SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Keeping their opponent winless in tournament action since 2009 and continuing their mastery of the Bison, the IUPUI women's basketball team (23-7, 12-4) dominated North Dakota State (6-24, 4-12) from start to finish Saturday afternoon (March 4), finishing with an impressive 69-56 win in the quarterfinal round of the Summit League Tournament. 
 
A complete performance for IUPUI, the Jags shot 22-for-49 (.449) from the field, including 6-for-15 (.400) from three-point range.  The Jags are 17-4 this season when hitting at least six three-pointers.  The Jags were also particularly efficient with their chances at the free-throw line, shooting 19-for-21 for the game while going 12-for-12 in the fourth quarter.  The Jags committed 12 turnovers while forcing 17 on the other side, as IUPUI was guilty of thievery all game with 11 steals. 
 
"We talked about winning every quarter, and we lost that third quarter," Head Coach Austin Parkinson said.  "I thought our kids did a good job coming back in the fourth quarter and taking care of business."
 
Danielle Lawrence continued to torment the Bison as she has all season, scoring 23 points to make it three games against NDSU this season in which she's surpassed the 20-point plateau.  Mikale Rogers finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, as the All-Summit League selection added a block and a steal.  Jenna Gunn had nine points with four rebounds on 4-for-9 shooting, Sydney Hall went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line and finished with eight points, and Caitlyn Tolen was 2-for-4 with five points.  Holly Hoopingarner and Kelsi Byrd also tallied for IUPUI.
 
The Jags were ferocious from the opening tip, as IUPUI leaped out to an 8-0 lead after getting three-pointers from Hall and Lawrence, as well as a fast-break bucket from Lawrence.  The quick run would come to a screeching halt however, as the Bison fought their way back, going on an 8-2 run to trim IUPUI's lead to two.  Lawrence finally solved the brief riddle, dropping in a layup through contact to get a chance at the and-one.  She'd complete the three-point play.  Tolen would bury a triple with 2:30 left on the clock, as the Jags reclaimed a six-point edge.  With time ticking away, IUPUI couldn't add anything in the final pair of minutes, as the Bison knocked down a shot to end the quarter 16-12.  Lawrence led the way with eight points in the quarter, as her team shot 6-for-15 (.400) from the field, going 3-for-4 from three-point range. 
 
It didn't take long for the Jags to ignite another strong run, as IUPUI went 7-0 over a 1:18 stretch, getting buckets from Tolen and Gunn, while seeing another three-pointer drop in from Lawrence.  Rogers would answer a Bison bucket with a layup of her own, but both teams saw the offenses go dry for roughly two minutes before North Dakota State added their second three-point shot of the game.  Rogers again dialed up a response, working to the hoop for a layup on the next possession, setting the score at 29-19.  Byrd added her first points of the game on a layup she generated off of a steal less than a minute later, as Hoopingarner added to the big lead with a triple with under three minutes to go.  A missed three-pointer by NDSU turned into a coast-to-coast layup for Lawrence, as IUPUI went up by 15 points.  A three-pointer by the Bison with under a minute to go cut into the lead, but Rogers was able to net two free-throws just before the half, setting the score at 38-24.  The Jags shot 9-for-18 in the quarter and 2-for-6 from three-point range, forcing five turnovers while committing none of their own.
 
Rogers started the scoring for the Jags in the second half with a jumper a minute into the action, the lone strike in a 6-2 Bison run.  She'd net a layup followed by a single free-throw from Hall, as the Jags saw the competition balance out in a stronger quarter from NDSU.  Rogers hit a jumper to answer a pair of North Dakota State free-throws, followed by a pair of charity stripes tosses from Hoopingarner, as IUPUI did its best to answer four-straight from the Bison.  After nearly three minutes of no points by either side, Rogers hit a single free-throw, followed by a Lawrence layup on a beautiful move to her right with 37 seconds left.  Two Bison free-throw ended the quarter, as IUPUI owned a 50-38 advantage.  A stark contrast to the second quarter, the Jags committed five turnovers in the third, shooting 4-for-10 from the field.  Lawrence and Rogers both had 15 points heading into the final frame.
 
Lawrence began the fourth quarter with a jumper just a touch over a minute into the action.  After back-to-back layups from NDSU, Gunn hit a layup of her own, followed by two Lawrence free-throws to hold a 14-point lead.  Two more free-throws from Lawrence ended four-straight from the Bison, but the Jags were blanked from the field for more than three minutes.  At long last, Gunn hit a three-pointer to end the drought, as IUPUI led by double-digits with three minutes to play.  Hall earned a trip to the free-throw line on a foul well away from the iron, netting both shots as the game looked to be well in hand.  Lawrence would add two from the charity stripe after getting fouled following an offensive board, as Hall would add a pair as well.  With the foul game seemingly in play, Byrd would get her chance at the line and drop in two more, as the Jags cruised to a big win, 69-56.
 
With the win, the Jags will now await the winner of No. 3 South Dakota State and No. 6 Oral Roberts, with the winner facing IUPUI on Monday (March 6) at 3:30 p.m. EST.
 
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