SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Trailing by as many seven with 14 minutes to play, the IUPUI women's basketball team rallied to take a one-point lead with six minutes to go, but Missouri State went on an 8-2 run to recapture the lead and held on for a 68-58 win over IUPUI Sunday afternoon at JQA Arena.
The loss dropped the Jaguars to 3-7 on the season, while the Bears improved to 2-7.
"We really struggled offensively to get in any kind of rhythm today. To win on the road, we can't give up 17 offensive rebounds and have 23 turnovers and expect to win," head coach Austin Parkinson said. "Winning on the road is hard for a reason. We will learn from it and get better as a team."
Three days after tying a school-record with 15 three's in a win over IU-Kokomo, the Jags had trouble getting a three to fall on Sunday hitting just 3-of-13 attempts from behind-the-arc. Despite the shooting woes from deep, IUPUI shot 45.1 percent for the game compared to Missouri State's 38.6 shooting percentage, but its 20 fouls helped the Bears outscore the Jaguars by 11 at the charity stripe proving to be the difference.
Nevena Markovic led the team with 12 points and she was joined in double-figures by
Shaquira Scott and
Mikale Rogers, who added 11 points apiece. For the Bears, Kenzie Williams hit 10-of-19 shots to finish with 29 points, while Tyonna Snow added 17 points.
Two buckets apiece from
Jenna Gunn and
Akilah Sims in the first 3:06 helped IUPUI sprint out to an 8-2 lead, but a nearly five minute scoring drought ensued allowing Missouri State to seize a 10-8 lead a little more than eight minutes in.
Over the next nine minutes, the Bears would take two leads of four points and one of five, but each time the Jags managed to tie things up before two Scott free throws with 2:39 to play placed IUPUI on top, 27-25. All nine of Scott's first-half points came from the 6:53 mark to the 2:39 mark.
With the score still tied at 29-29, a Williams three with 1:18 to play would be the final basket of the half, and that sent MSU into the break with a 32-29 cushion.
Both teams struggled to score to start the second half combining for just four points over the first 3:30, but a
Kelsi Byrd triple with 16:21 on the clock evened things up at 34-34. However, over the next three minutes the Bears responded with a 7-0 run to jump in front, 41-34.
During the next six minutes, the Jags outscored Missouri State 14-6 to take its first lead since early in the first half, 48-47, but a quick 8-2 response from the Bears placed them back in front, 55-51, as the four-minute mark neared.
Rogers hit two free throws with 4:06 to go to inch IUPUI within six, but that would as close as the Jags would get down the stretch as Missouri State capitalized on some missed opportunities by the Jags and extended its lead to double figures. Two free throws by Snow with 11 seconds to go finished off the 68-58 win.
Up next for the Jags is a Thursday contest at The Jungle against IU-Southeast. Thursday's game tips at 7 p.m.
