Purdue Fort Wayne
North Dakota State
Mastodons Fight Rebounding Blues on Senior Night
2/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 22, 2010
Box Score |
Photo Gallery 
Fort Wayne, IN – North Dakota State out-rebounded IPFW 53-36, as the Bison grabbed 27 offensive rebounds and scored 24 second-chance points; however, despite the lopsided rebounding figures, the Mastodons stayed in the running in the game, falling by four 72-68 on senior night at the Hilliard Gates Sports Center.
“We now have five losses this year by four points or less,” said IPFW head coach Chris Paul. “I don’t think this team realizes how close they are – if they just do the little things.”
Anne Boese scored a team-high 23 points, making 5-of-9 three-point baskets, with Chelsey Jackson adding 19 points and a game-high five assists. Stephanie Rosado scored nine points in her first time off of the bench this season, while pulling down eight rebounds. Sarah Haluska grabbed a team-leading nine rebounds, as Eva Ivanova and Sydney Weinert each had a pair of blocked shots.
 Chelsey Jackson, shown here driving to the basket, scored 19 points and dished out a team-high five assists  |
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With the loss, IPFW drops to 13-15 on the season and 10-7 in the Summit League, while North Dakota State improves to 14-12, 9-7 in league games. The Mastodons have dropped their last three games, all in conference play.
“We are on a three-game losing streak right now because we continue to do the same things over and over,” said Paul. “If we don’t rebound, we won’t win basketball games. Our defense was solid, and they missed some shots, but then they get the offensive rebounds. You cannot win unless you get on the glass. This team is really struggling right now figuring out a way to rebound the basketball.”
IPFW jumped out quickly to start the game, as Anne Boese hit a three-pointer on three straight possessions, and after a Chelsey Jackson free throw with 16:57 on the clock, IPFW led by eight at 10-2.
NDSU worked back into the game, eventually tying the contest at 25 on an Ashley Samuelson lay-in with 5:25 remaining on the first half clock. A possession and 33 seconds later, Inger Hodgson gave the Bison their first lead of the game on a lay-in.
The Mastodons twice recaptured the lead, the first time on a Chelsey Jackson three-point basket with 3:20 on the clock making the score 32-31, and on a Boese lay-in just over a minute later; however Samuelson hit a lay-up with 1:20 left on the first-half clock, sending NDSU into the locker room with a 35-34 lead at halftime.
The Mastodons jumped out to a two-point lead at 39-37 five minutes into the second half, and led by one with 14:28 to play after Rosado hit a lay-in; but that would be the last time IPFW would lead in the game.
The largest lead NDSU would run to would be seven with 2:14 to play, but IPFW scored six straight points on a Jordan Zuppe three-point basket and a Jackson three-point play, cutting the deficit to just one with 34 seconds left on the clock.
That would be as close as the Mastodons would come, as NDSU iced the game by making all eight of their free throw tries down the stretch, securing the 72-68 Summit League victory.
“The only thing to do now is to get back in and watch a lot of film on Wednesday and do a lot of rebounding drills,” said the head coach. “No matter what happens at Oakland, whether we shoot well or not, we will rebound the basketball. Then we’ll get ready for the conference tournament. The thing about it is that it is anybody’s game once we get out there. We just have to fine-tune some things and get better at the things that continue to plague us. We have struggled to consistently getting our offense going – we are having a lot of trouble getting into any kind of flow offensively. We have to try to regroup and get ready for a very good Oakland team on Saturday.”
Katie Birkel, who scored 22 points in the first meeting of the teams in late January in Fargo, scored a game-high 25 points on 9-of-23 shooting from the field, as Hodgson and Samuelson scored 16 and 14, each.
The game also said goodbye to a trio of seniors on the team, Courtney Reed, Ivanova, and Laura Gerhardt. “We have three very good kids that we are going to miss,” noted Paul. “Not only basketball-wise, but people-wise. They are good people, they are good students, and they are good teammates. They never cause any problems off of the floor, and I just wanted to send them out on a positive note.”
The Mastodons cap their regular season on Saturday, February 27, when the team travels to Detroit, Michigan, to take on the Grizzlies of Oakland University, with tip-off slated for 3:30 PM.
~Dons~
