Box Score

DAYTON, Ohio – After trailing for most of the game, the IUPUI women’s basketball team fought all the way back and had an opportunities to tie the game in the final minute, but the Jags couldn’t capitalize on their opportunity and dropped a 75-71 decision to Wright State Wednesday evening at the Nutter Center.

DeAirra Goss led IUPUI with 22 points on 9-of-13 (69.2 percent) shooting from the field, her second straight 20-plus point effort, but the rest of the Jags struggled from the floor connecting on 18-of-57 attempts from the floor (31.6 percent).

“I thought DeAirra really started the game off well and did some good things for our basketball team,” head coach Austin Parkinson said. “We have to give her help and it didn’t help that we missed a lot of lay-ups tonight. Our two best post players in Kerah [Nelson] and Nevena [Markovic] went 4-for-18, so we are going to have to continue to improve going forward.”

Wright State only made 22 field goals compared to 27 for the Jags, but the Raiders won the game at the free throw line outscoring IUPUI 25-13.

“Defense is something we try to hang our hat on and we held them to a good shooting percentage tonight, but we didn’t box out and they got to the free throw line,” Parkinson said. “When that happens, it makes it hard to come back and win games.”

Both teams got out to a quick start as the Jags took a 12-10 lead into the first media timeout thanks in part to Goss scoring IUPUI’s first seven points.

A 6-0 Wright State run gave the Raiders a 16-14 lead, and their lead moved to four before a Dee-Dee Bellamy jumper and four straight points from Goss put the Jags back in front, 22-20, with just under 10 minutes to play.

From there, foul trouble emerged for the Jags resulting in the Raiders taking a five-point lead, 33-28, with 3:20 to go. A Jordan Barton triple with 56 seconds remaining in the half knotted the score at 33, but Wright State connected on four free throws in the final minute to take a 37-33 lead into halftime.

Out of the break, IUPUI tied the game twice before a 7-0 WSU spurt pushed the Raiders back in front, 48-41, at the 16:30 mark. The Jaguars managed to slowly climb back within two points on a Katie Comello lay-up midway through the half, but another brief 5-0 run kept IUPUI from tying the score or taking the lead.

The Wright State lead reached double-digits, 65-55, with 6:44 to play, before IUPUI made one last push. An 8-1 Jags rally featuring a Nevena Markovic bucket, a pair of free throws each from Bellamy and Kerah Nelson, and a Shawnece Teague lay-up trimmed the deficit to three, 66-63, with 5:18 to play.

In the final minute, IUPUI managed to make it a one-possession game and had a chance to tie in the final 30 seconds, but Comello’s three-point attempt grazed the front of the iron and Wright State hit their free throws at the other end to secure the 75-71 win.

In addition to Goss, Comello chipped in nine points, while Nelson and Bellamy both added eight apiece.

The Jags return home on Saturday, Nov. 17, when its hosts Valparaiso at 4:30 p.m. Saturday’s game will be the first game of a women’s and men’s doubleheader, with the men’s team taking on Bradley at 7 p.m.