INDIANAPOLIS –
Akilah Sims recorded the third double-double of her career and her first of the season leading the IUPUI women's basketball team past Fort Wayne, 78-68, at The Jungle Sunday afternoon in the Summit League opener for the Jags.
The win improved the Jaguars to 6-8 overall and 1-0 in the Summit League, while Fort Wayne dipped to 6-9 overall and 0-2 in league play.
Sims posted 11 of her team-high 14 points in the second half and also added 10 rebounds to pace IUPUI. She was joined in double-figures by three other players as
Nevena Markovic and
Caitlyn Tolen each added 12 points and #Shaquira Scott chipped in 10 points. Haley Seibert led the Mastodons with 20 points.
IUPUI hit four of its first five shots from the field in the first three and a half minutes, including two from Markovic, to take an 8-5 lead, but a 7-0 Jaguars run pushed them out to a double-digit lead, 15-5, with just under 12 minutes to go.
As fouls began to pile up for both teams, the Mastodons were able to close within one, 26-25, with five minutes to play before the Jags went on a mini-run to expand their lead.
IUPUI went on a 8-1 run capped by a Tolen three to seize a 34-26 lead with 1:22 to go, but Seibert responded with a three of her own on the other end 12 seconds later to trim the Jags cushion to five, 34-29. That would be the final points of the half and the Jaguars went into the break with that five-point lead.
IUPUI's halftime lead grew to eight just a few minutes into the second half, but Fort Wayne was able to close within three on a Seibert three with 14:36 to play.
However, a Sims basket with 13:10 to go ignited a 15-2 run that gave IUPUI its biggest lead of the game, 58-42, with 9:23 remaining.
The Mastodons made a push and closed within four with 3:48 on the clock, but
Shaquira Scott made two highly contested lay-ups on consecutive possessions to up the margin back to eight, 68-60, with 2:53 to go.
Down the stretch, the IUPUI lead never dipped below seven as it won its conference opener, 78-68.
Up next for the Jaguars is a trip to Fargo, N.D., on Thursday, Jan. 8, when they take on North Dakota State. Tip is set for 8 p.m. ET and the Bison enter the contest at 2-0 following an 83-78 win over South Dakota State earlier today.
