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INDIANAPOLIS – On a day littered with honors and recognition prior to tipoff, the IUPUI women's basketball team (22-7, 12-4) closed out their regular season with a 66-55 win over Fort Wayne (5-24, 2-14) Saturday afternoon (Feb. 25), setting up a scoreboard watch as the Jags will wait to see where they finish in the Summit League standings. The win guarantees at least the No. 2 spot in the tournament, as the final standings will be decided by the outcome of the South Dakota at Western Illinois game.
Recognizing their seniors before the contest, IUPUI honored the accomplished careers of
Mikale Rogers,
Caitlyn Tolen, and
Kelsi Byrd, a group that has combined for 81 wins and a pair of WNIT appearances. The Jags also handed out the Seiler and McPherson awards, giving the nod to Tolen and
Danielle Lawrence for their contributions and commitment to the team's success. Lawrence capped the pre-game recognition by receiving a ball in honor of reaching the 1,000-point milestone at IUPUI.
The victory pushes IUPUI to five-straight wins, and victories in 11 of their last 12 contests. On the day, the Jags combined to shoot .478 from the field, including 4-for-10 from three-point range. Lawrence led the charge with 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting, also adding four rebounds and four assists. Rogers added 15 points and a pair of blocks. Byrd and
Jenna Gunn each added eight points, while
Holly Hoopingarner,
Allex Brown,
Sydney Hall, and Tolen each scored for IUPUI.
Getting the ball and operating near the right-side of the rim, Byrd drove to the hoop and found a wide-open Rogers, who dropped it in for a layup. Lawrence followed up a pair of possessions later with a hard pump fake on a charge to the iron, completing it with a nice tough layup. After a single free-throw from Lawrence, Hall stepped to the line and dropped in a pair as the Jags built a 7-2 lead. Hoopingarner broke up over two minutes of scoreless ball with a smooth juke that shook her defender and allowed her a free path to the basket. Gunn pulled in a pass a pair of trips later and knocked it down from three-point range, doubling up the 'Dons on the scoreboard. Lawrence charged to the hoop and found Brown wide open on the left-side for a layup, responding to a Fort Wayne steal and fast break bucket. The Jags would close the first quarter with a 15-10 lead. IUPUI shot 5-for-8 in the quarter, while limiting the 'Dons to a 4-for-12 (.333) showing.
Lawrence opened up the IUPUI scoring in the second quarter by shaking off a double team and finding Byrd beyond the hoop, who dropped in a triple to stop four-straight points from Fort Wayne. Lawrence again set up her teammates, this time Gunn on a fast break lob pass that resulted in a layup and a foul. She'd convert the and-one play. Hoopingarner got the ball and worked through contact for a step-in jumper, as the Jags went up 23-14. Byrd kept up the aggressive play by fighting through air-tight defense to put up a contested layup. Byrd then got the ball at the top of the arc and sent in an arching pass to Rogers who broke free down low, dropping in the layup. Rogers went up and under on a play near the hoop, dropping in a bucket while nearly horizontal to the ground. Lawrence utilized a pair of head fakes to shake free two defenders, as the junior guard worked to the rim and dropped in a layup. Tolen added two free-throws, Byrd hit a crowd-igniting three-pointer, and the Jags took a 36-21 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Jags continued their efficient shooting performance, going 8-for-15 (.533) in the quarter.
Rogers started the second half with a pair of free-throws, followed by a layup from Lawrence as the Jags continued to build on a halftime lead. Gunn found a wide-open Lawrence near the hoop, as the Jags forced Fort Wayne into a timeout. After a controversial play in which Denver got off a shot just as the shot clock buzzer was sounding, Lawrence went to work on the offensive side, cleaning up a missed shot with an offensive board to a layup. Hall added a free-throw, Lawrence tallied a layup, Brown hit her first bucket of the game and the Jags went up 49-30. Hoopingarner added a single free-throw, followed by two from Tolen as the Jags held a substantial lead at the end of three quarters. After a Brown layup with seconds remaining, the Jags closed the quarter with a 54-37 lead.
An 8-0 run by Fort Wayne rattled the Jags at the start of the quarter, as IUPUI was forced to burn an early timeout after three minutes of action. They'd extend it to 11-0 after a three-point shot, as the Jaguar faithful grew anxious with the lead rapidly shrinking. Lawrence settled some of the nerves with a clutch three-point shot, as IUPUI at long last broke up the scoring drought. Rogers added a pair of free-throws, but the 'Dons continued to score down the stretch. A play that brought the Jungle to its feet, the Jags worked the ball around the court with great passing, as Rogers finally ended up with the ball near the rim, dropping in the layup and drawing contact. She completed the and-one play. Lawrence netted a pair of free-throws, as IUPUI had a strong enough lead with under a minute to play. The Jags walked away with a 66-55 win.
The Jags will be back in action at the Summit League Tournament in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, beginning March 4th.
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