INDIANAPOLIS – IUPUI women's basketball fans will get their first look at the 2018-19 Jaguars in live game action when IUPUI plays host to IU Kokomo in an exhibition on Friday (Nov. 2). The game against the Cougars starts at 7 p.m. and those that cannot make it to the Jungle can watch the game on ESPN3.

Head coach Austin Parkinson's squad begins its second season in the Horizon League picked to finish second in the preseason poll. Sophomore Macee Williams was picked as the preseason Player of the Year in the Horizon and was also named to the Lisa Leslie Award Watch List as one of the top centers in women's college basketball a year after being named Horizon League Freshman of the Year.

Williams is IUPUI's leading returning scorer after averaging 13.0 points per game and pulling down 7.7 rebounds in her freshman year. Seniors Tamya Sims, Sydney Hall and Allex Brown enter their final year in a Jaguar uniform. Sims and Hall will have the expectation of shouldering offensive production after scoring 10.6 and 8.6 points per game last year, respectively.

Holly Hoopingarner is the lone junior on the squad and scored 6.2 points per game last season and led the Jags in free throw percentage at .868.
Parkinson's loaded sophomore class features Williams, Morgan Allen, Sydney Roule, Brittney Welch, Agatha Beier and transfer Katelyn O'Reilly.

The Jags have a two-person freshman class featuring Briana Mishler and Taylor Ramey.

ABOUT IU KOKOMO

This will be the second meeting against IU Kokomo for the Jags, the last coming in 2014 when IUPUI beat the Cougars 102-44.
IU Kokomo has started its season out on a strong note, winning their first two games over Mount Vernon Nazarene and IU South Bend.

QUOTABLE

"I know the players are ready to get going as it seems like we have been practicing against ourselves for quite a while now," said Parkinson. "It should be fun to see this team develop its identity and personality during the preseason."