Purdue Fort Wayne
UMKC
Mastodons Run Away from Kangaroos
3/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 2, 2009
Fort Wayne, IN – The IPFW Mastodons used second-half runs of 10-0 and 15-0 to turn a three-point deficit into a 20-point victory on Monday evening, sending the ‘Dons into the Summit League Tournament riding a four-game winning streak, topping UMKC 68-48.
The Mastodon defense was the key of the game, as IPFW did not allow a UMKC player to reach double figures in the scoring column, while holding an opponent under 50 for the first time since last season’s squad held Centenary to 47 on February 11. The ‘Don defense also held the Summit League’s leading scorer, Chazny Morris, to just eight points, all in the first half, which is just the second time this season she has been held to single digits in scoring.
The win secured IPFW as the tournament’s fifth seed, while it drops UMKC to the seventh overall seed in the upcoming Summit League Tournament, to be held at the Sioux Falls Arena, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Chelsey Jackson scored 25 points, two off of her career-high, making 7-of-12 shots from the field and 4-of-5 from long range. Tina Moen also finished in double figures with 14, as Eva Ivanova scored nine, and Nan Moore eight in the winning effort. Sarah Haluska pulled down a game-high-tying eight points, with Ivanova adding seven. Jackson dished out a game-high four assists, while Moore and Ivanova each blocked two shots. T
he ‘Dons, starting their four seniors: Moore, Moen, Sam Edwards, and Maggie O’Connell, and got a quick basket from Moore to jump ahead 2-0. A 4-0 UMKC run pushed the visitors ahead, but only for a brief 15 seconds before the ‘Dons poured in seven straight to lead 9-4 following a lay-up by Ivanova with 14:16 to play in the half.
UMKC fought back, clawing their way to a three-point lead at 22-19, and a two point advantage at 24-22, before the ‘Dons ended the half on a 5-2 run to take a 29-26 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Kangaroos came out of the gate strong in the second half, using an 8-2 run to lead by three at 34-31 with 15:38 remaining in the game.
After an IPFW 30-second timeout, the 'Dons rattled off ten consecutive points to lead by seven at 41-34 4:25 later. UMKC once again fought back, cutting the deficit to four at 42-38, before 15 straight points from the ‘Dons, five from Courtney Reed, and four from Chelsey Jackson, pushed IPFW ahead by 19 at 57-38.
IPFW made 9-of-10 free throws down the stretch, including six in a row by Jackson, to ice the game in the Mastodons’ most lopsided victory this season.
The ‘Dons made 25-of-54 shots from the field, for a percentage of 46.3, while hitting 6-of-15 from long range (40.0 percent), and 12-of-17 from the charity stripe (70.6 percent). UMKC was held to just 34 percent shooting (16-of-47), and 16.7 percent (2-of-12) from long range.
Each team pulled down 33 rebounds, as IPFW had seven fewer turnovers, 20-13. IPFW led in points in the paint (26-20), points off of turnovers (10-8), second chance points (17-10), and bench points (40-24) in the all-around victory.
Jessica Halsig led UMKC with nine points, while Morris scored eight. Kalei Nance pulled down eight rebounds, with Mariah Davis blocking a game-high three shots.
With the IPFW result, and the remaining scores of the evening, the ‘Dons secured the fifth seed in the Summit League tournament, and will face fourth seed IUPUI on noon on March 8. The remaining first-round match-up on Sunday will be third seeded North Dakota State and sixth seeded Western Illinois at 2:30 PM. On Saturday, March 7, top seeded South Dakota State will face off against Oral Roberts at noon, with Oakland facing UMKC at 2:30 that afternoon.
~Dons~
