INDIANAPOLIS - The Jaguars begin the second half of Summit League play on Saturday, Feb. 2, when they travel to Macomb, Ill., to take on Western Illinois. Tip is set for 5:30 p.m. ET at Waste Management Court at Western Hall.
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION

• Saturday's tip between Western Illinois and IUPUI is set for 5:30 p.m. ET.
• Fans can hear Western Illinois' call through IUPUIJags.com or goleathernecks.com
• Fans can also follow live stats and watch live through IUPUIJags.com.

 
ABOUT WESTERN ILLINOIS

• Western Illinois enters the second half of the conference season with a 10-11 overall record and a 3-5 Summit League mark.
• The Leathernecks have dropped three straight games by three points or less and recently suffered their first home loss of the season on Jan. 24 to South Dakota.
• Saule Kontautaite leads the team in scoring averaging 13.1 ppg on the season and she has made a team-best 46 three's.
• Michelle Maher is the other double-digit scorer for the Leathernecks averaging 10.0 ppg.
• As a team, WIU is shooting 40.4 percent from the floor, which ranks third in the Summit League. Western Illinois has also made a league-best 164 three-pointers this season (7.8 3FG/g)
• Ashley Luke leads the team in rebounding averaging 6.3 rpg.

 
THE SERIES WITH THE LEATHERNECKS

• Saturday's game between Western Illinois and IUPUI will be the 32nd meeting all-time with the Leathernecks owning a 23-8 lead in the series.
• IUPUI has won two straight in the series, including a 55-36 win back on Jan. 26, 2013. The 36 points were a season-low for the Leathernecks.
• The Jags will be looking for their third straight win in the series, which has only happened one other time in series history. The last time the Jaguars claimed three straight wins over WIU was during the end of the 2007-08 season through the end of the 2008-09 season.

 
LAST TIME OUT ...

• Tempestt Wilson scored 26 points and South Dakota shot 61.1% from the floor leading the Coyotes to a 76-56 win over IUPUI Saturday afternoon (Jan. 26) at the Jungle.
• The loss dropped the Jags to 5-3 in the Summit League and 11-9 overall for the season, while South Dakota improves to 6-2 in the conference and 11-10 overall.
• Katie Comello led the Jags with 14 points and joining her in double digits were DeAirra Goss and Jordan Barton with 10 points each.
• The first half featured four runs, three from the Coyotes and only one from the Jags. The Jags sprinted out to an 8-0 lead during the first four minutes, thanks to four points each from Comello, and Goss.  Despite the quick start, South Dakota responded with a 12-0 run of its own from the 16:16 mark to the 13:11 mark to catapult in front, 12-8.
• After a pair of Akilah Sims free throws put the Jaguars back in front, 15-14, at the midway point of first half, another Coyotes run over a 1:55 stretch pushed the USD advantage to 22-15 with 8;04 on the clock.
• IUPUI closed with four with 5'45 to play on a Clara Mitchell lay-up, but from that point on the Jaguars went scoreless for the remainder of the half. The Coyotes closed out the half on a 12-0 run and took a 38-22 lead into the half.
• After the half the Jaguars made a few quick buckets to trim their halftime deficit to 13, but that was as close as they would get. Down the stretch IUPUI got several good looks but the Jags were unable to close within striking distance and ultimately fell 76-56.

 
LEARNING HOW TO WIN

• From the 2009-10 season to the 2011-12 campaign, IUPUI played in just five games that were decided by one possession and were 1-4 in those games.
• This season alone, the Jags have played in four games decided by one possession while playing in several other close contests.
• Of the four games decided by three points or less, the Jags are 2-2, including two straight one-point wins over South Dakota State (1/19) and Kansas City (1/24).
• The back-to-back one-point victories marked the first time in school history that the Jaguars have picked up consecutive one-point wins and just the second time in the Division I era that IUPUI has claimed consecutive wins by three points or less.
• On Jan. 19, IUPUI pulled off a 57-56 win over South Dakota State in Brookings, S.D., giving the Jags their first win over the Jackrabbits in program history.
• Then against Kansas City on Jan. 24, IUPUI scored five unanswered points in the final 1:01 to erase a four-point deficit and escape with a 47-46 win.

 
DEFENSE WINS GAMES

• Since head coach Austin Parkinson took over the IUPUI women's basketball team, the team has prided itself on its effort on the defensive end of the floor.
• Defense has been part of the reason the Jags improved from four wins in 2010-11, to 13 wins last year.
• So far this season, defense has been the key to the Jags success early in Summit League play.
• In its five conference wins, the Jags are giving up an average of 52.2 ppg, while holding their opponents to 37.0 percent shooting and 17.4 percent shooting from three.
• During the five wins, IUPUI has also turned its opponents over an average of 20.4 times per game, while outrebounding its opponents, 39.8 - 30.8.
• In four of those five wins, the Jags have kept their opponents to 56 points or less.
• In its three conference losses, however, IUPUI's opponents have shot 54.7 percent from the field, 35.7 percent from three, and average 71.7 ppg.
• Additionally, opponents are scoring 39.0 ppg in the paint in the Jags three losses and 9.3 ppg on fast breaks compared to 23.2 ppg in the paint and 2.0 ppg on fast breaks in IUPUI's five league wins.

 
CHART WATCH

• In IUPUI's win over Omaha on Jan. 10, senior Kerah Nelson moved into the Top 5 on IUPUI's career scoring chart, and she is also closing in on the Top 5 of several other IUPUI career charts while continuing to move up the school's scoring chart.
• Nelson has played in 102 games in her career and scored 1,438 points (14.1 ppg). She needs just 32 points to move into fourth on IUPUI's career scoring chart.
• Additionally, Nelson is six field goals away and 18 free throws away from moving into the Top 5 on those respective charts.
• Nelson is also just 11 rebounds away from moving into the school's Top 10 in career rebounds.