FORT COLLINS, Colo. – For the third time since the 2012-13 season, the women's basketball team (20-10, 11-5) has been selected to the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) as announced Monday (March 14). The Jags' will take on Central Michigan (22-10, 14-4) Thursday (March 17) in first-round action, set to be hosted in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan at 7 p.m..
Coming off yet another 20-win season, head coach
Austin Parkinson is taking his program back to the postseason once again. In just six seasons at IUPUI, Parkinson has taken the Jaguars to unprecedented heights, as all three of the trips to the WNIT have come during his tenure as coach. Just two wins shy of the all-time program record (95), Parkinson has the highest winning percentage (.511) for any coach at IUPUI since joining the Division I ranks. This year, the Jaguars finished third in the Summit League standings, while
Danielle Lawrence and
Mikale Rogers became the first pair of underclassmen at IUPUI to both be selected to the First-Team All-Summit League. The feature marks the first time since 2009 that two Jaguars have made the first-team as well.
The last time IUPUI made it to the WNIT was during the 2013-14 season, in which the Jags' took down Central Michigan (March 20) in the first round, 72-66.
This year, the Jags' have been led by Lawrence and Rogers, averaging 13.2 and 12.8 points per game, respectively. Rogers has compiled a team-high 209 rebounds (7.0 per game) and 49 blocks, third-highest in the Summit League. Lawrence has led the Jags' with a .757 free-throw percentage while tallying 44 assists, second-most behind
Martha Burse, and a team-high 41 steals. Based on the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), the Jags' defeated four top-100 teams this season (Marquette, Belmont, Virginia Commonwealth, South Dakota State) while also taking down a top-50 team (South Dakota State).
The Chippewas have faced the Jags' twice in program history, going 1-1 against IUPUI. This season, Central Michigan finished in first-place in the Mid-American Conference's West Division, losing in the MAC-tournament finale to Buffalo on an overtime buzzer-beater. Of the 10 losses by the Chippewas, three of them have come in overtime games. Competitive throughout the entirety of their season, Central Michigan's losses have come by an average of a 5.9 point difference per game. Their lowest point total was a 68-49 drubbing by Duquesne, their worst loss of the season. The team put together a stout 110 point performance in a victory against Oakland (Nov. 19) earlier in the season, while averaging 74.6 points per game throughout the year.
The WNIT features a 64-team field with selections coming from all over the country. In its 19th year of existence, the tournament consists of 36 teams that have 20 or more victories this season. Eighteen teams in the field either won or tied for their conference title this year.
The winner of Thursday's game will face the winner of the Northwestern-San Diego matchup, which will be played in Evanston, Ill..
