ST. LOUIS, Mo. – A truly saddening sight after the Jags put together an incredible season, the IUPUI women's basketball team (24-9, 12-4) saw their season end in the first round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) at the hands of Saint Louis, 57-62 Thursday night (March 16).  It brings an end to a year in which the Jags generated a ton of buzz around one of the most underrated programs in the nation, as head coach Austin Parkinson has truly created an up-and-coming mid-major force out of the Summit League.

"Always difficult finishing the year with a loss, but our kids fought their tails off tonight," Coach Parkinson said.  "Saint Louis is a very well-coached team, and defensively we were able to disrupt them for a good portion of the game."
 
The Jags shot 22-for-53 on the night, going 8-for-19 from three-point range.  Defensively, IUPUI blanked the Billikens from beyond the arc, as Saint Louis was unable to convert a single three-point shot.  SLU came away with the battle for the boards however, outrebounding IUPUI 42-22.  Mikale Rogers was the lead scorer for the Jags, finishing with 17 points and six rebounds with a block.  She was limited in her court time due to getting into foul trouble in the third quarter, eventually fouling out in the fourth.  Kelsi Byrd had a season-high and career-high tying 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting in her farewell game, going 4-for-7 from three-point range.  Jenna Gunn was strong early, picking up nine points, five rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.

"Jenna Gunn was outstanding the last half of the season, and was a major reason we were in the game late," Coach Parkinson said.
 
Holly Hoopingarner was able to add six points, while Caitlyn Tolen, Sydney Hall and Danielle Lawrence were held to just three points each.  Saint Louis commanded the paint, putting up 46 points to just 16 for IUPUI.  The tables turned in each half, as SLU had 14 turnovers at halftime before the Jags could only force four in the second and committed nine of their own.

"Unfortunately, we had a lot of turnovers in the second half, which created easy transition baskets," Coach Parkinson added.
 
Making good use of the opening possession, Rogers put up the first points for IUPUI just 12 seconds into the contest, hitting a layup on a setup from Lawrence.  After a turnover by Saint Louis, Tolen stepped behind the three-point arc and drilled a shot.  Rogers hit a jumper to end roughly a three-minute stretch without any points from IUPUI, as the Jags pulled within one, 7-8.  Byrd answered the call and knocked down her first triple of the game, followed soon after by an and-one from Gunn as the Jags built a five-point edge.  Three-straight fouls by the Billikens put Gunn at the line, as she drilled a pair at the 3:48 mark to cap an 8-0 run by the Jags.  Turnovers hurt SLU through the early going, as the team committed five to just one for IUPUI.  The home team also had five fouls, as Gunn returned to the line and hit a single shot.  Scoring droughts ensued for both teams over the next three minutes, finally ending on a layup from the Billikens.  Another SLU layup rubbed salt in the Jags brief wound as the team shot 0-for-5 over their last handful of opportunities.  They ended the quarter with a 16-12 lead.
 
Hoopingarner started the second frame by hitting a jumper and a layup in the span of roughly 20 seconds, as the Jags surged ahead.  Byrd netted her second triple of the game to answer back-to-back bucket from the Billikens, setting the table at 23-15.  She followed with a jumper to answer another pair of paints from the opposition, moving to a team-high eight points in the game.  Sadie Stipanovich, who led the game with 12 points at the time, netted two free-throws for SLU, followed by a three-pointer from Jordyn Frantz to break up three scoreless minutes by both teams.  Hall answered the call for the Jags by ripping a triple, pulling in a pass from Gunn and dropping it in the net.  Gunn followed with her own heroics, stopping four-straight with a three-point shot to make it 31-26.  The Jags ended the half with the lead, as both teams picked up steals and missed three-pointers to end the frame.  Despite being outrebounded 26-12, the Jags forced 14 turnovers and picked up five steals.  IUPUI shot 3-for-7 from three-point range in the second quarter.
 
Lawrence connected with Rogers for the first points of the second half for IUPUI, but it took mere seconds before Stipanovich returned volley.  She'd hit again on back-to-back jumpers, sandwiching a Rogers jumper to make it 35-32.  Another jumper by SLU made it a one-point game, but Hoopingarner worked an opening to hit her third field goal of the contest.  A foul by Byrd sent the teams into a media timeout, as the Billikens retook the floor and hit 1-of-2 free-throws.  Rogers reached double-digit points with a jumper at the 3:24 mark, as she made it back-to-back on a setup from Byrd.  The connection marked a 5-for-7 stretch by the Jags, but the team couldn't distance themselves after another pair of buckets from Saint Louis.  The Billikens eventually pulled ahead on an and-one play, capping a 7-0 run over a two-minute stretch.  A pair of free-throws that came after Rogers committed her fourth foul of the game gave SLU its biggest lead, 41-45.  Byrd was able to answer back with a bucket, her 10th point of the game and the final points of the third quarter as IUPUI headed to the fourth, trailing by two.
 
Three-straight scoring possessions by Saint Louis seemed to show the Billikens pulling away, but IUPUI showed composure after a Parkinson timeout, going on an 8-2 run to climb back in it.  Two layups from SLU made it 51-57 as IUPUI had to burn another timeout.  A huge shot, Lawrence hit her first bucket of the game on a three-point shot, making it a three-point game.  After a layup the other way, the game came to a pause with just over a minute remaining on an official's review to determine if a player touched the ball prior to going out of bounds.  The officials awarded the ball to Saint Louis, who went down court and hit 1-of-2 free-throws on a foul from Rogers, her fifth of the game.  She was disqualified from the contest and finished with 17 points and six rebounds.  Forced to foul after an inbounds pass was taken away, the Billikens hit 1-of-2 free-throws before Byrd pulled in a board and went the length of the floor for a three-point shot.  Pushing the score to 57-61, the Jags again had to foul.  Despite getting some misses from the Billikens, IUPUI couldn't answer the call, as the game ended with the final score 57-62.
 
The loss brings to an end what has been a storied and accomplished year for IUPUI.  A pair of 1,000-point players, the all-time winningest head coach, a pair of victories against two power-five schools and the team's first trip to the Summit League Tournament finale were only a handful of the many highlights that made the 2016-17 season so special.  The senior trio, consisting of Rogers, Byrd and Tolen, were part of so many wins, 83 in total, and advanced to three WNITs in their time at IUPUI.  They truly elevated their team and the program to unprecedented heights, and their impact will be felt for many years to come.

"This senior group accomplished a lot in their four years and will always be remembered for their record setting season," Coach Parkinson finished.
 
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