TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – IUPUI earned a hard-fought victory, 64-59 over Indiana State on Monday (Dec. 3) as four Jaguars scored in double figures. Macee Williams led the way for IUPUI with 18 points and pulled down seven rebounds.

After one of the worst offensive performances under Austin Parkinson against Northern Iowa, IUPUI bounced back with the best shooting night of the season hitting 52% from the field. Behind Williams, Hoopingarner scored 15, including nine in the fourth quarter. Sydney Roule scored a career-high 14 points going 4-for-6 from three and Tamya Sims scored 11 in just 18 minutes of play.

"Once we stopped turning the ball over we started getting pretty good looks," said head coach Austin Parkinson. "Give [Indiana State] a lot of credit. They played their tails off and Coach Hall has done a really nice job. We were able to get stops late in the game and I think Allex Brown's minutes maybe turned the game. She took care of the ball, she took charges, she got rebounds, she did all those little things that matter to win games."

IUPUI used an 8-0 run in the middle of the first quarter to turn a 6-4 lead into a 14-4 lead. After Williams hit a jumper, Sims added a layup. The next two baskets came after steals as Hall and Roule both scored breakaway layups after steals. After five-straight points from Indiana State, Roule found her rhythm from deep, hitting two threes as IUPUI closed the quarter on a 6-2 run to lead 20-11 after the first 10 minutes.

The Jags shot a blistering 82% from the field in the first quarter, hitting 9-of-11 shots and went 2-for-3 from the free throw line. The only thing hurting the Jags was and 0-for-5 effort from the free throw stripe.
IUPUI was plagued by the turnover bug committing six turnovers in the first six minutes of the frame to let the Sycamores back in to the ballgame. Indiana State's switch to a zone on the defensive end shut down the Jags offense and a 12-0 run over a 3:24 span put Indiana State in front 31-26 before a layup by Hoopingarner put a stop to the damage. The Sycamores continued to pour in baskets on route to shooting 71% from the field in the second quarter and taking a 35-31 halftime lead.

"I thought our kids came out with the right approach," said Parkinson. "I think we had the right mindset to begin with and I thought that was a big part to begin with. We played with more balance inside-out, our shooters stepped up."

Both offenses cooled down coming out of halftime with both teams shooting under 43% in the third quarter. IUPUI began the quarter scoring the first four points but ISU responding with seven-straight. The Jags continued to battle but Indiana State remained up seven with just over a minute left. Sims then scored five of the next seven points to end the quarter and pull the Jags back to within four to end the quarter.

IUPUI continued to claw its way back in to the game to start the fourth quarter with four points by Williams to make it a two-point game. After a stop, Hoopingarner hit her first three point shot of the night to give the Jags a 52-51 lead. ISU took the lead right back but Hoopingarner drove to the hoop, made the layup and got the foul to earn the three-point play putting the Jags up two. After another free throw by Hoopingarner, Roule hit her fourth three of the night to push the lead to six.

After struggling all night from the free throw line IUPUI hit three of four to keep the lead at six but ISU hit a three to make it a one possession game with 1:46 left on the clock. After both teams when scoreless over the next minute, IUPUI had the ball with seven second left on the shot clock and 14 left in the game. Hoopingarner's pull up jumper was off the mark but Williams pulled down the rebound and her put-back gave the Jags a five-point lead that closed out the game.
 
"I was really proud of the kids, they executed the last play," said Parkinson. "Holly found a way to get a shot off, drew the defense and Macee coming through in the clutch to get that rebound, we needed all of them tonight."

IUPUI will have a little bit of a break before playing its next game on Saturday (Dec. 8) with a road trip to Iowa City to face off against the No. 16 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes.