INDIANAPOLIS – IUPUI women's basketball lost its first Horizon League game of the season, falling to Milwaukee, 74-66 on Friday (Jan. 22). The Jags were not able to overcome a scoring drought in the fourth quarter in the defeat.

IUPUI (8-2, 6-1 Horizon) found itself down by five early in the fourth quarter but Destiny Perkins hit back-to-back threes to put the Jags up 60-59. After a bucket by Milwaukee (14-1, 11-0 Horizon), Macee Williams hit a bucket to respond but it was the last time the Jags would score for four minutes. The Jaguars went 0-7 as Milwaukee put the game away with a 10-0 run.  

"I give credit to Milwaukee with their energy and the way the executed," said head coach Austin Parkinson. "It is going to be hard for us to beat a quality team like that if we are going to foul that often. Hopefully we can correct that before tomorrow."

The Jags were led by Rachel McLimore who finished with 22 points and Perkins added 17 on 7-for-11 shooting and 3-for-4 from deep. Morgan Allen also finished in double-figures, netting 11 points as McLimore, Perkins and Allen all scored season highs. Katelyn O'Reilly finished the game with six points but fouled out in the fourth quarter. Williams was held to a season low six points on 2-for-16 shooting, dealing with foul trouble early on.

"I though Rachel and Destiny really competed throughout the entire game," said Parkinson.

In a battle of the two best scoring defenses in the league, IUPUI allowed over 70 points for the first time since a loss against Youngstown State on Dec. 28, 2019. Despite the loss, the 66 points the Jags scored were also the most points given up by the Panthers all season.

The Jags got out to an early lead with a 9-0 run that featured four points from McLimore, a jumper by Perkins and a three by O'Reilly to take an 11-2 lead, not looking like a team that hadn't played since Jan. 2. Milwaukee battled back with an 8-0 run of its own but IUPUI held the Panthers at bay, getting a three-point play by Allen to hold an 18-12 lead after one.

IUPUI held a 34-28 lead at the half as the Jags held Milwaukee to 30 percent shooting and IUPUI outscored Milwaukee 22-6 in the paint.

Things changed in the second half as Milwaukee went 15-for-22 (68.2 percent) from the field and a perfect 13-for-13 from the free throw line. Brandi Bisping did a lot of the damage for the Panthers going 9-for-9 from the stripe in the second half and scoring a team-high 17. Three other Panthers finished in double figures.

IUPUI will look to rebound against Milwaukee in the second game of the weekend as the two teams will meet on Saturday (Feb. 23) with tip off set for 6 p.m.