The IUPUI women’s basketball team won a thriller Tuesday night, defeating the UT Martin Skyhawks on a game-winning 3-pointer by sophomore Sydney Roule that gave the Jaguars the 73-72 win.
Defense was the big story for both teams as they both struggled to shoot the ball. The Skyhawks shot a measly 39 percent from the field and 32 percent behind the 3-point arc. The Jaguars were not much better in the shooting category as they shot 43 percent from the field and 26 percent behind the 3-point arc. The Jaguars imposed their will on the glass, out rebounding the Skyhawks 46-35. The Jaguars struggled to maintain possession of the ball as they committed 23 turnovers, as the Skyhawks pesky full-court press gave the Jaguars fits all night.
Sophomore Macee Williams started off the game with an offensive putback. The Jaguars missed four of their first five shots. After going almost five minutes without a point, redshirt sophomore Katelyn O’Rielly got to the basket for a layup to cut the deficit to 10-5 with 4:45 left in the quarter. With 1:35 left in the quarter, senior Allex Brown hit two free-throws to cut the UT Martin lead to 15-9. The Jaguars trailed 17-9 at the end of the first quarter.
“I just think we need to slow down,” Williams said. “We just over thought it pretty much.”
The Jaguars missed their first four shots in the second quarter. It wasn’t until 6:15 left in the half the Jaguars got their first basket when senior Sydney Hall hit a three to cut UT Martin’s lead to 19-13. Late in the half, the Jaguars used a 9-2 run to take the lead 28-27 heading into the half.
In the second half, it was a back and forth affair. O’Reilly got things going for the Jaguars as she hit a jump shot to tie up the game at 30 with 8:47 left in the quarter. Junior Holly Hoopingarner got into the mix by hitting a three to establish a 40-36 lead with 4:42 left in the quarter. The Jaguars would eventually lose the lead on a 3-point shot by Maddie Waldrop of UT Martin. The Skyhawks would take a 54-51 lead heading into the final quarter.
In the final quarter of play, things ramped up for the Jaguars as they shot 64 percent from the field to help their cause. IUPUI needed this push down the stretch as they were down 7 points with less than four minutes to play in the game. With 13.4 seconds to spare, the Jaguars got a key stop and forced a UT Martin miss. Trailing by two, IUPUI had a chance to tie or win the game. In the final seconds, Coach Austin Parkinson brought sharpshooter Sydney Roule into the game. With 1.2 seconds to spare, Roule hit the game winning shot that gave the Jaguars the 73-72 win.
“Coach P put me in to shoot,” Roule said. “I had the opportunity to shoot the ball, I didn’t shoot great all night, so to make that shot was pretty huge for our team.”
The Jaguars were led in scoring by Williams, who tied her career high with 24 points. Hoopingarner chipped in 15 points and O’Reilly added 13 points. Williams led the way in rebounding with 9 and Hoopingarner pulled down 8.
“I thought our kids hung in there,” Coach Parkinson said. “When we got down with 2:40 to go, we buckled down and got some stops, and we were fortunate enough to make a stop at one end and be able to make that three in the end.”
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