Purdue Fort Wayne
Wright State
Late Comeback Falls Short for IPFW
12/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 29, 2008
Dayton, OH - The IPFW Mastodons got a career-high 20 points from Chelsey Jackson, and double-figure efforts from Courtney Reed and Jordan Zuppe; however, it was not enough, as Wright State out-scored IPFW 30-16 in the paint, and 20-5 from the bench players en route to a 63-57 Raider victory at the Ervin J. Nutter Center.
Jackson hit 9-of-16 shots from the field, and 2-of-3 from the charity stripe to account for her 20 points, with Reed scoring 13 in front of a hometown crowd, and Zuppe chipping in 11, as each of the latter two made a trio of three-point baskets. Sarah Haluska pulled down six rebounds, with she, Zuppe, and Jackson each dishing out two assists.
Wright State got a quick basket to start the game, before IPFW rattled off eight straight points on a Jackson lay-in, and three-point baskets from Zuppe and Haluska. Wright State followed with runs of 7-0, 5-0, and 4-0, as those three runs sandwiched a pair of Zuppe three-point baskets.
With the Raiders ahead by three at 20-17, Reed made her second three-pointer of the half to knot the game at 20. Five straight Wright State points gave the hosts their largest lead of the half at 25-20, before the `Dons closed the frame on a 5-2 run, as Laura Gerhardt hit a put-back basket to send IPFW into the locker room trailing by just to at 27-25.
Wright State's LaShawna Thomas opened the second half with a basket, before IPFW scored the next four points to tie the game at 29 apiece. The teams went back-and-forth, with IPFW taking their first and only lead of the half on a pair of Reed charity stripe makes.
Trailing by two, the Raiders opened up a 6-0 run, all on baskets from Ta-Myra Davis, and then a 9-0 run, capped by a Davis free throw, giving Wright State a ten-point, 52-42 lead. IPFW chipped away at the deficit, closing to within four at 56-62 following the second of two Jackson lay-ins, before Wright State scored four straight points, and followed by making three-of-five free throws down the stretch to ice the game in the Raider victory.
Davis scored 19 points in the Wright State win, with Kanisha Ward scoring a dozen off the bench, and Shey Peddy adding ten points. Peddy and Davis missed double-doubles by just one rebound each, with Peddy dishing out six assists.
For the fourth consecutive game, the IPFW opponent shot over fifty percent, as the Raiders made 25-of-49 shots from the field for a 51.0 percentage. The Raiders also made 5-of-13 long range attempts, and 8-of-14 from the charity stripe. IPFW made 20-of-50 shots (40.0 percent), and 8-of-19 from long range (42.1 percent).
For the first time this season the `Dons held an advantage in free throw makes, 9-8, as they kept at their near-nation-leading averages of 8.7 three-point makes and just 13 turnovers.
The `Dons look to regroup before hosting nationally ranked South Dakota State University on Saturday, January 3, with tip-off set for 5:00 PM at the Hilliard Gates Sports Center.
~Dons~
