INDIANAPOLIS – IUPUI women's basketball earned its first Horizon League Championship with a 51-37 win over Green Bay on Tuesday (March 10). The Jags will be going to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
Holly Hoopingarner led the Jags with 16 points and was named MVP of the tournament. Macee Williams, who earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team, scored 13 points and Rachel McLimore added 10 for the Jags. Hoopingarner finished 4-for-5 from three point range and led the Jags with four assists. Williams handed out four assists and finished just shy of a double-double with nine rebounds.
The Jags were efficient from deep, hitting 6-of-14 from three point range (43%) and IUPUI also finished 9-for-12 from the free throw line. It was the opposite story for Green Bay, who went 3-for-16 from deep and did not take a free throw attempt.
It was IUPUI's defense that shined in the last ten minutes as IUPUI held Green Bay scoreless in the fourth quarter. It was the first time that IUPUI had held a team scoreless in a quarter since NCAA Women's Basketball moved to quarters for the 2015-16 season. Hoopingarner earned the first basket for the Jaguars and McLimore gave IUPUI an 11-point lead with just over five-minutes left. The dagger came as Destiny Perkins hit a three with 1:11 on the clock.
In the last frame, IUPUI held the Phoenix to 0-for-11 shooting. IUPUI also held the rebounding advantage 11-7 in the last ten minutes and for the game, the Jags dominated on the glass with a 34-25 advantage and a 10-4 lead on the offensive glass.
The Jags got to a quick start in a slow scoring first quarter, scoring the first eight points of the game. Williams got the scoring going and baskets by McLimore sandwiched a layup from Sydney Roule as IUPUI led 8-0 at the media timeout.
Green Bay's first basket came with 3:06 left in the quarter and the Jags went scoreless until Perkins went 1-for-2 from the free throw line with 42 seconds left to put the Jags up 9-4 after the first ten minutes.
IUPUI picked things up in the second quarter as Hoopingarner got going. Roule began the quarter with a three and Hoopingarner followed it up with her first of three threes in the frame. Back-to-back layups by Williams and McLimore put IUPUI up by 13.
After the Phoenix cut the lead back to ten, Williams earned a three-point play to answer. Green Bay went on a four-point run before Hoopingarner was left open again behind the arc and hit another three. With the teams trading baskets the last two minutes of the half, the Phoenix hit a three to cut the lead to nine but Hoopingarner drilled another three as time expired in the first half.
IUPUI increased the lead to 14 early in the third quarter as Williams and Hoopingarner each had buckets. After that, IUPUI's offense went cold, not hitting a field goal for the next seven minutes. The Jags only scored four free throws as Green Bay cut the lead to five with 1:38 left in the quarter. Hoopingarner finally stopped the drought with a big three but Green Bay answered with a three of its own. Williams drew a foul late and hit two free throws to give IUPUI a seven-point lead after three.
UP NEXT
IUPUI will find out where they will head for their first NCAA appearance on Monday (March 16).
