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INDIANAPOLIS - IUPUI concludes the 2012-13 regular season this weekend hosting a pair of games beginning with a 5 p.m. meeting with Oakland on Thursday, Feb. 28.
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION

• Thursday’s game is set to begin at 5 p.m., and is the first of a men’s and women’s doubleheader. The men’s game is set to begin around 7:30 p.m.
• Thursday’s game is also Professor Appreciation Night as IUPUI professors will be recognized at halftime of both the men’s and women’s games. These professors were nominated by IUPUI student-athletes for their work in the classroom during the 2012 fall semester.
• Jon Schade will have the call on IUPUIJags.com beginning just prior to tip.

 
ABOUT OAKLAND

• The Golden Grizzlies enter the weekend with a 9-17 overall record, including a 3-11 mark in Summit League play.
• Oakland has been without Summit League Preseason Player of the Year Bethany Watterworth for the entire season, resulting in three freshmen playing big minutes for the Golden Grizzlies.
• One of those freshmen, Olivia Nash, leads the team in scoring and rebounding averaging 11.8 ppg and 8.4 rpg.  Nash’s 8.4 rpg is tops in the conference.
• However, in conference-only games, one of the other freshmen starters, Elena Popkey, leads the team in scoring averaging 13.2 ppg.
• On the season, OU is averaging 56.9 ppg on 38.2-percent shooting from the floor, including 33.0-percent shooting from three.
• Oakland’s 33.0-percent clip from behind-the-arc ranks second in the Summit League behind South Dakota State. Four players have made 20 or more three’s this season, with Popkey shooting a team-best 43.8 percent (35-of-80).

 
THE SERIES WITH THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES

• Oakland holds a 24-11 lead in the all-time series between the two schools after edging the Jaguars by nine back on December 30.
• The first meeting between the two schools occurred back in 1996.
• IUPUI is 8-8 all-time against Oakland when playing in Indianapolis.

 
LAST TIME OUT ...

• Behind an impressive all-around defensive effort, IUPUI bounced back from a loss on Thursday (Feb. 21) with a 47-33 win over Kansas City Saturday afternoon at the Swinney Recreation Center.
• The win moved IUPUI to 17-10 overall and 10-4 in the Summit League, while the Kangaroos fell to 9-19 overall and 5-10 in the conference. The 17 wins for the Jags ties a Division-I era school record for wins in a season.
• Both teams shot below 32.0-percent from the floor for the game, but defensively, the Jaguars managed to hold the second-leading scorer in the conference, Eilise O’Connor, nearly eight points below her season average on just 3-of-15 shooting from the field.
• Both teams combined to hit just six field goals in the first 10 minutes of action resulting in the Kangaroos owning a 10-8 lead at the midway point of the first half.
• Despite its slow start offensively, the Jaguars managed to put together a 17-2 run over an 8:27 stretch to catapult in front, 25-12, with 1:11 to play. During the run, the Jags used an inside-out attack as Nicole Rogers buried two triples along with a Nevena Markovic three, while Nelson and Shawnece Teague combined for six more points in the lane.
• In the final minute, however, Hailey Houser hit two baskets, including a lay-up with one second to go off an offensive rebound, to trim UMKC’s deficit to single digits heading into the half, 25-16.
• After starting the first half 3-of-14 from the floor, IUPUI managed to hit 6-of-12 shots from the field in the final 10 minutes to finish the half shooting 34.6-percent (9-of-26).
• Out of the half, IUPUI kept the Kangaroos scoreless for nearly seven minutes and went on an 8-0 run during that stretch to open up a 33-16 lead with a little more than 13 minutes to play.
• Down the stretch, Kansas City cut their deficit to 10 points with 4:20 to play, but Katie Comello knocked down a huge three, her first of the game, on the next possession to snap a 7:47 scoreless drought and push the lead back to 13 points, 39-26.
• From that point, the Jaguars cruised to a 47-33 victory.
• Nelson led all scorers with 13 points, while Goss had seven points, a career-high eight rebounds and four assists. In just her third start of the season, Markovic played a season-high 30 minutes and contributed seven points, six boards, two blocks an assist and a steal.

 
THE CONFERENCE PICTURE

• Entering the final week of Summit League play, only one team has secured their position in the upcoming Summit League Tournament, which will be held in Sioux Falls, S.D., March 9-12.
• South Dakota State has clinched the regular-season conference title and will be the No. 1 seed in the Summit League Tournament.
• The Jaguars need one win this week to secure the No. 2 seed in the tournament, which would match the Jaguars best conference finish.
• If the Jaguars were to secure the No. 2 overall seed in the Summit League Tournament, IUPUI would begin the tournament against the No. 7 seed on Saturday, March 9, at 3:30 p.m. ET.

 
REACHING NEW HEIGHTS

• On Feb. 16, a win over North Dakota State moved IUPUI to 11-3 at home this season. The 11 home wins are a Division-I era school-record for most home wins in a season.
• Prior to their game at South Dakota on Feb. 21, the Jaguars had won five straight games, marking the Jaguars longest win streak since winning seven straight games during the 2005-06 campaign.
• IUPUI’s most recent win, a 47-33 win over Kansas City on Feb. 23, gave IUPUI their 17th win of the season - tying a Division-I era school record for wins in a season.
• With 17 wins on the season, the Jags have posted more wins than they had the previous year in each of Austin Parkinson’s three seasons.

 
MOVING MONTH

• The Jags ended the month of January on a sour note with a 20-point home loss to South Dakota. That loss dropped the Jags to 11-9 overall and 5-3 in the Summit League.
• However, the Jaguars turned things around thus far in February with posting a 6-1 record.
• The 6-1 record in February marks just the third time since joining the Division-I ranks that IUPUI has posted a winning record in February.
• Additionally, the six February wins are the most wins during the second month of the year for the Jags since they went 8-0 back in 1989-90 season.
• Finally, the Jags have gone 5-1 in Summit League play in February to climb into second place in the Summit League standings.