Purdue Fort Wayne
Fairfield
`Dons Drop Tight Contest to Stags
11/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2008
Fort Wayne, IN – The IPFW Mastodons led into the second half before the visiting Fairfield Stags ran off a 15-5 run to turn a three-point IPFW advantage into a seven-point Fairfield lead, as IPFW dropped the non-conference match-up by a score of 57-51 on Wednesday afternoon.
Chelsey Jackson and Jordan Zuppe each scored 17 points in the loss, with each being season highs and Jackson’s a career-best, with Laura Gerhardt chipping in a career-high 10 off of the bench. Zuppe's 17 came mostly via the long-range shot, as she hit 5-of-9 from beyond the arc, with Jackson and Gerhardt going 7-of-15 and 5-of-11, respectively from the field, with Jackson hitting one of her two three-point baskets.
Every ‘Don on the court pulled in at least one rebound, as the team was led by Courtney Reed and Sarah Haluska, who each grabbed five. Despite being held scoreless for the first time this season, Reed managed to dish out a game-high five assists, with Gerhardt blocking four shots, tied for the 11th highest single-game total in school history.
IPFW took to the scoreboard first when Chelsey Jackson hit a lay-in, before Fairfield answered by scoring six straight points to take a four-point, 6-2 lead. Fairfield kept their lead, increasing it to as many as eight at 14-6, and led by seven at 16-9 before IPFW went on runs of 8-0 and 6-0, the latter of which was on a pair of Zuppe three-point baskets, to push ahead to a five-point, 23-18 lead. The lead was cut to three heading into the locker room following a lay-in by the Stags’ Shireyll Moore, as IPFW led at the intermission by a 25-22 score.
The ‘Dons kept their lead for the first two and a half minutes of the second half, leading by one with 17:26 to play in the contest before Fairfield went on runs of 8-0 and 7-0, sandwiched by an IPFW 5-0 run, to give the visitors a seven-point, 39-32 lead. The lead remained at seven before IPFW ran off six straight points on back-to-back three point baskets by Zuppe and Jackson, cutting the deficit to one at 41-40 halfway through the second frame.
Laura Gerhardt, shown here shooting over Fairfield's Stephanie Geehan, scored 10 points while blocking four shots in IPFW's loss to the Stags  |
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IPFW would not be able to get over the hump, as Fairfield answered with a quick 5-0 run to push ahead by six. IPFW would only get as close as four the rest of the way as the Stags iced the game at the charity stripe, hitting 11-of-13 free throws down the stretch, and a remarkable 17-of-19 for the entire game, securing the six-point, 57-51 victory.
The ‘Dons hit a steady .350 (21-of-60) from the field, and equaled that percentage from long range (7-of-30), while Fairfield shot just 35.2 percent from the field (19-of-54) and just 2-of-6 from long range; however, it was free throws that made the difference, as Fairfield was 17-of-19 for their free tries, and IPFW attempted just three total free throws, hitting two of those.
Baendu Lowenthal finished with a game-high 19 points and 13 rebounds for the contest’s only double-double, while Desiree Pina scored 11 and picked up a trio of steals. Stephanie Geehan pulled down eight rebounds in the losing effort, while scoring six points. Megan Caskin dished out three assists, with Geehan adding a pair of blocked shots.
IPFW looks to snap out of its current losing skid on Saturday, November 29 when they play host to the Rockets of Toledo University with tip-off slated for 1:00 PM.
~Dons~
