Mastodons Hold Off Mavericks 51-46

Thursday, January 31

Fort Wayne, Ind.

7:00 p.m.

Purdue Fort Wayne

8-13, 4-5SL

Omaha

14-7, 4-5SL

Omaha

IPFW

Photo by: Lucas Carter

1/31/2013 9:39:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Box Score

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – IPFW never trailed on Thursday night as they recorded their eighth win of the season by defeating Omaha 51-46. The Mastodons are now 4-5 in Summit League play with seven games remaining on the schedule.

Erin Murphy iced the game with a jumper from 15 feet out with 11 seconds remaining to give IPFW a five point edge. Omaha hustled the ball down the court, but it was too late as the 'Dons held on for the victory.

Murphy scored 16 points for IPFW as she shot 5-for-13 from the field. The junior led the team from the charity stripe going 6-for-9.

Amanda Hyde scored a team-high 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting while adding seven rebounds and three assists. Three of Hyde's seven rebounds were offensive and she also dialed in from distance with three 3-point field goals in 40 minutes of action.

The Mastodons picked up their defensive intensity on Thursday as they held Omaha to just 46 points on 39 percent shooting. Haley Seibert made life very difficult for Jamie Nash as Seibert forced Nash into making eight turnovers. Seibert came up with a career-high five steals, four assists, six points and a career-high seven rebounds.

IPFW also held Paige Frauendorfer in check as the team's leading scorer ended the night with just six points. Three Mavericks put together good games for Omaha as Carolyn Blair-Mobley led the way with a game-high 19 points. Blair-Mobley sparked a late comeback for the Mavs with two big 3-point field goals. She ended the game with 3 made shots from behind the arc.

Jamie Nash added 11 points and Taijhe Kelly controlled the paint with eight points and a game-high 15 rebounds.

IPFW jumped out to an 18-4 lead just seven minutes into the game. They held a double digit lead for a majority of the half, yet Omaha kept within striking distance as they trailed 31-22 at the break.

The second half started to heat up with just over three minutes to play as the Mavericks cut the lead to five after a 3-point field goal from Blair-Mobley. The 'Dons made a pair of free throws to get the lead back to seven, but Blair-Mobley struck again from 3-point range making the score 48-44.

Erin Murphy got to the line on the following possession and split a pair of free throws. Omaha kept things interesting as Kelly scored in the paint to get within three points with two minutes to play, but Murphy would once again come up clutch down the stretch as her jumper iced the game 51-46.

IPFW will return to action on Thursday, February 7 with a matchup against South Dakota State at 8 p.m. EST. The 'Dons nearly defeated the Jackrabbits in the first meeting, but SDSU escaped the Gates Sports Center on a buzz beater. The 'Dons will end the road trip with a game at North Dakota State on Saturday, Feb. 9.

~ Feel the Rumble ~