Purdue Fort Wayne
Southern Utah
Mastodons Bounce Back to Reclaim Summit League Lead
1/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2010
Fort Wayne, IN – The IPFW defense held Southern Utah to just 13 first half points, and just 41 for the entire game, as the Mastodons reclaimed sole possession of the Summit League lead with a 61-41 victory over the Thunderbirds of Southern Utah University on Monday evening.
“This was a good bounce-back win,” said IPFW head coach Chris Paul. “We are getting to a point where I have high expectations, and I’m still not satisfied with what I saw out there. I’m pleased that we bounced back. I liked our effort defensively, but offensively we need to continue to get better shots and take care of the basketball.”
IPFW, now 8-9 overall and 6-1 in the Summit League which is the school’s best conference start in their three years in the league, was aided by an Oakland win over UMKC this evening, putting IPFW again in sole possession of first place in the conference. Oral Roberts sits in second place at 6-2, and three teams – UMKC, South Dakota State and Oakland are all tied at 5-2. North Dakota State, IPFW’s next conference opponent, sits a half game behind the three-game mix for third place at 4-3.
Jordan Zuppe, shown here driving for two of her eight points, dished out a game-high six assists for the Mastodons  |
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“We’re here with a one game lead on everyone headed to North and South Dakota State, and everyone is chasing us,” noted the head coach. “This is a nice place to be. Now this program has to learn how to play as the leader and not the underdog.”
The IPFW defense held Southern Utah to just 13 first half points, tied for the fewest allowed in the opening half during IPFW’s NCAA Division I era, along with a November 24, 2002 game against Savannah State, and earlier this year against Indiana Tech on December 23.
Almost more remarkable was a nearly 16-minute span between the end of the first half and the beginning of the second, where IPFW held Southern Utah to just four points, while scoring 30 of their own to provide more than enough margin in the game.
Stephanie Rosado continued her standout first year with the Mastodons by scoring 17 points, with Anne Boese adding 16, making 4-of-7 shots from long range. Jordan Zuppe added eight points and a game-high six assists for IPFW, as Sydney Weinert and Chelsey Jackson each scored six, Weinert’s going along with her team-best six rebounds, and Jackson’s along with her four assists. Rosado and Eva Ivanova each had two blocks, as Zuppe and Ivanova had a pair of steals.
“We are riding some good momentum – we are feeling really good about ourselves,” commented Paul. “But we are only seven games into the conference season, and we have 11 games left to play. We have higher goals than 6-1. We don’t have a lot of time to celebrate because we have a non-conference game against Chicago State on Wednesday, and that is really big for us, because we want that momentum to continue going to North and South Dakota State.”
IPFW never trailed in the game, although the first three baskets by the Mastodons were answered directly after by Southern Utah, as the Thunderbirds tied the game at two, four, and six points, before IPFW ran off a 7-1 run to turn a 6-6 tie into a 13-7 advantage in just over two minutes of game time.
Southern Utah twice closed the gap to four, the latest at 15-11 with 8:07 to play in the opening period, before the Thunderbirds went cold and IPFW was able to increase its lead to 16 heading into the locker room following a 6-0 run on a free throw by Haluska, two charity stripe makes by Zuppe, and a three-pointer with five seconds left by Haluska, giving IPFW the clear momentum heading into the second half.
A 14-2 run to start the second half put IPFW ahead by 28, the Mastodons’ largest lead of the game, as the margin never closed below 20, as SUU’s Jamie Sagers hit a lay-in as time expired to give the game its 61-41 final score.
Challis Pascucci, the defending Summit League Player of the Week, scored a team-high 14 points, including nine of the team’s 13 first half points, while pulling down 13 rebounds for the double-double effort. Jadie Parsons added six points for the Thunderbirds, with Sagers scoring five.
IPFW closes out its three-game homestand on Wednesday evening when the team plays host to their final non-conference opponent of the season, Chicago State University, with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 PM at the Hilliard Gates Sports Center.
~Dons~
