INDIANAPOLIS – IUPUI women's basketball earned its tenth-straight win with a 77-69 victory over Youngstown State on Saturday (Feb. 1). The Jags managed to hold off a rally by the Penguins in the final quarter to secure the victory.
Macee Williams led the Jaguars with 25 points, going 9-for-11 from the field and 7-for-11 from the free throw line. Both Holly Hoopingarner and Rachel McLimore added 13 points for IUPUI (16-6, 10-1 Horizon), while Natalie Andersen added 11. Hoopingarner also dished out a career-high nine assists in the win.
Things looked comfortable for IUPUI entering the fourth quarter with a 14-point lead but Youngstown State (11-11, 4-7 Horizon) was not ready to go down easy. The Penguins opened the fourth quarter on a 12-2 run, cutting the Jags lead to 63-59 with 4:59 left on the clock. After a missed three by YSU, Andersen responded with a three that was followed by another three from Hoopingarner, pushing the lead back to 10 with 2:52 on the clock.
The Penguins answered with a three before Hoopingarner split two free throws. With the lead at seven points and Youngstown State with the ball, McLimore got a steal and Williams was fouled on a layup attempt. The reigning Horizon League Player of the Year hit both free throws and then split a trip to the line on IUPUI's next possession to push the lead to 10.
A Youngstown State three point play cut the lead back to seven but Hoopingarner iced the game with two free throws with under a minute left.
"We haven't been in a ton of close games in conference play so far and it was good to see that we can pull out a win in a close battle," said head coach Austin Parkinson. "I thought Natalie Andersen came off the bench and was really important for us. Agatha Beier came in a steadied things for us late in the game and obviously Holly hits a big three. Proud of our girls and I thought Macee was locked in and ready to play today."
Both teams shot the ball well as IUPUI finished the game at 50% and Youngstown State was 44% from the floor. One of the biggest advantages for the Jags was making the most of the Penguins mistakes. IUPUI scored 26 points off of 17 turnovers, while Youngstown State only scored 11 points off of 15 IUPUI giveaways.
Williams finished the game with 15 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the season and now sits fourth all-time in IUPUI history for total rebounds. Williams did a lot of her damage on the offensive end, pulling down eight offensive boards. The Jags overall, held a 33-30 advantage on the glass.
For the fifth-time during the 10-game winning streak, IUPUI never trailed, scoring the first five points on a Williams three point play and two free throws by Hoopingarner. Later in the quarter, Williams started a 7-0 run with two baskets that McLimore finished with a three to put IUPUI up 15-5. The Jags finished the first quarter shooting 53% from the field and Williams had nine points in the first 10 minutes.
IUPUI's offense really got going in the second quarter as the Jags shot 62% from the floor and went 4-for-7 from deep, outscoring the Penguins by six. After Youngstown State cut the lead to nine, Andersen and Sydney Roule each hit threes to push the lead to 15. The Penguins whittled the lead down to eight multiple times in the quarter but Agatha Beier hit a three and Williams made a layup to end the half, giving IUPUI the 46-33 lead at the break.
Williams started the third quarter with five-straight points to put IUPUI up 18 and it looked like IUPUI might run away with the game but Youngstown State fought back, keeping the IUPUI lead between 12 and 15 the rest of the frame.
TIP INS
- The ten-game winning streak is the longest in the DI era for IUPUI (1998-99)
- With the win, and losses by Green Bay and Wright State, the Jaguars are now three games ahead of second place in the standings.
- Williams' 11th double-double of the season ties her mark from last year as the fifth-most in a season in school history. She now sits second all-time in career double-doubles with 29.
- Beating Youngstown State means that for the first time since joining the Horizon League, IUPUI will not be swept by any team in a season series.
- The Jaguars led the Penguins for 39:44. In the last 10 games, IUPUI has held the lead for 376 minutes and 58 seconds (400 total minutes.)
UP NEXT
IUPUI will begin a stretch of four-straight games on the road, traveling to Michigan to take on Detroit Mercy on Thursday (Feb. 6) at 7 p.m.
