INDIANAPOLIS - After having its game against Savannah State cancelled due to inclement weather on Tuesday, Feb. 1, IUPUI will play its first game in a week when it hosts Oakland on Saturday, Feb. 5, at 4:30 p.m. in Conseco Fieldhouse. Saturday’s match-up in Conseco Fieldhouse will be the second regular-season game the women’s basketball squad has played at Conseco Fieldhouse.

·         IUPUI welcomes in-state foe IPFW to The Jungle for a 7 p.m. tip on Monday, Feb. 7.

·         For the first time in more than two seasons, IUPUI women’s corralled more than 50 rebounds providing the team extra possessions and a chance to win the game in the final minute. However, Western Illinois hit some late free throws in an offensive struggle to defeat the Jaguars, 48-43, Saturday (Jan. 29) at Waste Management Court at Western Hall.

·         Kerah Nelson entered the game as IUPUI’s leading scorer but was held scoreless, but the Jaguars bench picked up the scoring load led by Janna Eichelberger and Shea Collins, who scored 15 points and nine points, respectively.

·         In addition to her 15 points, Eichelberger added 12 rebounds for her third double-double of the season and led to Jags to a 55-37 edge on the glass, marking the first time since Nov. 25, 2008, that IUPUI grabbed 50-plus rebounds in a game.

·         The first half was an offensive struggle with both teams combining to shoot 24.5 percent from the field.

·         IUPUI fell behind 9-2 over the first eight minutes hitting just 1-of-10 shots from the floor while committing seven turnovers.

·         The Jags bench play came into the game and got the offensive going as Gretchen Gaskin facilitated some offense finding Collins for a jumper and Eichelberger for a lay-up, which started a 10-0 run from the 11:58 mark to the 7:51 mark.

·         Just as the offense started to hit its stride, IUPUI held the Leathernecks scoreless for a 7:56 stretch to take a 12-9 lead, but a Sadie Webb old-fashioned 3-point play with 6:14 to play knotted the score at 12.

·         Over the final six minutes, the Jags used three free throws, a jumper from Kayla Cripe, and a trey from Collins to take a 20-18 lead into the half.

·         Out of the half, the Jaguars kept their defensive intensity at a high level and did a good job of limiting the Leathernecks to one shot on every possession. IUPUI held WIU scoreless by the first media timeout and used an easy basket by Clara Mitchell and a runner from Jasmine Horne to up its lead to six points, 24-18, with 15:53 on the clock.

·         The Leathernecks responded with a 9-2 run to take a 27-26 lead with 12:20 to play, but three ties ensued, with the last at 30-30.

·         Just as IUPUI knotted the score, a 9-0 run by Western Illinois from the 10:48 to the 7:34 mark opened a nine-point Leatherneck lead, 39-30.

·         A 9-2 response from the Jaguars, featuring five points from Eichelberger, brought IUPUI within two points, 41-39, by the final media timeout.

·         Western Illinois connected on three free throws over the next three minutes to move its lead to five points, 44-39, but a 3-pointer by Dawn Luster from the top of the key with 44 seconds left brought IUPUI within one possession, 44-42.

·         After both teams missed a pair of free throws, Nelson had an open look form three to tie the game, but it rattled in and out and Western Illinois was able to hit free throws on the other end to hold on to a 48-43 victory.

·         At the end of the day, the Leathernecks connected on 19-of-28 attempts from the charity stripe compared to 9-of-18 free throw tries for the Jaguars.

·         Oakland enters the game as winners of three of its last four games, with its lone loss coming at home in double overtime against league-leading Oral Robert, 80-72, on Jan. 31.

·         OU has two players scoring in double figures, led by Bethany Watterworth’s 18.4 ppg., which is second in the conference. The other Oakland player scoring in double digits is Sharise Calhoun, who is averaging 12.5 ppg.

·         Watterworth also leads the team in rebounding (6.8 rpg) and assists (4.0 apg).

·         Defensively, Brittany Carnago leads the conference in blocks, rejecting three shots per game.

·         As a team, Oakland is holding its opponents to a Summit League-best 56.6 ppg, which is tops in the conference.

·         Oakland also ranks in the Top 3 in conference-only games in field goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage, field goal percentage defense, 3-point field goal percentage defense, rebounding defense, rebounding margin, blocks, assists, and assist-to-turnover ratio.

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

.. Rebounding.................................. Kerah Nelson (8th, 6.6)

·         Heading into play on Monday, Jan. 24, at UMKC, Janna Eichelberger had posted six blocks on the season.

·         In each of the past two games (at UMKC on Jan. 24 and at Western Illinois on Jan. 29), Eichelberger has been an intimidator on the block registering three blocks in each of the games.

·         Her three blocks in both contests tied a career-high.

·         With six blocks in her last two games, Eichelberger now has nine blocks in conference play, averaging out to 0.9 bpg, which ranks 11th in the conference.

·         Following a one-game absence against Oakland on Jan. 10, sophomore Kerah Nelson has been a bright spot for the Jaguars.

·         Starting with a Jan. 15 decision against South Dakota State, Nelson scored in double figures in four consecutive games.

·         Against the Jackrabbits on Jan. 15, Nelson scored 17 points, and followed that performance with a 19-point, six-rebound outing against North Dakota State just two days later.

·         The offensive improvements continued at Southern Utah, when Nelson erupted for a career-high 29 points, surpassing her previous career high of 27 points set earlier this season against IU-Southeast on Nov. 23, 2010.

·         For the fourth straight game, Nelson hit at least seven field goals as she went 7-of-9 from the floor against UMKC on Jan. 24 to score a team-high 15 points.

·         Unfortunately for IUPUI, Nelson cooled off at Western Illinois on Jan. 29, going 0-for-9 from the floor.

·         Despite not making a field goal against Western Illinois, Nelson’s field goal percentage over her last five games is .614 (35-of-57), resulting in her scoring 16.0 ppg.

·         On the season, Nelson is eighth in all games in field goal percentage (.492), while ranking second in field goal percentage (.604).