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INDIANAPOLIS – DeAirra Goss tied a career-high with 27 points and Nicole Rogers scored 17 points on five made three's to lead the IUPUI women's basketball team to a 76-66 win over Summit League leader South Dakota State Saturday afternoon at The Jungle.

The Jags had four double-digit scorers on the day, but it was the duo of Goss and Rogers that halted South Dakota State's eight game winning streak, extended IUPUI's win streak to eight, and moved the Jags into a tie with the Jackrabbits for first place in The Summit League at 8-1.

"Really [DeAirra and Nicole] were huge. DeAirra was not going to let us lose and she just played so well," head coach Austin Parkinson said. "Every big game we have had this year she has stepped up both offensively and defensively. Then Nicole got hot. I was really proud of her because she only got one shot off the other night and struggled against these guys last time, so for her to come out and shoot the way she did was a huge lift.

The Jaguars won almost every statistical category in the game, but as always defense and rebounding were the biggest keys to the victory for the Jags. As a group, IUPUI outrebounded SDSU and forced the Jackrabbits into 25 turnovers resulting in 19 points.

"We did a good job of boxing out tonight. We outrebounded them – we had 13 offensive rebounds to their seven – and got back on defense and got enough stops to win the game," Parkinson said.

Rogers and Dee-Dee Bellamy carried the offensive load early with Rogers hitting two three's and Bellamy making two lay-ups to give IUPUI a 10-9 lead by the first media timeout.

The Jaguars held a lead at 24-23, but a 7-1 SDSU response from the 7:44 mark to the 5:11 mark put the Jackrabbits in front, 30-25.

Starting with a Goss free throw with 4:02 to play, the Jags went on a 14-3 run over the next 3:56 to open a 39-33 lead, but a Tara Heiser lay-up with six seconds to play in the opening half sent IUPUI into the break with a 39-35 lead.

During that spurt to end the half, Goss scored half of IUPUI's points and led the Jags with 15 at the break, while Rogers finished the first 20 minutes with 12 points on four three's.

Out of the half, IUPUI locked down on defense and held the Jackrabbits without a field goal for the first five minutes, allowing it to extend its lead to double figures, 47-37, with 14:50 remaining.

South Dakota State cut its deficit to two, 53-51, with 10:23 to play, but a bucket from Akilah Sims off a feed from Katie Comello, Rogers' fifth three of the game on the next possession, and a Goss free throw quickly pushed the cushion to eight, 59-51, with less than nine minutes to play.

The Jackrabbits continued to keep the game tight by scoring at the line, but the Jags were still able to keep their lead at seven, 65-58, as the clock dipped below three minutes.

SDSU hit a big three and two free throws with over a minute left to close within four, 69-65, but two free throws from Sims, a block from Goss on the defensive end, and two free throws from Goss extended the lead to 73-65 with 39 seconds left. In the final seconds, the Jags managed to hit 3-of-4 from the line to offset one free throw for the Jackrabbits, allowing IUPUI to finish off the 76-66 win.

Bellamy led the Jags on the boards with seven, while Goss added four assists and four steals to go along with her 27 points.

IUPUI returns to the road on Thursday, Feb. 13, when it begins its three-game road swing at Denver. Tip is set for 9 p.m. ET.