CLEVELAND, Ohio – IUPUI earned a hard-fought 77-64 victory over Cleveland State on Thursday (Jan. 4). Danielle Lawrence led the Jags with 22 points and Macee Williams recorded her second career double-double.
 
IUPUI (10-3, 2-0 Horizon) is now the team in the Horizon League who has not lost a conference game after handing Cleveland State (10-4, 2-1) its first lost of the season.
 
For the first time this season, the Jags overcame a halftime deficit to win a game after trailing the Vikings 35-32 at the break. IUPUI outscored Cleveland State by nine in the third quarter and seven in the fourth to pull away for the win.
 
"This was a very good road win for us as Cleveland State is a talented team," said head coach Austin Parkinson. "We shot the ball really well from three and played unselfish basketball."
 
Lawrence reached 20 points for the second-straight game and fifth time this season, scoring her game-high 22 on 7-for-9 shooting, including hitting three of her four three point attempts. Lawrence was also a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line. With her second made free throw of the day, Lawrence tallied her 19^th point and moved in to 10^th all-time on the IUPUI career-scoring list and now sits at 1,299 career points. Lawrence did most of her damage in the second half, scoring 16 of her 22 points after the break after only play eight first half minutes due to foul trouble.
 
"Danielle [Lawrence] overcame some fouls to have one of her most efficient games of the year and Jenna [Gunn] shot the ball with confidence, which is great."
 
Three other Jags finished in double-figures with Jenna Gunn scoring 13 points on 4-for-6 shooting and hitting two of three threes. It was the first time in her career that Gunn has hit two threes. Williams finished with 12 points, her fourth-straight game in double-figures, hitting a career-high eight free throws, and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. Tamya Sims scored 10 points to reach double figures for the sixth time in her last seven games.
 
Overall, the Jags shot 48.9 percent from the field, the fourth-highest mark of the season and had season-highs in free throws made (21) and free throw attempts (28). The Jags also went 10-for-21 from behind the three-point line, hitting 10 threes for just the second time this season, as six Jags each hit a three point shot. The 47percent mark from downtown for the Jags is the second-highest percentage of the year.
 
The Jags began the second half on a 9-1 run to take a 41-36 lead after Sims hit a three point shot. The run saw four free-throws from Williams and a layup from Jenna Gunn. The Vikings would get as close as three in the quarter but the Jags managed to respond every time Cleveland State attempted a comeback.
 
When Cleveland State pulled within four at 55-51 in the fourth, Lawrence took over. The senior scored 12 of IUPUI's next 13 points as the Jags went on a 13-3 run to put the game out of reach.
 
IUPUI jumped out to an early lead, using an 11-2 run, capped by a jumper from Allex Brown to take an 11-6 lead but Cleveland State responded. Ashanti Abshaw had her way with the Jags in the first half, scoring 15 points and Cleveland State climbed back to take the halftime lead.
 
The Jags buckled down on defense on Abshaw in the second half, holding the second-highest scorer in the Horizon League to just six second half points on 2-for-6 shooting. The Jags also forced Cleveland State in to 11 second half turnovers and 21 total for the game. IUPUI held the third-best three point shooting team to just 23 percent from behind the arc as the Vikings went 3-for-13.
 
IUPUI overcame the second most turnovers they have committed this season, 20, in what was a sloppy game for both teams but the Jags did dish out 17 assists, led by Lawrence who finished with five and Holly Hoopingarner, who had four.
 
The Jags will be back in action on the road at Youngstown State on Saturday, Jan. 6. The game will tipoff at 4:15 p.m. and Scott Agness will be on the call on IUPUIJags.com. The game against the Penguins can also be seen on ESPN3.