Box Score (pdf) Box Score (html) Photo Gallery Video Highlights Coach Parkinson Post Game

INDIANAPOLIS – They were tired.  They were hurting.  And they faced an uphill battle for most of the day.  But in the end, the Jags did what they do best; they found a way to win.
 
The IUPUI women's basketball team (19-7, 9-4) dug deep and found a way to pull off the upset, dropping South Dakota State (19-6, 10-3) 64-59 Saturday afternoon (Feb. 11), setting things up for a wild finish over the remaining three games. 
 
"Obviously, we have a ton of respect for South Dakota State and I think they're the most disciplined team and one of the most talented that we play," Head Coach Austin Parkinson said following the victory.  "When you play a good team like that, it's going to come down to a couple plays.  We were fortunate enough to make the ones when it mattered."
 
As a team, the Jags shot 24-for-49 (.490) from the field as Danielle Lawrence led the way yet again with 20 points on an 8-for-15 shooting performance.  The junior posted nine points in the fourth quarter alone, coming through for the Jags with key plays that ultimately led to the victory.  Jenna Gunn had an extremely efficient game, going 7-for-8 with 15 points and five rebounds while Mikale Rogers fought through injury to put up 11 points and seven rebounds with a block. 
 
"I thought Danielle stepped up and I thought Mikale emotionally really got us going," Coach Parkinson added.  "In the fourth quarter, we were able to get stops."
 
Responding to a South Dakota State basket to open up the game, Caitlyn Tolen popped the net on a left-side triple that put the Jags up.  After a Jackrabbits' three-pointer was negated after tipping off the shot clock, Lawrence went the other way and dropped in a layup.  Gunn got the ball on a fast break and connected in transition while being fouled, completing the three-point play with a free-throw.  An and-one play for SDSU helped the Jacks cut into the Jaguars' lead, followed by an assault on the rim that gave the visiting team a layup and another and-one.  Lawrence worked to the hoop and drew contact, knocking down a free-throw to set the score at 9-10.  With under a minute to play, IUPUI added a pair of free-throws from Sydney Hall while the score sat at 10-12.  The Jags shot 3-for-8 in the first quarter, as the teams went even in rebounds with seven each. 
 
Rogers opened up scoring in the second quarter at the 7:58 mark on the clock, receiving the ball down low and dropping in a turnaround jumper.  A mishandled defensive rebound led to an easy layup for the Jacks, as the Jags trailed by four.  Lawrence negated the fluke play on the other side, hop-stepping to her right and dropping in a touch shot off the glass.  Gunn set up Lawrence again, who found herself left alone near the rim as she dropped in the layup.  Gunn then worked towards the rim a pair of trips later, passing the ball out to Hall who hit a contested three-point shot.  A weird play on the fast break, Hall took a ball off the side of the backboard, then passed it to Holly Hoopingarner who stepped in and knocked down a jumper.  After a media timeout, Rogers cleaned up a three-point shot that went in-and-out, dropping in the layup on the offensive board.  Kelsi Byrd found Tolen in the right-side corner, as the teams exchanged three-point shots.  A well-designed play, the Jags pushed toward the hoop then distributed the ball around the paint, eventually finding an open Gunn on the left-side of the hoop for a layup.  The Jacks managed to add a layup just before the half, as IUPUI trailed 28-31 heading into the break.  The Jags shot 8-for-16 in the second quarter, as the Jacks controlled the boards 8-11.  The Jags coughed up eight turnovers in the first half, forcing six on the other side.
 
A timeout to sort through a 4-0 run by SDSU led to Rogers finding Gunn near the rim for an easy layup.  Lawrence was fouled underneath the hoop, as the junior knocked down a pair of free-throws to help answer a three-point shot from the Jacks.  Rogers again found Gunn near the rim, hooking up for the second time in as many tries.  After a block from Rogers on the defensive side, Lawrence beat the D down court on a fast break layup.  Rogers spun towards the hoop and dropped one in off the glass, answering five-straight from SDSU.  After getting bulldozed by an official, Lawrence got to her feet, scrambled down court to pick off a pass, then went the other way on an assist to Gunn for a layup.  Lawrence again drew contact working towards the basket, knocking down 1-of-2 shots from the charity stripe.  Rogers fought through a double-team to hit a tightly contested shot, as IUPUI pulled within five points at 43-48.  Answering back-to-back buckets from South Dakota State, Lawrence pulled in a pair of defenders, then found Rogers unprotected near the hoop for an easy layup.  The score at the end of the third quarter was 45-52 in favor of South Dakota State.  IUPUI once again shot efficiently, going 7-for-14 from the field but lost the battle on the glass 4-9.
 
Allex Brown opened up the fourth quarter with a pair of free-throws, followed by another two from Tolen as IUPUI pulled within three points.  The Jags seemed to find a game plan they liked, as Rogers was fouled near the hoop and added a free-throw.  A big moment for IUPUI, Clarissa Ober of South Dakota State recorded her fifth foul, as she fouled out of the contest.  After the departure of the 6' 2" Ober, Lawrence went to the rim, spinning her way to a layup.  Tolen twisted away from a defender and found Brown cutting to the rim for an easy layup.  Lawrence again worked to the hoop and dropped in another contested layup, moving to 14 points for the game.  She'd repeat the process, doing it again two possessions later.  Gunn turned on the jets, taking a rebound and running it the length of the floor to beat a 1-on-1 and give IUPUI a one-point lead.  Rogers, operating with under a minute to play, made perhaps the biggest play of the game.  After a broken play, she remained calm and found Lawrence who beat her defender and worked to the rim for a layup.  That play might've been the difference, as it put IUPUI up by three and forced South Dakota State to play the foul game. Hall knocked down two free-throws and IUPUI kept the Jacks without a basket as the game ended, 64-59.
 
"She made a broken play into a good play," Coach Parkinson said of Rogers' late pass.  "We ran something that didn't quite get executed the way we wanted it, she read the defense and Danielle went back door.  For your center to make a back door pass to put you up three, it's not usually how you draw it up but outstanding recognition on her part."
 
Following the emotional victory, the Jags will take on North Dakota State on Feb. 18 in Fargo, North Dakota at 1 p.m. EST.  The Jags final two games will be played at home against South Dakota and Fort Wayne.
 
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