Purdue Fort Wayne
IUPUI
Rosado Career Night Propels IPFW to 3-0 Summit Start
1/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 4, 2010
Fort Wayne, IN - IPFW sophomore Stephanie Rosado scored a career-high 26 points while pulling down 13 rebounds, also a career best, as IPFW improved to 3-0 in the Summit League with a 61-49 victory over the Jaguars of IUPUI.
"This was a game that we wanted really badly, because IUPUI beat us twice last year," said IPFW head coach Chris Paul. "They beat us in the conference tournament in a down-to-the-wire game, and we wanted this one so bad that we were pressing a little bit. Coming into the game, we were leading the Summit League because we were doing two things; rebounding and playing defense. We gave up 30 points in the first half, and that's not what we do. The team got challenged at halftime, and we got on the glass, and held them to 19 points in the second half. That is what we are right now. We defend and we rebound."
Rosado's double-double came on the heels of another double-double against a conference foe, 14 points and 10 rebounds on Saturday against Western Illinois, as the sophomore is now averaging a remarkable 20.3 points and 11.3 rebounds in conference play this season. She scored her 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field, while making all eight of her charity stripe attempts. She also blocked a game-high three shots, grabbed two steals and dished out one assist on the evening.
"We challenged Stephanie at halftime, and she responded." said Paul. "The way she took command of the post and made big shots in the second half was incredible. We knew we had an advantage in the post, but we went away from it in the first half. We went back to it in the second, and that was a big part of our basketball game."
Anne Boese was also in double figures as she scored 12 points, making 3-of-7 three-point baskets, as Jordan Zuppe and Chelsey Jackson scored nine and six, respectively. Zuppe and Courtney Reed each dished out three assists, with four players: Rosado, Reed, Boese and Sydney Weinert each grabbing two steals. Zuppe and Weinert pulled down five boards each, to tie for second on the squad.
"This team has a lot of confidence - a lot more than we had about a month ago," said the head coach. "They are finding that they can win basketball games without playing their best. They just have to figure it out. I'm proud of them because Western Illinois challenged us with a 10-0 run to open the second half, and we answered. IUPUI challenged us tonight. This is a rivalry game, and you can throw the records out when it comes to a rivalry game; we were going to get their best effort. There is a lot of confidence on this team now, and if we can continue this, we could be a very dangerous squad come March."
For the second straight game IPFW (5-8, 3-0 Summit League) jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead behind a lay-in by Rosado off of the tip, and a three-point basket by Anne Boese. The Mastodon lead quickly grew to eight at 12-4 and 14-6; however, IUPUI (1-14, 0-4 Summit League) immediately fought back, using a 10-0 run to take a two-point, 16-14 lead, IPFW's first deficit in league play since the 11:50 mark of the second half in their victory over Oakland in December.
The Jaguars were able to push their lead to as many as four at 23-19, before IPFW put up a counter of their own, going on a 12-2 run to lead by six at 31-25, as the hosts wouldn't trail again in the contest. IUPUI cut the deficit to one with 16 seconds left, but a pair of Jackson free throws sent IPFW into the locker room with a 33-30 lead.
Coming out of the locker room, IUPUI twice cut the IPFW lead to one, the last time at 36-35 with just under 17 minutes left in the game, before IPFW turned on the jets, going off to a 14-2 run to lead by 13 at 50-37 six minutes later. The lead grew to as many as 15, but never dipped below 10 the rest of the way as the Mastodons improve to 3-0 in the Summit League for the first time in school history.
"Obviously (being 3-0 in the league) is what we wanted," noted Paul. "We've talked from the beginning that we have a really good basketball team, but the schedule was difficult early on. Some of our players got their heads down, and we kept telling them to keep working. We were playing Notre Dame, Louisville, and Northwestern to get ready for Summit League play, and you are seeing that right now. Tonight wasn't the best basketball we could play, but we were still able to win without playing the way we are capable of. To be 3-0, winning all three games at home, and being tied for first place in the league when we go to play Oral Roberts, I couldn't be happier."
Kerah Nelson scored a team-leading 19 points for IUPUI, while also grabbing eight rebounds, with Briannica Tye and Jessica Huffman each dishing out four assists.
IPFW next travels south to Tulsa, Oklahoma, when the team will face off against the Golden Eagles of Oral Roberts University on January 9, with tip-off slated for 3:00 PM Eastern Time.
~Dons~
