Mastodons Use Second-Half Surge to Top Detroit 78-66

Saturday, December 11

Fort Wayne, Ind.

11:00 AM

Purdue Fort Wayne

6-3

Detroit

4-5

Detroit

IPFW

Kayla Drake scored a game-high 19 points for IPFW in its win over Detroit on Saturday morning

Mastodons Use Second-Half Surge to Top Detroit 78-66

12/11/2010 2:05:39 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BOX SCORE | POSTGAME NOTES (.pdf) | PHOTO GALLERY

Fort Wayne, IN - The IPFW Mastodons were able to overcome a 30-28 halftime deficit, out-scoring the Detroit Titans 50-36 in the second half, and moving its record to 6-3 on the season on Saturday morning at the Memorial Coliseum by a 78-66 final score.

The win for the Mastodons was its first when trailing at halftime since March 3, 2006 when the Mastodons toppled Texas A&M Corpus Christi. The 6-3 record is also IPFW's best start as a Division I athletic program, and first time the team has started with that record since the 2000-01 season. The win over Detroit was also the first win in the series by the Mastodons.

Kayla Drake scored an IPFW career-high 19 points, leading four players in double-figures in the win. Stephanie Rosado and Anne Boese each scored 13 points, while Chelsey Jackson chipped in 11.

Weinert pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds, as the Mastodons out-rebounded the Titans 40-37. Three players, Drake, Jordan Zuppe, and Jackson, each dished out three assists, with Rosado blocking a pair of shots in the win.

The teams went back-and-forth to start the game, with IPFW leading by one at 14-13 with 8:42 left in the first half before Detroit (4-5 on the season) scored the next seven points to lead by six at 20-14. The six-point IPFW deficit would be its largest of the game, as IPFW quickly answered back with a pair of Jackson free throws, a Boese lay-in, and a Rosado jumper to tie the score at 20 apiece.

The back-and-forth battle continued through the end of the half, in which Detroit led 30-28 heading into the locker room at halftime.

After each team scored a basket to open the second half, IPFW rattled off 11 of the next 13 points to take a seven-point, 41-34 lead three and a half minutes into the period. The Mastodons would not relinquish its advantage the rest of the way, although the Titans did close the gap to one at 44-43 with 12:19 to play in the game.

Each team followed by trading small runs, with the Mastodons using back-to-back three-pointers from Amanda Hyde and Kayla Drake to push ahead by eight at 62-54 with just under six minutes left on the clock. The lead grew to double figures at 10 following a pair of charity stripe attempts by Jackson, and Zuppe iced the game with six free throw makes over the next three possessions to help IPFW secure the 78-66 win.

IPFW made 25-of-65 shots in the game (38.5 percent), 8-of-27 three-pointers (29.6 percent), and 20-of-25 free throw attempts (80.0 percent), while Detroit hit 40.7 percent of its shots from the field, 41.7 percent from long range, and just 68.0 percent from the charity stripe.

Detroit was led by Cherridy Thornton who scored a team-high 16 points, while Senee Shearer scored 13, with Jalesa Jones and Tayler Langham each scoring 11. Yar Shayok, a preseason Second Team All-Horizon League selection, scored four points and pulled down 10 rebounds.

The Mastodons take a week break due to semester final exams, and will next take to the court in a game on December 19 when the team travels to Hampton, Virginia to take on the Hampton Lady Pirates with tip-off slated for 2:00 PM.

~Dons~