MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – IUPUI women's basketball's season came to an end with a 59-47 loss to Middle Tennessee in the first round of the WNIT on Thursday (Mar. 21).

Macee Williams led all scorers with 18 points but went just 7-18 from the field. Tamya Sims added 14 points and finished her collegiate career with exactly 1,000 points between her two season in a Jaguar uniform and her two season at Bradley. Both Williams and Sims pulled down eight rebounds to lead the Jags.

IUPUI (20-12) was down by three entering the fourth quarter but Middle Tennessee took over with an 8-0 run to begin the final frame. The Jags cut it to seven at 49-42 after a Williams' layup but 11 seconds later, Middle Tennessee's Taylor Sutton hit a three to push it back to a double-digit lead. Williams hit a free throw in the Jags next possession but a three-point play pushed it back to 12 and the Jags never got the lead back under 10 points for the rest of the game.

IUPUI struggled with Middle Tennessee's three best scorers as Alex Johnson, Sutton and A'Queen Hayes combined to score 28 points in the second half as the Blue Raiders pulled away.

"We weren't able to get stops and their big three was really good down the stretch," said head coach Austin Parkinson. "I thought we got a little bit tired and we came up empty on the offensive end…I think that is an NCAA caliber team in Middle Tennessee. I am proud of our ladies, they battled back and forth on the road in a hostile environment but sometimes it is just not your night."

After shooting just 29 percent in the loss to Wright State in the Horizon League semifinals, IUPUI again struggled from the field, hitting just 30.4 percent from the field. The Jags really struggled behind the arc, hitting just 3-of-18 three point attempts (16.7 percent), including going 0-for-7 in the second half.

The game was close throughout the first half because, while the Jags were cold from the field, Middle Tennessee also struggled getting the ball in the basket. The Blue Raiders shot just 33.3 percent from the field in the first half, including a 2-for-10 effort in the first quarter before finding their rhythm in the second half.

IUPUI gave up the first two points of the game but recovered to score the next eight. Tamya Sims tied the game with two free throws and Williams added a layup. Morgan Allen then relieved Williams and added back-to-back buckets to finish off the run. It was then Middle Tennessee's turn to use a 6-0 run to tie the game but Sims' layup with 35 seconds left gave IUPUI a 10-8 lead after one.

The Jags found themselves down quickly in the second quarter after the Blue Raiders went on a 10-3 run but Parkinson's squad settled down and fought its way back in to the game. Down seven, IUPUI got to the free throw line with Sims and Holly Hoopingarner each hitting two. After an offensive foul on Middle Tennessee, Williams showed her range knocking down a three to tie the game. Sims then stepped outside the arc to give the Jags a three-point lead and capping a 10-0 run.

Middle Tennessee responded with five-straight points to end the half and take a two-point lead in to the break.

After only scoring five points in the first half, Williams took over to start the second, scoring the Jags first eight points and giving the Jags a 31-29 lead with 6:41 left in the frame. A three-point play by Sims with 3:46 left put IUPUI up three but the Jags went cold for the rest of the third as Middle Tennessee scored six-straight to end the quarter.

The loss ends the careers of seniors Sydney Hall, Allex Brown and Sims, who will go down as the senior class with the most wins in IUPUI history and the first class to go to four-straight WNITs.