INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI Jaguar win streak has reached 10 games after Friday night's hard-fought 64-56 triumph over a much-improved Oakland Golden Grizzlies unit. IUPUI (15-5, 12-3 HL) now ties Youngstown State (18-4, 12-3 HL) atop Horizon League standings, but it was not easy reaching that point.
 
Oakland (10-10, 8-5 HL) had won five of its last seven contests going into tonight's match, including an eyebrow-raising road victory over Youngstown State. The Golden Grizzlies battled hard in a game that featured six lead changes, pushing IUPUI to hold off a fourth-quarter rally. Macee Williams responded with 19 points and 13 rebounds for her eighth double-double, while Anna Mortag contributed 12 points and four boards (three on the offensive end).
 
Key to the Jaguars' success was ball security: they made only 11 turnovers after averaging nearly 24 per game over their last four contests. IUPUI also outdueled the Grizzlies 11-2 in second-chance points, all of which came in the final stanza.
 
When asked if IUPUI experienced any kind of emotional letdown after last Saturday's marquee win over Cleveland State (13-4, 8-3 HL), head coach Austin Parkinson definitively said: "Zero." He also credited Oakland associate head coach Ke'Sha Blanton for molding the Golden Grizzlies into a worthy foe.
 
"I thought [Oakland] was physical and pressured us," Parkinson said. "It was a lower-possession game, they kind of slowed things down a little bit. We did defend well for the middle quarters and made our free throws down the stretch."
 
IUPUI last trounced Oakland 74-49 on the road December 4, but the Golden Grizzlies are a much better team now. They opened the game tenaciously on defense, forcing the Jaguars into five consecutive possessions without a basket in the early going. Williams and Mortag combined for 16 of IUPUI's 19 first-quarter points, but Oakland shot a scintillating 72.7 percent for 18 points of their own.
 
The Grizzlies smothered the post in quarter two, causing the Jaguars to shy away from feeding Williams down low. IUPUI struggled at times to find open looks on offense, while redshirt senior forward Breanna Perry led Oakland with nine first-half points. However, Perry was lost after suffering an apparent leg injury with 2:36 to go until halftime—she was helped off the court and did not return. Seconds later, sophomore Aaliyah McQueen was rattled in an incidental collision with Mortag, although McQueen returned to the game.
 
Williams gave the visitors credit. "Oakland has gotten so much better than the first time we played them. They were really battling with me down low, made it hard for me to get the ball."
 
The Jaguars went into halftime up 32-28. Williams opened the third quarter on a mission, re-establishing herself in the low post. She scored six points in the frame and Rachel Kent added five as IUPUI started to pull away from their opponents at last. Defensively, the Jaguars held Oakland to a paltry 2-of-13 from the floor.
 
"I had to remind our team that [Macee Williams] is the three-time Player of the Year," said Parkinson. "Doesn't mean she has to score, but she's got to get touches. We go through periods of the game where she isn't getting the ball, and that's not a great recipe for our success."
 
Even with Williams involved again, the Grizzlies had one final punch to throw. Down 48-35 going into the fourth quarter, they surged with a 10-2 run to cut down IUPUI's lead. With Perry out, senior Kahlaijah Dean and junior Breanne Beatty charged—Dean in particular had nine points in the frame. Her mid-range jumper made it a five-point game with 1:39 to go.
 
Yet the Jaguars landed a haymaker of their own: a Kent deep ball at 1:11 followed by a vital steal from Madison Wise moments later. The ensuing eight-point margin forced Oakland to start fouling, and Destiny Perkins hit five of six free throws in the final minute to seal another IUPUI victory.
 
Kent finished with 12 points and four boards, while Perkins and Rachel McLimore added eight points each. Dean, Oakland's leading scorer, managed 13 in defeat, while Beatty had 12. Perry's nine points were good enough for third on her team despite only playing one half.
 
The Jaguars host Detroit Mercy (0-20, 0-13 HL) on Sunday afternoon at 3 PM ET on ESPN+. Despite their next opponent's winless record, IUPUI is not taking them lightly.
 
"We can't overlook any team," Williams said. "If we come in with a big head or overly confident, anything could happen."