Western Illinois.
  • Offensively, the Jaguars consistently made the extra pass all night long leading to a scoring edge of 54-26 in points in the paint, and that was partially due to the career-high tying seven assists from Dawn Luster and six assists from Comello.
  • Nelson, who has been IUPUI’s leading scorer over the past three games averaging a hair over 20 points per game, started the game right where she left off scoring the Jaguars first 12 points as they led 12-7 five minutes in.
  • With Nelson getting a breather on the sidelines, Holba came in and chipped in five points in a 1:26 span, helping the Jags widen their lead to 13 points, 23-10, with 8:52 to play, before the Mustangs shrunk their deficit to nine points, 23-14, with 8:30 remaining forcing Parkinson to use a timeout.
  • Comello exploded for eight points in the final 1:22, which included her first two three-pointers in nearly three weeks, helping the Jaguars double up the Mustangs, 42-21, entering the half.
  • Starting the second half with a 21-point lead, IUPUI came out flat and Marygrove went on a 7-2 run forcing Parkinson to call his second timeout.
  • Out of the timeout, Nelson took over just like she did in the first half scoring 11 of the Jags next 15 points pushing the lead to 27 points, 59-32, at the 11:26 mark.
  • From that point, IUPUI went on an 18-3 run with Holba scoring eight points and Clara Mitchell scoring six points during the surge and IUPUI coasted to an 82-43 win as it improved to 5-8 on the season, one more win than the Jaguars posted a season ago.
  • On the heels of a career-high 13 points and career-high tying nine rebounds against Butler a week ago, Mitchell put together another solid outing with eight points and eight rebounds in 15 minutes of work.
 
CAREER NUMBERS VS. WIU
  • The Jaguars have five players who have played against Western Illinois in their careers. Those players are Janna Eichelberger, Kerah Nelson, Clara Mitchell, Dawn Luster, and #Del’Niqua Bellamy#.
  • Nelson owns the highest scoring average against the Leathernecks averaging 11.3 ppg in four meetings. However, last season, Nelson averaged 18.5 ppg against WIU in two tilts.
  • Janna Eichelberger has played against WIU six times and is averaging 5.0 ppg in her career against the Leathernecks.
  • Clara Mitchell averaged 5.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.0 bpg, and 1.0 spg in her career against WIU.
 
RETURNING TO FORM
  • After two tough outings against South Dakota State and Southern Illinois in which she went a combined 4-of-16 from the floor, Kerah Nelson has returned to form in the Jaguars last four outings.
  • Including the Indiana game on Dec. 11, Nelson has notched four straight double-figure scoring games, scoring over 18 points in all four contests, and is averaging 22.0 ppg during that stretch.
  • The St. Petersburg, Fla.-native started with a then-season-high tying 25 points against the Hoosiers, before scoring 18 points apiece against Eastern Illinois (Dec. 17) and Butler (Dec. 21).
  • Against Marygrove College on Dec. 28, Nelson was extremely efficient hitting 10-of-14 field goal attempts en route to a season-best 27 points in just 16 minutes of work.
  • During this four-game stretch, Nelson is 31-of-59 (52.5 %) from the floor and 23-of-25 from the line (92.0 %).
  • Nelson is also snatching 6.0 rebounds per game since Dec. 11, including back-to-back nine rebound performances against the Panthers and Bulldogs.
 
CASHING IN ON FREE THROWS
  • Over the first seven games of the season, IUPUI struggled as a team with free throws hitting just 60.0 percent of its attempts (60-of-100).
  • However, in its last six games, the Jaguars have greatly improved hitting 78-of-106 attempts from the charity stripe dating back to Dec. 2.
  • Part of the reason for the Jaguars success at the line has been Kerah Nelsons effectiveness at getting to the line and cashing in.
  • Against Indiana, Kerah Nelson led IUPUI in scoring with 25 points and hit all 12 of her free throw attempts against the Hoosiers, making her the first player in over seven years to go perfect from the line for a game attempting a minimum of 10 shots.
  • The last IUPUI player to achieve the feat was Karima Davies, who went 10-of-10 against Eastern Illinois on Dec. 4, 2004.
  • After starting the season 10-of-18 from the line, Nelson is 31 for her last 33 (93.9 percent) from the line and at one point hit 20 straight.
 
BENGE GETS THE CALL
  • When Stan Benge joined the IUPUI women’s basketball program in June of 2011, head coach Austin Parkinson said that Benge’s accomplishments as the head coach of the Ben Davis High School women’s basketball program would someday land him in the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.
  • Parkinson’s words came true on Dec. 26 as the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame announced that Benge was one of the 11 women and men selected for the 2012 Women’s Induction Class into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. The induction will take place on April 28, 2012.
  • “It is an honor to be inducted to the Hall of Fame not only for me but every coach, player, and administrator that was a part of the success,” Benge said.
  • “What a tremendous and deserving honor for Stan,” Parkinson said. “Clearly he’ll go down in Indiana High School basketball history as one of greatest coaches of all time. But what truly makes him a Hall of Famer is the lasting impact he has had on the ladies who have gone through his program both on and off the court.”
  • In 25 seasons as the leader of the Ben Davis women’s basketball program, Benge posted an impressive winning percentage of .820 (519-126) en route to capturing 11 regional and five semi-state titles, four 4A Indiana High School Athletic Association state championships, and one national championship in 2009.
  • His 519 wins are unparalleled in program history and his long list of coaching accolades began in 1990 when he was named the District 3 Coach of the Year, before repeating the distinction two years later in 1992.
  • However, Benge earned national recognition in 2009 when he was named the Naismith Coach of the Year and USA Today Coach of the Year for girls basketball after leading his squad to a perfect 30-0 record culminating in his third state title and first national championship.
  • One year later, Benge was named the 2010 MaxPreps.com National Coach of the Year while leading Ben Davis to its second straight state championship.   
  • From 2008-2011 his teams won 81 consecutive games, the longest streak in Indiana high school boys or girls basketball history.
  • In a quarter century on the sidelines at Ben Davis, Benge coached 11 Indiana All-Stars, 11 all-state, and four All-American selections.
  • Benge is in his first season as an assistant for the Jaguars women’s basketball program and has helped IUPUI already match its win total from the 2010-11 season.
 
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