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VERMILLION, S.D. – For the first time all season, the IUPUI women's basketball team (11-5, 1-2) has dropped back-to-back games after falling to South Dakota (14-3, 3-1) Saturday afternoon (Jan. 7), 62-75.  The loss pits the Jags to just one victory through three Summit League games in the early going.

"It's been a disappointing road trip from the standpoint that we didn't guard anyone for two games," Head Coach Austin Parkinson said following the loss.  "Anytime you play quality teams with shooters, you have to be ready to fly around to get stops."
 
The Jags were led on the afternoon by Mikale Rogers, who netted 21 points and six rebounds.  Danielle Lawrence had 17 points, while Sydney Hall added nine.  Caitlyn Tolen, Jenna Gunn, Holly Hoopingarner, and Allex Brown also tallied for IUPUI.
 
As a team, the Jags shot 24-for-53 (.453) from the field, and 6-for-15 (.400) from three-point range.  The Jags went 8-for-12 from the free-throw line, and committed 19 fouls for the game.  The Jags were outrebounded by the Coyotes 20-30, as IUPUI committed 13 turnovers for the game.  The Jags forced 17 turnovers defensively.  The Coyotes shot .561 from the field and went 11-for-17 (.647) from three-point range for the afternoon. 

"We have a lot to work on when we get back, and have to regain the toughness that has always been a staple in our program," Coach Parkinson added.
 
Tolen started off the game with a jumper just under two minutes in to give the Jags a brief lead.  Lawrence netted a layup to break up seven-straight point from the 'Yotes, before USD ripped a three-pointer on the next possession.  After three misses from the Jags on their next three shots, Hoopingarner got into the action with a three-point shot on a setup by Lawrence to close the gap, 7-10.  A pair of and-one plays by the Coyotes more than doubled up the Jags, but Lawrence answered back with her second layup of the game.  Brown hit a layup on an assist from Rogers, but the Jags were marred by four early turnovers as the Coyotes had built an 11-23 lead.  Needing a pick-me-up, Tolen received a long in-bounds pass and tossed it up just before the buzzer, hitting a three-pointer to send the teams to the second quarter, 14-23.
 
Lawrence hit a quick layup to answer a free-throw and three-point shot from USD that soured the beginning of the second quarter.  She'd hit again on a triple on a solid kick-out pass from Brown in the paint.  Rogers hit a jumper to quickly respond to a Coyotes layup, but two free-throws the other way negated the bucket.  With an intensified pace to the offense, Lawrence went down the floor and hit a jumper to push it to 11 points in the first half.  She'd miss a long-bomb which quickly turned into a three-pointer the other way, but Brown managed to sneak in a right-side corner three before a media timeout.  Hall stripped the ball away and took it the floor for a layup and a speedy breakaway, followed by an incredibly athletic play by Lawrence on a steal who threw the ball behind her back to awaiting teammates to save it from going out of bounds.  It led to a pair of free-throws for Rogers to cut it to a six-point game.  Hall drew a foul at the two-minute mark and knocked down a free-throw, making it 31-36.  South Dakota, however, answered quickly with a three-pointer just seconds later, followed by a pair of free-throws to reclaim a double-digit lead.  Lawrence tallied a layup with under a minute to go, then knocked down a pair of free-throws with two seconds on the clock to send the teams to halftime with the score 35-43. 
 
In the first half, IUPUI shot 13-for-28 (.464) from the field and 4-for-9 (.444) from three-point range.  Extremely uncharacteristic of the Jags, IUPUI committed 11 fouls and sent the Coyotes to the free-throw line 16 times.  After turning the ball over five times in the first quarter, the Jags slowed it to a single turnover in the second.  A positive for the defense, the Jags limited Arens to just six points in the first half. 
 
It took nearly two minutes, but Gunn took the lid off the bucket in the second half with a layup on a setup from Lawrence.  After four-straight from the 'Yotes, Rogers found an opening on a jumper to bring it to a single-digit deficit.  Following a timeout, Rogers hit again on a setup from Tolen, but the momentum was wiped away on a three-point shot from USD.  Hall knocked down a triple on a pass from Gunn, then stole the ball which led to a Rogers jumper.  Rogers then tallied a free-throw and another jumper under the minute mark to push the game to 49-55.  Neither team could hit again before time expired, as the Jags continued to try and close the gap.  Rogers led her team with nine points in the quarter.
 
Gunn started off the fourth quarter with a pair of free-throws to trim it to a four-point game, but the Coyotes quickly tossed in a triple on the other side.  A second triple would force the Jags to burn a timeout just two and a half minutes into the action, as the deficit once again grew to double-digits.  Out of the break, Rogers knocked down a jumper for her 15th point of the game, then added a layup under a minute later.  She'd hit again on a pass from Gunn, quickly followed by an IUPUI timeout.  After a three-pointer and a pair of free-throws, Rogers added yet another layup, but couldn't complete the and-one play.  Four-straight points from USD force the Jags to burn a timeout at the 1:44 mark, as the 'Yotes owned a 13-point lead.  Hall would hit a triple with under a minute to play, but it was too little, too late, as USD closed out the game with a 62-75 win.
 
With the loss, the Jags will now aim to right the ship Wednesday (Jan. 11) in Brookings, South Dakota, as the Jags face South Dakota State at 8 p.m. EST. 
 
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