CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – A free throw by Northern Iowa with less than one second left sent IUPUI to its fifth-straight loss on the road as the Jags fell to the Panthers 51-50 on Sunday afternoon (Dec. 15). The Jags were led by Macee Williams, who finished the game with an 11-point, 15-rebound double-double.

IUPUI (5-5) was down by six after a Northern Iowa (7-3) three with 8:41 left to play. In what was a defensive battle, neither team scored until a Rachel McLimore layup with 4:49 in the game. The Jags continued to keep UNI off the board as Holly Hoopingarner hit a jumper to make it a one-possession game. With just over two minutes left, Hoopingarner hit two free throws to tie the game at 47 and a three by the senior with 52 seconds left on the clock gave IUPUI its second lead of the game at 50-47.

Northern Iowa scored its first points in over eight minutes on the next possession with a three by Karli Rucket to tie the game.

IUPUI got the ball in to Williams but the junior had her layup blocked. Williams got the offensive rebound but was called for a charge to give the ball back to Northern Iowa with 18 seconds on the clock. The Panthers got the ball to Megan Maahs in the paint but Maahs missed the layup. In the battle for the rebound, Katelyn O'Reilly was called for a foul that sent Kristina Cavey to the free throw line. Cavey hit one of two free throws with 0.6 seconds left on the clock, putting UNI up one. IUPUI advanced the ball to midcourt with a timeout but Taylor Ramey's inbounds pass was stolen to end the game.

"Although disappointing to lose, I was encouraged by our team's defense," said head coach Austin Parkinson. "I thought Taylor Ramey's energy really swung to momentum as we got back in the game but we have to eliminate the silly fouls off of the ball. It allows teams to get in to the bonus way too much.

Williams led the Jags with 11 points but did all of her damage in the first 20 minutes as Williams was held to 0-for-4 shooting from the floor in the second half. Hoopingarner picked up the slack for the Jags in the second, scoring all nine of her points after the break. McLimore was the only other Jaguar to join Williams in double figures with 10.

Both teams came in to the game averaging over 70 points per game but as has been the case in the previous three meetings, points were at a premium. In each of the three previous games, both teams averaged below 57 points per game.

The Jags shot just 32.2 percent from the field but managed to outshoot UNI, holding the Panthers to 32.1 percent shooting. Both teams struggled from three with IUPUI going 5-for-21 and UNI going 5-for-22. The Panthers held the advantage at the free throw line, hitting 10-of-15, while IUPUI went 7-for-7.

IUPUI had the advantage on the glass, pulling down 43 rebounds to 38 for the Panthers, led by the 15 from Williams. It was the fifth double-double of the season for the junior.

A slow start put the Jags in the hole as a 6-0 run put the Panthers up 8-2. The Jags fought back to pull within one but Northern Iowa quickly responded with five-straight points.

A 5-0 Panthers run to start the second quarter ballooned the deficit for the Jags to 11 but Williams scored five in a row to cut the lead to six. Four-straight points by Williams late in the quarter made it a two-point game with under a minute left, but UNI hit a layup before the buzzer to take a four-point lead in to the half.

Late in the third, Sydney Roule picked a pocket of a steal and a layup to give IUPUI its first lead of the game at 38-37 but the Jags went cold for the rest of the quarter as Northern Iowa built the lead back to four at the end of 30 minutes of play.

UP NEXT
IUPUI will play its final non-conference game of the season on Friday (Dec. 20) against Eastern Kentucky with the game starting at 2 p.m. in the Jungle.