INDIANAPOLIS – IUPUI will look to continue a five-game winning streak on Monday night (Jan. 15) but will face one of its toughest tests of the season as the Jags welcome No. 25 Green Bay to the Jungle.
Horizon League play has started off with a bang for the Jags who are off to the best start in program history at 13-3 and have a perfect 5-0 record in conference play. In those five wins, the Jags have won by an average of 23 points.
IUPUI pushed its winning streak to a season-high five games with an 80-64 win over Oakland on Saturday (Jan. 13). Freshman
Macee Williams scored a career-high 24 points and added 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Williams is averaging 21 points in her last two games after an 18 points showing against Detroit Mercy.
Danielle Lawrence was second on the team with 19 points and moved in to 8
th place all-time on the IUPUI career scoring list during the game.
IUPUI's defense locked down the Golden Grizzlies in the second half, allowing just 34.7 percent shooting and holding Oakland to just seven points in the fourth quarter. The Jags also dominated on the boards, holding a 40-22 advantage and a 13-4 edge on the offensive glass.
Head coach
Austin Parkinson's squad will now get a taste of the Horizon League elite when they host three-time defending champion Green Bay on Monday at 7 p.m. The Phoenix are ranked No. 25 in the most recent AP Poll and No. 24 in the most recent USA Today Coaches' Poll. After losing to Northern Kentucky in their second Horizon League game of the season, the Phoenix have rattled off a perfect three-game homestand coming in to Monday's matchup.
The game between the Jags and the Phoenix will be a battle of strength-vs.-strength. IUPUI enters the game second in the Horizon League averaging 74.6 points per game and is shooting a league-high 45.8 percent from the field. Green Bay prides itself on its defense as it is tops in the league in scoring defense (47.4 ppg) and opposing field goal percentage (31.9%). The battle on the glass will also be important as both teams are in the top three in the league defensive rebounding.
Green Bay is led by standout Jessica Lindstrom, who is averaging 14.2 points per game and 9.8 rebounds per game. Lindstrom is also shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from the three-point line. Allie LeClaire is the only other Phoenix to be averaging double-figures, scoring 13.4 points on 46 percent shooting.
This will be the third meeting all-time between IUPUI and Green Bay. Green Bay won both previous meetings with the Jags, coming in 1999 and 2000.
For those unable to make it to the Jungle for the matchup, the game will be broadcast on ESPN3 with Scott Agness on the call.
