INDIANAPOLIS – Winding down to one of the most critical points in the regular season with just two games remaining, the IUPUI women's basketball team (19-8, 10-4) will host South Dakota State (22-5, 12-2) Thursday (Feb. 25) in a matchup of the second and third-place teams in the Summit League. The game is scheduled to tip off at approximately 7 p.m. in the Jungle on the campus of IUPUI, with live video coverage available on IUPUIJags.com.
The Jags' are coming off a 63-52 victory over Fort Wayne on Sunday (Feb. 21), and are winners of six of their last seven games. They were paced in the contest by
Jenna Gunn, who picked up a double-double with her 18 point, 10 rebound effort. This season, the team has lost only one conference game at home (Jan. 3 vs Oral Roberts), as head coach
Austin Parkinson has been extremely successful when his team plays in the Jungle. Sunday, he became the winningest coach in the Jungle, picking up home win number 62 in just his sixth season.
IUPUI is led by
Danielle Lawrence and
Mikale Rogers who average 13.5 and 12.9 points per contest, respectively. The tandem are even more successful in Summit League play, as Lawrence and Rogers are averaging just a hair under 30 points combined (15.4 and 14.5). Rogers also leads the team with 7.1 rebounds per game, while also ranking third-overall in the Summit League with 44 blocks.
South Dakota State is most recently coming off a loss to South Dakota Saturday (Feb. 20) in Vermillion, S.D., snapping what had been an eight-game winning streak. The Jackrabbits two losses in conference play have both come at the hands of South Dakota. SDSU will follow the game against IUPUI by traveling to Macomb, Ill., to wrap up the regular season against Western Illinois.
The Jags' and Jackrabbits last met on Jan. 21 in Brookings, S.D., in what was at the time the sixth conference game for IUPUI. One of the most tense and exciting games of the 2015-16 season, the Jags' would eventually fall in double overtime with the score 68-66. IUPUI would go on to lose both games of the road trip before reeling off five-consecutive victories. South Dakota State is the reigning Summit League tournament champion and winner of six of the last seven tournaments.
IUPUI will conclude the regular-season Saturday (Feb. 27) in the Jungle as the Jags' will host South Dakota for senior night.
