Halftime Lead Vanishes in Loss to IUPUI

Friday, December 28

Fort Wayne, Ind.

7:00 p.m.

Purdue Fort Wayne

4-9, 0-1SL

IUPUI

7-6, 1-0SL

IUPUI

IPFW

Photo by: Lucas Carter

12/28/2012 9:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Box Score

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – IPFW held a 46-39 lead at the half, but poor shooting during the final 20 minutes of the game turned out to be the difference as IUPUI knocked off IPFW by the final score of 79-74. The Jaguars are now 1-0 in league play which puts IPFW at 0-1.

Amanda Hyde scored a game-high 30 points for the Mastodons. She was 8-for-13 from the floor with a pair of 3-point field goals. Hyde also hurt IUPUI from the charity stripe as she went 12-for-15 from the foul line.

Erin Murphy played well offensively for IPFW on Friday night. The junior ended the game with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting. IPFW shot 62 percent from the floor in the opening half, but that percentage dropped to just 30 percent during the final twenty minutes. The 3-point shooting was also off as IPFW was just 1-for-12 from distance down the stretch.

Katie Comello was in the zone for IUPUI on the offensive end. Comello scored 20 of her 29 points in the first half. She locked in defensively as well leading the Jaguars with six steals. DeAirra Goss added 18 points, and Jordan Barton came off the bench to record a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.

The 'Dons jumped out to an 8-2 lead early in the contest as Hyde scored six of the team's first eight points. IPFW pushed their lead to 14 points with just over eight minutes remaining, but IUPUI would chip away at the deficit and cut the lead to seven at the break after a layup by Demetri Nunley-Lash.

A seven-point halftime lead quickly shrank to a three point cushion as IUPUI scored the first four points of the second half. The momentum of the game shifted after an old fashion 3-point play from Jordan Barton gave IUPUI a 54-53 lead with 12:04 remaining. Goss pushed the IUPUI lead to 63-55 with a layup just three minutes later and IPFW burned a timeout.

Hyde got to the rim after the pause in the action and got to the free throw line on multiple trips helping IPFW climb back into the game. The score would be tied at 65-65 after a pair of free throws.

The final tie of the game came at 70-70 after a free throw from Clara Mitchell. The Jaguars sealed the win on the high play of Katie Comello down the stretch. Comello stole a pass and scored a layup to break the tie. After a free throw from Erin Murphy, it was Comello again with a 3-point dagger from the corner giving IUPUI a 75-71 edge. Free throws from Nunley-Lash gave the Jags a six point lead, but Hyde cut that in half with a 3-pointer with just 12 seconds to play. Comello iced the game soon after as her free throws gave IUPUI the 79-74 win.

Each team shot a high percentage from the floor as IUPUI ended the game 54 percent compared to 48 percent from IPFW. Each team had a hard time with turnovers on Friday as the Jags committed 27 next to IPFW's 25.

IPFW will look to bounce back this weekend with a game against Western Illinois on Sunday, Dec. 30. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.

~ Feel the Rumble ~