ORLANDO, Fla – IUPUI women's basketball suffered its first loss of the season after a 63-59 loss at UCF on Saturday (Nov. 25) afternoon.
 
The Jags (3-1) attempted a comeback in the fourth quarter, but ended up coming falling just short against UCF (3-3) as the Knights made enough free-throws down the stretch to stay ahead of the IUPUI.
 
"UCF presented some problems defensively with their length and at the same time we made it easier on them by forcing difficult shots and holding the ball," said head coach Austin Parkinson.
 
After a free throw by Lawriell Wilson gave UCF a 60-51 lead, Danielle Lawrence did everything she could to give the Jags a chance. Lawrence made a layup followed that up with a three to pull the Jags within four. Another free throw by Wilson put the Knights up five with 14 seconds left. Lawrence came right back down the court and hit another three to make it a one-score game but Aliyah Gregory hit both free throws to put the game out of reach.
 
IUPUI got itself in trouble in the third quarter when it was outscored 16-9 in the quarter. With four minutes left in the quarter, IUPUI went on a 5-0 run with three points from Lawrence and a bucket from Holly Hoopingarner to give the Jags a 39-38 lead. The bucket by Hoopingarner would be the last time IUPUI would score in the quarter as UCF went on a 9-0 run to take a 47-39 lead after three.
 
"UCF presented some problems defensively with their length and at the same time we made it easier on them by forcing difficult shots and holding the ball," said head coach Austin Parkinson. "We have a short turnaround and have to get ready for a tough Wyoming team."
 
Macee Williams led the Jags with 18 points and recorded her first double-double of her career pulling down 12 rebounds, nine of the those on the offensive end. Williams did most of her damage in the first half as the game went back and forth and the rest of the Jags were struggling to find the hoop. Williams finished the game shooting 6-for-9 from the field and 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
 
"Macee [Williams] was a real bright spot by dominating the offensive glass," said Parkinson.
 
Lawrence and Sydney Hall were second on the team with 16 points apiece but both struggled from the floor. Lawrence shot 29 percent from the field (6-for21) and was only 2-for-9 from the three-point line. Hall shot the same percentage going 4-for-14 from the field and was 4-for-11 from deep. As a team the Jags only shot 35 percent from the field, the lowest in any game this season.
 
The Jags had not trailed in a game all season but found their first deficit in an interesting way. A pre-game technical foul was assessed to IUPUI, giving UCF two free throws before the game and the Knights a 2-0 lead before the tip. The Jags would shrug off the deficit and battle back in the first quarter to take a five-point lead with three minutes left in the frame after a three-point play by Lawrence.
 
The five point lead by the Jags was the biggest margin in the game until UCF took a six-point lead during the run to end the third quarter. Kornelia Wright led the Knights with 16 points, Wilson had 14 and Masseny Kaba had 11.
 
IUPUI is back in action tomorrow (Nov. 26) to finish up the UCF Thanksgiving Classic with a game against Wyoming.