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INDIANAPOLIS – Righting the ship after a long time away from home, the IUPUI women's basketball team (12-6, 2-3) returned to the Jungle and snapped a three-game losing streak Saturday (Jan. 14), topping the Denver Pioneers (4-14, 1-4) 71-49. The 49 points marked the fewest points given up by IUPUI in head-to-head meetings with Denver, as the 22-point margin of victory was the largest ever.
On the afternoon, the Jags combined to shoot .439 from the field and .357 from three-point range. The Jags outrebounded the Pioneers 36-28 and stayed below their season average with 13 turnovers. The defense held Denver to just .347 from the floor, but committed 22 fouls while allowing the Pioneers to go 11-for-15 from the free-throw line. The Jags were a strong 11-of-13 (.846) from the charity stripe.
Sydney Hall led the way, picking up a game-high 19 points on a 7-for-12 shooting performance while also adding a pair of steals. She shot 5-for-9 from three-point range.
Danielle Lawrence (12) and
Mikale Rogers (11) both finished in double-digit points, while
Holly Hoopingarner added eight points and three assists.
Taylor Drake and
Allex Brown came off the bench to combine for 13 points, while
Jenna Gunn,
Caitlyn Tolen, and
Daesjah Ely also scored for IUPUI.
Tolen popped the net on a left-side triple set up by Gunn to kick off the game. Lawrence then found an opening down low to break up over three minutes of scoreless basketball by IUPUI, hitting the layup to claim a one-point lead. After a media timeout, Hall ripped a three-pointer from the right-side as the shot clock expired, as IUPUI climbed to an 8-6 lead. Next trip down, Lawrence hit a step-back jumper from the free-throw line, followed on a pair of possessions later by another Hall triple. Brown added a right-side jumper with under two minutes to play, as the Jags built their biggest lead in a couple weeks, 15-8. After a Pioneers' bucket, Gunn squeaked in a last-second layup on a setup from Hoopingarner to end the quarter, 17-10.
A frustrating beginning to the second quarter, the Pioneers dropped in seven unanswered points through the first two and a half minutes, as Denver battled back to tie the game. Lawrence connected on a pair of free-throws to end the drought, followed by a Rogers jumper in the middle of the lane. She hit again from the same spot on the next trip down, as the Jags pushed back to a 23-17 lead. After four-straight from Denver, Rogers whittled out a space down low on a put-back layup, followed by a foul for an and-one play. She'd connect on the free-throw. Hall added five points in the span of roughly five seconds, as the sophomore guard hit on a three-pointer, then stole the inbounds pass and put it back for a layup. Four more points in the dying minutes granted the Jags a 35-22 lead, which opened up Hall to rip another three-pointer on a setup from Lawrence. With under 30 seconds to play, Drake received a Hoopingarner pass and dropped it in for a layup, as the Jags claimed a 16-point lead heading into halftime. The Jags led 40-24.
IUPUI shot 14-for-30 (.467) in the first half, while going 5-for-14 (.357) from long range. The team was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free-throw line, as the Jags outrebounded the Pioneers 16-15. The Jags limited themselves to just five turnovers in the first half.
Rogers opened the second half with a layup a minute into the action, as the Jags built on their double-digit lead. Lawrence hit from long-range on the next trip down, as IUPUI built up a 21-point advantage. Hall then connected from the left-side corner on a three-pointer to force a Denver timeout. Out of the break, Lawrence ripped a corner three after five-straight Denver points, setting the score at 51-29. Hall went right-to-left-to-right on a good move in charging the hoop, dropping in a layup with less than five minutes remaining. Hoopingarner added a layup, then tossed in a three-pointer with roughly a minute left in the quarter. Drake then added two free-throws on a simultaneous foul call with the shot, as the Jags doubled up the Pioneers' score. Hoopingarner would add one last free-throw before the end of the quarter, as the Jags led 63-34.
Rogers started off the final quarter the same way she began the third, hitting a layup as the onslaught continued. Brown broke up several minutes of scoreless ball with a free-throw, followed by a Drake cleanup play to make it 68-40. Drake made one of the most impressive defensive plays of the day, as the big center blocked an opponent's shot by simply snatching the ball out of the air. Although the Jags didn't connect on the ensuing possession, the team found Ely in the corner on the next trip down for a three-point shot. The Jags would squeeze the clock, closing the quarter and the game, 71-49.
With the win, the Jags will continue their homestand on Thursday (Jan. 19) as the team hosts Oral Roberts at 7 p.m. EST in the Jungle.
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