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RICHMOND, Va. – Staying strong through a tough beginning and receiving key contributions at critical moments, the IUPUI women's basketball team (3-1) overcame early shooting woes to win an overtime thriller against Virginia Commonwealth (2-2) Tuesday (Nov. 22), sending the Jags back to the Jungle with a clean record after two road matches.  The win marks 99 in the career of Head Coach Austin Parkinson, who already became the winningest coach in IUPUI history Saturday with his 98th victory.
 
"I couldn't be prouder of the toughness and resiliency this group showed on the road tonight," Coach Parkinson said of his team's performance.
 
A pure sniper in the second half and overtime, Sydney Hall lit up the scoreboard with seven three-pointers on the day, finishing with 21 points while going 7-for-9 from beyond the arc.  Danielle Lawrence led all players with 24 points, also tallying six boards and four assists.  Caitlyn Tolen added nine points, three boards and four assists, Jenna Gunn picked up 13 rebounds and Mikale Rogers also reached 13 rebounds, contributing eight points along the way. 
 
"Sydney Hall had a monster game hitting seven three's, and Danielle Lawrence looked like herself again, stepping up in big moments," Coach Parkinson added.  "Jenna and "Mikale were warriors on the glass, combining for 26 rebounds between them."
 
The Jags shot 24-for-59 (.407) for the game, including 11-for-25 (.440) from three-point range.  The Jags committed 18 turnovers in the game, while equaling the Rams output on the boards, 41-41. 
 
Highlighted by a block from Rogers in the early going, the Jags benefitted from a cold start for the Rams, as VCU shot just 1-for-5 to begin the contest through the first four minutes of play.  Lawrence and Gunn each tallied a layup, while Lawrence' play was capped by an and-one to make it a 5-2 game.  It took until the 5:37 mark for Virginia Commonwealth to add its second basket, breaking up a scoring drought for both teams.  IUPUI responded, as Holly Hoopingarner dropped in the first three-pointer for either side with 4:54 to play, part of a 1-for-7 skid by the Jags.  Both teams shot under .400 during the early going.  Lawrence would eventually hit a free throw at the 1:59 mark, followed by a Byrd jumper just 30 seconds later.  With just about a minute left to play, VCU picked up three layups, one of which went for an and-one, as the Rams surged ahead very late in the quarter, 11-15.  The Jags shot just 4-for-14 in the quarter, including 1-for-6 from three-point range with three turnovers.
 
Tolen knocked down a three-pointer within the first minute of the second frame to bring the Jaguar deficit to just a point.  Under a minute later, Rogers buried a layup on an assist by Lawrence to reclaim a lead for IUPUI.  Going dry for roughly three and a half minutes, the Jags temporarily fell behind on a layup by the Rams before Tolen added her own, tying the game at 18-18.  A 5:04 scoring drought plagued the Jags, as they remained scoreless for the remainder of the half.  VCU picked up three buckets, and took a lead into the half, 18-24.  After only committing three turnovers in the first quarter, the Jags coughed up eight balls, in addition to committing five fouls.  The Jags shot just 3-for-13 (.231) while equaling the Rams output on the boards with 11 rebounds.  The IUPUI defense limited VCU to a .250 clip (4-for-16).
 
At the break, Tolen led all Jags with five points, while Lawrence added four and Hoopingarner added three.  Rogers and Gunn combined for 14 rebounds, while the team collectively shot just 2-for-10 from three-point range.
 
Out of the break, Lawrence hit with 8:34 to play to break up what was eventually more than six minutes without a point.  She'd add a jumper just over a minute later to make it a 22-26 game.  Rogers broke up a personal 1-for-9 shooting woe by hitting a layup just under four minutes in.  Tolen added her second triple of the night, as IUPUI pulled to within one.  It took about two and a half minutes before the Jags struck again, as Rogers hit a layup to make it 29-32.  After a Rams layup on the ensuing possession, Hall dropped in her first bucket of the game, a three-pointer, to make it 32-34.  Following a pair of VCU baskets, the Jags had to burn a timeout with just about a minute to go in the quarter.  A clutch moment for the Jags, Hall hit his second triple with 22 seconds to go, but the momentum was countered by a VCU layup  as time expired to make it 35-40.  The officials eventually reviewed the basket, wiping it from the board.  The Jags had their best offensive quarter of the night to that point, shooting 7-for-15 and 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.  IUPUI limited themselves to just a pair of turnovers. 
 
Hall ripped another triple a minute into the final quarter, followed closely by a Rogers' layup that gave IUPUI their first lead since the first half.  The edge was short-live, as the Rams hit a minute later to regain the lead.  That ignited the battle to the finish, as Lawrence hit a jumper on the next possession to give the Jags a one-point lead.  A pair of free-throws wipe the Jags lead, as VCU also tacked on a layup to break up nearly three minutes without a field goal.  It wasn't but a moment later that Hall hit her fourth triple of the game to tie the affair at 45-45.  Out of a timeout, VCU hit a layup, quickly followed by Hall's fifth triple to give IUPUI a late lead.  Two free-throws put the Rams back on top, but Lawrence was fouled with 1:54 to go, sending her to the free-throw line.  She'd knock down both attempts to regain the lead.  After a single VCU free-throw, Lawrence tallied again on a jumper with 51 seconds to go to make it 52-50.  Having to play the foul game, the Rams intentionally fouled Lawrence to send her to the line with 21 seconds to play.  She converted 1-of-2 attempts, giving IUPUI a three-point advantage.  A heart-wrenching moment, the Rams converted a three-point attempt with just five seconds left to play, tying the game at 53-all.  Gunn missed a three-point attempt at the horn, forcing the game into overtime.
 
Lawrence started the overtime period by breaking up a 0-for-5 night beyond the arc, ripping a three-pointer to grant IUPUI a lead.  Mere moments later, Hall hit her sixth triple of the night, giving IUPUI its biggest lead since the first quarter.  Riding the hot-hand, Hall knocked down her seventh three-pointer, putting IUPUI up by nine.  With 3:05 left to play, the Jaguars were left to wander who to turn to offensively, as Hall picked up her fifth foul of the game, disqualifying her from the remainder of the contest.  None other than reigning First-Team All-Summit Leaguer Lawrence answered the call, hitting a jumper to counter a pair of Ram free-throws.  Pushing to the finish line, Lawrence hit two more free-throws to extend the Jag lead to seven points.  At 66-59 and out of a timeout, Gunn pushed in two charity stripe shots, Lawrence hit a pair, Tolen added one, and IUPUI held on to win big, 71-62. 
 
"After they sent the game to overtime with a three, our kids stayed positive and came out locked in on both ends," Coach Parkinson said of the extended game.
 
With the victory, IUPUI will return to Indianapolis to face Georgia Southern Saturday (Nov. 26) at 2 p.m. EST. 
 
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