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JAGS RETURN TO NON-CONFERENCE PLAY THURSDAY AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS

Jaguars and Salukis tip at 8 p.m. ET and Scott Taylor will be on the call on IUPUIJags.com

12/6/2011 11:10:00 AM

By: John Berry, IUPUI Sports Information
Game Notes | Live Stats | Listen Live
 
INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI women’s basketball team will be making its only trip outside Indianapolis city limits on Thursday, when it travels to Carbondale, Ill., to take on Southern Illinois from the Missouri Valley Conference.
 
Tip is set for 8 p.m. ET and Scott Taylor will have the call on IUPUIJags.com.
 
SCOUTING THE SALUKIS
  • Southern Illinois enters the week with a 2-4 overall record following a 70-60 overtime loss to SIU-Edwardsville on Saturday, Dec. 3.
  • The Salukis have two players scoring in double figures led by Teri Oliver’s 18.0 ppg.
  • Cartaesha Macklin is second on the team in scoring at 14.0 ppg.
  • Despite averaging 19.0 turnovers per game, the Salukis own a positive turnover margin on the season forcing their opponents to commit an average of 20.8 turnovers per game.
  • As a team, Southern Illinois is shooting 35.8 percent from the floor, 28.7 percent from three, and 69.2 percent from the charity stripe, while averaging 40.0 rebounds per game.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
  • Thursday’s meeting against the Salukis is the second meeting between the schools all-time and the second in as many seasons.
  • Last year, IUPUI won the first meeting, 65-48, at The Jungle behind a 17-point, 10-rebound effort from Janna Eichelberger.
 
PACK THE HOUSE
  • On Sunday, Dec. 11, the IUPUI women’s basketball team welcomes the Indiana Hoosiers to The Jungle for the first time in program history.
  • The Jags are looking to “Pack the House” against IU and need the fans to come out and be loud as IUPUI looks to pick up a big win.
  • Fans can go here to print off a certificate that will allow them to enter for $2.
 
A LOOK BACK AT THE LAST GAME
  • Behind a second-half surge, the Jackrabbits downed the Jaguars, 74-63 in Summit League action Friday evening at The Jungle.
  • The win improved SDSU’s early conference mark to 2-0, while the Jags fell to 1-1.
  • The Jackrabbits hurt IUPUI at the free throw hitting 25-of-30 attempts, while the Jags hit just 15-of-20. SDSU only outscored IUPUI by three in second chance points, but it clearly dominated the battle of the boards, 41-29.
  • IUPUI shot 46.2 percent (12-of-26) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, but the Jackrabbits neutralized the Jags strong shooting by hitting 12-of-14 attempts from the charity stripe thanks in part to reaching the bonus with 12:23 mark to play in the first half.
  • The scoring pace slowed down after an up-and-down first eight minutes and with the score tied for the seventh time of the first half at 26-26, IUPUI pulled ahead using three points in the final four minutes from Del’Niqua Bellamy to help take a 31-30 lead into the break.
  • Out of halftime, South Dakota State hit four of its first five shots, including a trey from Sunnarborg, forcing Parkinson to use a timeout as the Jackrabbits jumped back in front, 39-36, with just over 17:00 to play.
  • After a Bellamy bucket brought IUPUI within one point, 42-41, at the 15:15 mark, a 9-0 run over the next 4:33 widened the Jackrabbits lead to double figures, 51-41.
  • IUPUI struggled to get its deficit below eight points until five straight points by Nevena Markovic spurred a 7-0 run closing the Jaguars within seven, 66-59, with 2:20 on the clock.
  • However, down the stretch the Jackrabbits connected on 8-of-10 free throws and on the other end IUPUI could not hit any three-pointers ultimately resulting in a 74-63 win for South Dakota State.
  • Katie Comello led IUPUI with 17 points, while Janna Eichelberger and Markovic also reached double digits with 13 points and 10 points, respectively. Markovic fell one rebound shy of her second double-double of the season with a game-high nine, while Emily Phillips dished out a career-best eight assists in defeat.
  • Sunnarborg led four double-figure SDSU scorers with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting.
 
THE LAST TIME ...
  • With the win in its Summit League opener against North Dakota State, IUPUI picked up its fourth win of the season and moved to 1-0 in the conference.
  • The four wins in November matched the Jaguars win total from the entire 2010-11 season.
  • The last time the Jaguars boasted a winning record entering December was back during the 2008-09 season, when IUPUI was 4-3 entering the final month of the calendar year.
  • That same year was the last time the Jags won their Summit League opener.
  • The Jags are in search of their fifth win of the season on Thursday, which would surpass their win total from last season.
 
EICHELBERGER RETURNS
  • After missing the first six games due to injury, Janna Eichelberger made her return to the court on Nov. 30 against North Dakota State.
  • Last season, Eichelberger was second on the team in scoring and rebounding, so having her come off the bench was an added boost for head coach Austin Parkinson.
  • Eichelberger scored four points in her return against NDSU, before notching her first double-digit scoring effort of the season against SDSU with 13 points.
  • Eichelberger also grabbed five boards and added two blocks and a steal against the Jackrabbits.
 
DEFENSE IS THE BEST OFFENSE
  • One of the keys to IUPUI’s second-half comeback win over North Dakota State on Nov. 30 was its ability to get out into transition and score.
  • The Jaguars outscored the Bison 10-0 in fast break points on the game, proving to be the difference.
  • On the season, IUPUI has outscored its opponents in fast break points seven times and has scored eight or more fast break points five times.
  • The Jags average 7.7 fast break points per game compared to 4.1 for their opponents.
 
FACILITATING THE OFFENSE
  • Emily Phillips is in her first season with IUPUI after sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer rules.
  • As the team’s point guard, Phillips struggled taking care of the ball committing 18 turnovers while dishing out just 11 assists in the team’s first four games.
  • However, over the last four games that trend has gone through a 180-degree transformation.
  • Since taking on Kansas, Phillips has posted 20 assists compared to just eight turnovers, including dishing out a season-high eight assists against three turnovers in the team’s last outing against South Dakota State.
  • On the season, she now owns an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.2 and leads the team in assists averaging 3.9 apg.
 
KERAH AND KATIE
  • Kerah Nelson and Katie Comello come into Thursday’s contest as IUPUI’s leading scorers averaging 13.8 ppg and 13.0 ppg, respectively.
  • Comello and Nevena Markovic have scored in double figures six times this season, while Nelson has scored in double digits five times.
  • However, Comello, Nelson, and Markovic have scored in double figures in each of IUPUI’s four wins.
  • In IUPUI’s win over St. Francis (NY) on Saturday, Nov. 19, Comello and Nelson scored 25 points and 23 points, respectively, leading the Jaguars to a 75-56 win over the Terriers.
  • With Comello and Nelson both surpassing 20 points, it marked the first time since Feb. 16, 2008, that the Jags had multiple players score over 20 points in a game.
  • Julia Whitted and Jernisha Cann were the last duo to accomplish the feat scoring 26 points and 21 points, respectively, in a 69-66 win over Oral Roberts.
  • Nelson and Comello came close to repeating that feat in the Jags 27-point win over Lamar on Nov. 27, with Nelson scoring 22 points and Comello pouring in 17 points, and continued to lead the team in scoring combining for 30 of IUPUI’s 49 points in the Summit League opener against North Dakota State.
 
SCORING SPARK
  • In the first eight games of her career, Nevena Markovic has been a spark off the bench for the Jaguars.
  • In her collegiate debut, she came off the bench and scored 11 of her team-high 14 points in the first half against the nationally-ranked Boilermakers on 4-of-9 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from downtown.
  • The Wheaton, Ill.-native accounted for half of the Jags first-half point total as they trailed then-No. 21 Purdue 28-22 at the half and her 14 points were the most points scored by a freshman in her debut since Janna Eichelberger scored 15 points in her first game against Northern Illinois on Nov. 14, 2008.
  • Markovic has scored in double-figures six times this season, including twice in the BTI Classic.
  • In the BTI Classic opener, she scored 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting and grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds en route to her first career double-double.
  • In her Summit League-debut, Markovic carried the Jags in the first half scoring eight of her 11 points in the opening 20 minutes before her teammates rallied to her side in the second half to pick up the win.
  • On the season she is third on the team in scoring averaging 10.5 ppg, while shooting 44.8 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from three. She is second on the team in rebounding pulling down 5.8 rpg.
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