CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – IUPUI earned its first season-opening win since 2013 with a 54-48 win against Northern Iowa on Friday (Nov. 10). It was also the first time since 2013 the Jags have won their first road game.

The Jags (1-0) had four players in double figures, led by junior Sydney Hall who finished with 16 points. Fellow junior Tamya Sims and freshman Macee Williams each had 11 points and Danielle Lawrence added 10.

"Always great to start with a win on the road against a tournament caliber team," said head coach Austin Parkinson.
On a night when both teams struggled shooting, Hall was solid going 5-for-9 from the field and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.

IUPUI never trailed after taking a taking a 5-2 lead after a three by Lawrence but things got close in the fourth quarter. Twice, Northern Iowa (0-1) got within one but the Jags always had an answer. With 4:01 left in the game, a layup by Hagen cut the Jags lead to 47-46. The Jags responded with a 7-0 run featuring a layup by Williams, jumper by Lawrence and another layup by Hall. Lawrence capped off the run with a free throw to extend the lead to 54-46.

In her first game of her college career, Williams shined for the Jags with her 11 points coming on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and also going 3-for-5 from the line as well as pulling down a team-high nine rebounds.

"Macee Williams almost had a double-double in her first college game which shows you what she is capable of," said Parkinson. "The difference in the game was Sydney Hall as she led us in scoring and seemed to get a ton of deflections on defense."

The Jags dominated on defense holding the Panthers to 36 percent shooting and forcing 10 turnovers that IUPUI turned in to 16 points. The Jags got five blocks and 11 steals with Sims getting three blocks and Hall and Williams leading the way with three steals apiece.
"I thought our defense was outstanding for the first game," said Parkinson. "Jenna Gunn held their best player to two points. Also having Tamya [Sims] on the floor with her versatility creates problems as well."

Kennedy Kirkpatrick was the leading scorer for Northern Iowa, finishing with 15 points and Megan Maahs was second on the squad with 10 points and led the team with 16 rebounds.

The game got off to a slow start for both teams with the score in favor of IUPUI at 11-7 after the first ten minutes of play. Both teams shook off the rust in the second quarter as IUPUI scored 21 points and Northern Iowa scored 18. The Jags took a nine point lead after a layup by Hall and pushed the lead to nine points twice more in the quarter before taking a 32-25 lead in to halftime.

IUPUI kept the momentum going early in the third quarter, increasing its lead to 11 after a jumper by Hall but UNI battled back. After a free throw by Sims put the Jags up by seven with 34 seconds left in the quarter, a three-point play by Northern Iowa cut the lead. IUPUI grabbed the momentum heading in to the final quarter as Holly Hoopingarner hit a jumper with two seconds left to give the Jags a 45-39 in to the final frame.

The Jags will be back on the court on Monday, November 13 when they will play host to Georgetown (Ky.). The game will be played at 5 p.m. at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum as part of a double-header with the IUPUI men's game following.