Mastodons Host Grizzlies on Saturday

Game Notes I Live Stats I Listen I Watch

FORT WAYNE, Ind. -- The IPFW women's basketball team will only play one Summit League contest this weekend. The Mastodons will face Oakland on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 4:30 p.m. as the first part of a scheduled doubleheader as the men's team will play IUPUI at 7 p.m.

ABOUT IPFW

IPFW has played much better at home than on the road this season as the Mastodons have recorded five of their six wins in Fort Wayne. Amanda Hyde leads the team with an 18.8 scoring average. She shoots 44 percent from the field and 38 percent from distance.

Erin Murphy is another Mastodon that impacts the game with her ability to score. Murphy jumped into the starting lineup during the Summit League schedule as has increased her scoring average to 16.7 points per game through the last six contests. Stefanie Mauk is another player who has stepped up during the Summit League season as she is also averaging 12.5 points in her last six games.

On the year, Murphy is averaging 11.8 points and Mauk comes in close behind at 7.5. Haley Seibert has also been consistent at the point this year averaging 8 points per game.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES

Oakland is 8-11 overall with a 2-5 mark in Summit League competition. The Golden Grizzlies are just 2-5 this season when playing on the road and they have currently lost four out of their last five games.

Oakland recorded league wins over IUPUI (68-59) and Kansas City (55-46). They average 55.9 points per game and shoot 37 percent from the floor as a team. Olivia Nash leads the team in scoring with a points per game average of 11.5. Elena Popkey is also one of the top scores on the team at 11.3 ppg.

Bethany Watterworth, the Summit League Preseason Player of the Year, will be out for the remainder of the season due to a back injury. The combination of Watterworth being sidelined and Zakiya Minifee only scoring 4.1 points per game has Oakland off to a slow start. Minifee was a Second Team All-League selection at the beginning of the year and the Golden Grizzlies were selected to finish third in the standings.

Watterworth plans to seek a medical redshirt for 2012-13, which would allow her to return to the team next season. She is the only senior on the team.

ALL-TIME SERIES

IPFW trails Oakland in the all-time series 6-13. The first meeting between the two programs was played back during the 1985-86 season when the 'Dons played at Oakland in the season opener. Oakland won the game 80-73. IPFW and Oakland split the season series a year ago with each team winning on the road. Oakland won 67-47 at the Gates Sports Center and IPFW returned the favor with a 52-45 win at the O'rena.

LAST TIME OUT

IPFW dropped to 6-13 overall and 2-5 in the Summit League with a 77-59 loss at Kansas City on Saturday afternoon. The Mastodons shot just 36 percent from the field compared to 63 percent for the Kangaroos.

Erin Murphy led IPFW with 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting. She added three rebounds and tied her career-high with five assists. Stefanie Mauk finished the game with 11 points and the duo of Hyde and Seibert each added nine.

Kansas City rode the hot hand of Eilise O'Connor. O'Connor scored a game-high 34 points and was 17-of-18 from the charity stripe. O'Connor shot 8-for-12 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds in the win.

IPFW got off to a rough start in the opening half as they trailed Kansas City 16-4 just six minutes into the game after a 12-0 run by the Kangaroos. The Mastodons were down by as much as 17 points, yet they were able to trim the lead to just nine as they held UMKC without a field goal for the final 5:15 of the first half.

UMKC held a 32-23 lead at the half by shooting 66 percent from the field compared to just 36 percent for IPFW. Those numbers stayed true for the remainder of the game which helped UMCK improve to 6-13 overall, 2-4 in the Summit.

Despite a tough start to the game IPFW still had a chance to win the game in the second half as they cut the lead to eight points with 5:45 to play. IPFW simply couldn't get stops down the stretch and O'Connor sealed the win with her free throw shooting from the line. UMKC scored their final 16 points of the game from the charity stripe.

THREE-POINT STREAK
The IPFW Mastodons have made a 3-point field goal in 424 straight contests, a stretch that ranks as the fourth longest active streak in NCAA Division I. Iowa State's streak is at the top of the list by making a 3-point field goal in 564 consecutive games. Sam Houston State and Connecticut rank ahead of IPFW with 517 and 491 respectively.

GRAB A REBOUND
IPFW is 1-12 on the year when they are outrebounded. Stefanie Mauk is the team's leading rebounder at 6.4 boards per game. Oakland averages 35.6 boards per game, the seventh-best average in the Summit League. IPFW lands in eighth with an average of 30.3.

SUMMIT POINTS
The Summit League is ranked No. 20 in Collegiate Basketball News' RPI rankings and No. 23 in the Sagarin rankings... The league has three teams ranked in the top 160 with South Dakota State leading the way at No. 79 followed by IUPUI at No. 137 and Western Illinois at No. 159... Omaha's Jamie Nash surpassed the 1,000 career plateau and became the school's all-time steals leader in the win at Chicago State. Nash currently has 1,015 career points and 333 career steals... For the second-straight week, North Dakota State's Marena Whittle scored the game-winner with less than five seconds left. Whittle hit a basket with three seconds left to win at Oakland (Jan. 12) and scored a layup with 4.2 seconds remaining to defeat IUPUI (Jan. 17)... IUPUI snapped South Dakota State's 17-game home Summit League win streak and earned its first-ever win over the Jackrabbits... Western Illinois secured its first-ever win North Dakota State in Fargo ... Kansas City's Eilise O'Connor set a new school record with 17 made free throws in the win over IPFW on Saturday.

STEALING THE SHOW
Victoria Lipscomb of Oakland leads the Summit League in steals per game with an average of 2.37. Lipscomb also sits in third with an assist turnover ratio of 1.33.

SUMMIT LEAGUE LEADER
Junior Amanda Hyde leads the Summit League with a scoring average of 18.8 points per game. She most recently scored nine points on the road at Kanas City

THREE POINT SHOOTING
The Mastodons average 6.9 3-point field goals per game. That average is the second-best total in the Summit League, and the 36th best total in the NCAA. Western Illinois leads the Summit League with 8.1 made 3-point field goals per game, and Missouri is the top team in the country at 9.4.

FREEBIES

Amanda Hyde is shooting 86.4 percent from the free throw line this season making her the best free throw shooter in the Summit League. The junior has made 95 of her 110 attempts on the season.

IPFW is currently sixth in the nation with a team free throw percentage of 79.0. Notre Dame leads the NCAA by knocking down 81.5 percent of their free throw attempts.

UP NEXT
IPFW will play Omaha on Thursday, Jan. 31 at the Gates Sports Center. The Mavericks defeated the Mastodons earlier this season by the final score of 60-50.

~ Feel the Rumble ~

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics

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