INDIANAPOLIS – The IUPUI Jaguars will be making their third-straight appearance in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) playing host the Purdue on Thursday (March 15) with tipoff at 7 p.m.
The game can be listened to on IUPUIJags.com with Scott Agness on the play-by-play call. Tickets will go on sale at the door at 6 p.m. Tickets will be $10 for fans 13 and older and $5 for fans 3-12 years of age. IUPUI students with a Crimson Card will be able to get in for free.
Head coach Austin Parkinson's squad earned the opportunity to host the first round matchup after finishing second in the Horizon League this season with a 13-5 record. It will be the second time out of seven WNIT games the Jags have played at home, with the first being a matchup against San Diego in 2016.
IUPUI (22-9, 13-5 Horizon) will play Purdue (18-13, 9-7 Big Ten) for the sixth time in school history, with all five previous meetings coming since Parkinson, a Purdue graduate, took control of the Jaguars program. IUPUI is 1-4 all-time against the Boilermakers, winning the last meeting with Purdue, 67-62 in West Lafayette. The only meeting between the two teams at the Jungle came in 2013 with Purdue winning 76-56.
The Jags will look to keep the careers going of seniors
Danielle Lawrence and
Jenna Gunn. Lawrence leads the team with 17.3 points per game, a career-high, and is also shooting a career-best 45.2% from the field and 39.4% from the three-point line. Lawrence has also scored at least ten points in 16-straight games and has reached double-figures 27 times this year.
Gunn was named to the Horizon League All-Defensive Team and has been a steady contributor for the Jags all season. Gunn is leading the Jags on the season with 3.0 assists per game and is averaging 5.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.
The revelation of the season has been the play of Horizon League Freshman of the Year
Macee Williams. Williams is second on the team with 13.0 points per game and leads IUPUI with 7.7 rebounds a contest. Williams has a team-high seven double-doubles this season and has scored in double figures in her last nine contests. Williams has reached double figure points in 23 games this season, the most by a freshman at IUPUI in the last ten seasons.
SCOUTING PURDUE
The Boilermakers finished seventh in the Big Ten with a 9-7 conference mark and were 6-6 on the season away from West Lafayette. Five Boilermakers are averaging double figures this season with Dominique Oden leading the way at 13.6 points per game. Andreona Keys is second on the team at 13.5 points per game, followed by Ae'Rianna Harris (12.3), Karissa McLaughlin (10.1) and Lamina Cooper (10.0).
After the starters, there hasn't been much scoring this year as the next best scorer is Tamara Farquhar with 4.6 points per contest. The Boilermakers are shooting 43.9% from the field on the year.
Defensively, Purdue is allowing opponents to shoot 41.2% from the field and is allowing 62.6 points per game. Statistically, Purdue has been very close with their opponents, holding a +3.4 scoring margin, a +1.0 rebounding margin and a -0.9 turnover margin.
QUOTABLE
"We are excited to be part of the WNIT and looking forward to playing a home game against a talented Purdue team," said Parkinson. "If we want to be successful we have to get back to taking care of the ball and rebound defensively."
