INDIANAPOLIS – IUPUI women's basketball is headed back to the Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship Final after beating No. 2 Milwaukee 56-46 on Monday (March 8).
The Jags used a strong defensive effort to stifle Milwaukee's offense and got big games from both Rachel McLimore and Macee Williams to earn the spot in the final.

McLimore scored a game-high 19 points, going 6-for-8 from the free throw line and 3-for-4 from downtown. Williams was again stellar, scoring 17 points and adding 15 rebounds for her 10^th double-double of the season. The two combined for six of IUPUI's 11 assists. Destiny Perkins finished the game with seven points, seven rebounds and a team-high four assists.

The defense held Milwaukee to just 46 points, a season-low, and the 28.6 field goal percentage was the second worst for the Panthers all season. The Jags defense stepped up in the first half as the offense was slow to get going, holding Milwaukee to just 21 percent shooting from the floor and 14 percent (2-for-14) from three point range. IUPUI did a good job keeping Milwaukee, the best free throw shooting team in the league, off the free throw line, not giving up a free throw in the first half.

A three by Milwaukee cut IUPUI's lead to 6-5 four minutes in to the quarter but the Jags went on a run over the next six minutes to open up a lead. Sydney Roule started the run with a three and McLimore increased the lead to six with an offensive rebound and a put back. Both teams were scoreless for the next three minutes until McLimore lined up another three and after a turnover, Morgan Allen's layup pushed the lead to 11.

To start the second quarter, Williams made history with a layup becoming IUPUI's all-time leading scorer with 1,810 points. As both offenses ground to a halt, Milwaukee was able to chip away at the lead, cutting the Jaguar lead to five. The Jags broke an almost five minute scoreless streak with another Williams layup off an offensive rebound and a Perkins three right before the buzzer put IUPUI back up 10 at the break.

Milwaukee opened the scoring in the second half but IUPUI quickly responded with eight-straight points, including a three from McLimore and another layup from Williams. The Jags managed to have an answer for every Panther basket keeping the lead at double-digits through the rest of the third quarter.

The lead dwindled to eight after Milwaukee started the last quarter on a 4-0 run. McLimore put an end to the run with her third three of the game. The Jags then went back to their bread and butter, three-time Horizon League Player of the Year Williams. The senior scored six-straight points for IUPUI to push the lead back to 13 and IUPUI would ice the game at the free throw line. Williams and McLimore combined to score all 13 of IUPUI's points in the final quarter.

The win gives head coach Austin Parkinson his 200th-career victory and puts the Jags in the championship final for the second-straight year, a program first.

UP NEXT
IUPUI will take on Wright State for the Horizon League Championship on Tuesday (March 9) with tip-off set for Noon ET. The game will be on ESPNU.