Live Stats | Listen Live | Game Notes (.pdf)
 
NORMAL, Ill. - For the first time since joining the Division-I ranks, the IUPUI women’s basketball team will compete in postseason play when it participates in the 2013 Postseason WNIT on Thursday, March 21, against Illinois State.
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION

• Thursday’s game is set to tip at 8:05 p.m. ET in Normal, Ill.
• The winner of the IUPUI/Illinois State game will advance to play the winner of the Kansas State/Texas Southern match-up, which will also be played on Thursday, March 21, in Manhattan, Kan.
• Fans can listen to the game for free online via IUPUIJags.com.
• Tickets are $11 for adults and $8 for youth under the age of 18.

 
ABOUT ILLINOIS STATE

• The Redbirds completed the 2012-13 regular season with a 23-10 record, including a 13-5 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• Illinois State placed third in the conference during the regular-season and advanced to the MVC Tournament Championship Game, but it fell 69-65 to Wichita State.
• The postseason appearance for the Redbirds marks the program’s fifth straight trip to the WNIT.
• The Redbirds have three players scoring in double figures led by Jamie Russell’s 14.5 ppg. The two other players scoring in double figures are Janae Smith and Candace Sykes who are averaging 13.4 ppg and 13.1 ppg, respectively.
• Illinois State averages 67.4 ppg and shoots 41.2 percent from the floor, including 31.5 percent from three.

 
THE SERIES WITH THE REDBIRDS

• Illinois State owns a 2-0 advantage all-time against IUPUI, but the two schools have not met since the 2003-04 campaign.
• The first meeting between the two schools was back on Nov. 29, 2002, with the Redbirds defeating the Jaguars, 77-60 in Normal, Ill.
• The next season, the two schools met in Indianapolis with Illinois State downing the Jags, 81-67, on Dec. 16, 2003.

 
LAST TIME OUT ...

• Kerah Nelson carried IUPUI with a career-high 32 points, but 76.9-percent shooting in the second half led South Dakota to an 82-72 win over the Jaguars Monday afternoon (March 11) in the Summit League semifinals at Sioux Falls Arena in Sioux Falls, S.D.
• Nelson hit 12-of-21 shots and scored half of her 32 points in the opening 20 minutes to help the Jaguars take a three-point lead into halftime, but the Coyotes outscored the Jags 54-41 in the second half to advance to the championship game tomorrow against top-seed South Dakota State.
• In addition to Nelson scoring a career-high 32 points, Nevena Markovic added 13 points and DeAirra Goss chipped in nine.
• The Jags were clicking on all cylinders in the early going as Nelson and Markovic combined for 13 of the Jags first 18 points over the first 8:07 resulting in an 18-9 IUPUI lead.
• A 14-2 response by the Coyotes over the next 6:06 turned a nine-point deficit into a three-point lead, 23-20, before Markovic found Dee-Dee Bellamy for an easy two and Nelson hit a jumper to put IUPUI back in front, 24-23.
• Trailing by one, 25-24, with 4:26 to play in the opening half, Nelson outscored USD 7-3 by herself down the stretch to send the Jaguars into the locker room with a 31-28 advantage.
• The Jags maintained a four-point lead, 41-37, with 14:27 to play, before South Dakota hit its next six shots – three of which coming from Nicole Seekamp – en route to a 13-4 run to take a six-point lead, 50-44, with 11:00 remaining.
• A Goss jumper from the right wing with 8:55 closed the deficit to three points, 51-48, but the hot shooting for the Coyotes continued as they buried eight of their next nine shots from the floor to open a 71-59 lead with a little less than four minutes to play.
• While South Dakota continued to hit their free throws down the stretch, the Jags final four points came from Nelson, pushing her past the 30-point plateau for the first time in her career, but the clock ran out on the Jags as they fell, 82-72.
• Seekamp poured in 27 points on 8-of-12 shooting to pace the Coyotes, while Tempestt Wilson (14), Polly Harrington (11) and Lisa Loeffler (10) also reached double figures.

 
DOWN THE STRETCH

• Over the last three games, senior Kerah Nelson stepped up her game and did her best to put IUPUI in position to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
• Despite the Jags coming up short of their goal, it wasn’t for a lack of effort from Nelson. In IUPUI’s Summit League semifinal vs. South Dakota, Nelson scored a career-high 32 points on 12-of-21 shooting.
• Not only were the 32 points a career-best for the 5-10 forward from St. Petersburg, Fla., but it marked the first time since the 2002-03 campaign that an IUPUI player scored 30 or more points in a game.
• Back on Feb. 3, 2003, Tiffany Kyser scored 30 points against Southern Utah, which was the last time an IUPUI player registered 30 points in a game prior to Nelson’s March 11th-performance.
• Over the last three games, Nelson is averaging 26.3 ppg, 9.0 rpg and 1.3 apg, while connecting on 67.4 percent of her shots (31-of-46), including 50.0 percent of her three’s (5-of-10).
• In the two games of the Summit League Tournament, Nelson averaged 25.0 ppg en route to being named to the conference’s All-Tournament Team.

 
STARTING MARK

• Since Nevena Markovic was put in the starting lineup on Feb. 23, the Jaguars are 4-1.
• From Jan. 5 through Feb. 21, Markovic was averaging 13.1 minutes per game and she was scoring 4.8 ppg.
• Since being inserted into the starting lineup against Kansas City on Feb. 23, Markovic is averaging 10.8 ppg and 6.8 rpg in  27.4 minutes per game.
• During that stretch, she is shooting 47.9 percent (23-of-48) in addition to dishing out 2.0 apg.
• Markovic has scored in double figures in three of the last four games, including a season-high tying 14 points against Oakland on Feb. 28.