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INDIANAPOLIS – Shaquira Scott led all players with a career-high 24 points propelling the IUPUI women's basketball team to an 87-76 win over SIU-Edwardsville Tuesday evening at The Jungle.
 
Scott hit 7-of-8 from the floor and went 10-of-12 from the line en route to her career-high 24 points, and she was joined in double-figures by Nevena Markovic and Kelsi Byrd.
 
Markovic got IUPUI off to a great start scoring seven of her 17 points in the first few minutes, while Byrd scored eight of her 11 points in a two-minute stretch of the second half.
 
IUPUI (2-2) shot 56.1 percent from the floor for the game despite going on nearly a seven-minute scoring drought midway through the first half.  The Jaguars also showed their dominance on the glass by outrebounding the Cougars 38-25, thanks to Markovic's 10 rebounds securing her first double-double of the season.
 
"We talked in the locker room about getting off to better starts than we have in the last several games and Shaquira Scott really keyed that with her energy. We talked about who our better options our offensively and the kids really bought into that – Nev on the blocks and Shaquira attacking," head coach Austin Parkinson said.
 
The Jags got off to that great start by hitting nine of their first 13 shots as they sprinted out to a 22-9 lead eight minutes in. Markovic scored seven points in the first 3:30 to get things started, and four different players scored during the remainder of that stretch to keep the lead in double-figures.
 
However, following a Shanika Maddox bucket that moved the lead to 22-9, the Jaguars went scoreless from the field for more than seven minutes allowing SIUE to close within six, 23-17. The drought was broken by a Scott basket at the 5:41 mark, but the Cougars trimmed the deficit to five, 25-20, with 5:13 to go.
 
Down the stretch, IUPUI returned to form and closed the half on a 14-3 run to take a 39-23 lead into the half. During that run, Scott scored six points and Martha Burse tacked on four.
 
The second half started in a similar fashion as the first with the Jags hitting seven of their nine shots, fueled by a pair of three's from Byrd and a triple from Akilah Sims.
 
A Maddox lay-up just past the midway point of the second half escalated the cushion to 24 points, 70-46, and from that point the Cougars never really threatened.
 
With the outcome already decided, SIUE made a late run that ultimately resulted in the 11-point IUPUI victory.
 
Up next for the Jags is a trip to Northridge, Calif., where the Jags will participate in the Cal State Northridge Radison Chatsworth Thanksgiving Tournament. IUPUI opens the tournament against Texas Southern at 5:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 28, before taking on either Cal State Northridge or Montana State on Saturday, Nov. 29.