INDIANAPOLIS- The Western Illinois women's basketball couldn't make up for shooting 1-of-16 in the first half, falling at IUPUI in its Summit League opener, 67-38, at The Jungle.

After a three-pointer by Jordon O'Brien tied the game at five a piece with 17:00 left in the first half, IUPUI (5-3, 1-0 Summit League) took off on a 23-1 run which lasted until the 4:34 mark in the opening half.

Four straight free throws by freshman Lyndi Thorman and senior Amanda Walker brought the Westerwinds (2-6, 0-1 Summit League) within 18 points at 26-10 with 1:35 remaining on the clock.

Two straight jumpers by Kiara Butler closed the scoring for the first half, pushing the Jaguars lead back to 22 points at 32-10.

A three-point play by Julia Whitted at the 15:18 mark in the second half capped off a 8-4 run to start the second half for IUPUI. Western would answer with back-to-back three-pointers from Walker and junior Katy Clark to pull the score to 42-20.

The Westerwinds would get back within 22 points for a third time after a bucket from freshman Katie Horsman from behind the arc with 9:03 left in the game, but Western would never pull any closer as the Jaguars closed the game on an 18-11 run.

Walker led all scorers for the Westerwinds with 11 points. It was the fifth time this season that the Hamshire, Ill., native led the team in scoring. O'Brien and senior Nicole Myers each pulled down a team-high four rebounds.

Western bounced back from its 1-of-16 (6.3 percent) shooting in the first half to shoot 10-20 (50 percent) in the second half, moving its total for the game up to 11-36 (30.6 percent).

Nicole James led the Jaguars with 17 points on 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) shooting from the floor. Jernisha Cann recorded her seventh straight double-double with 14 points and 11 boards. Whitted chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds.

Western stays on the road as it travels to Lawrence, Kan., to square off against Big 12 member Kansas Jayhawks. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Allen Fieldhouse.

Postgame Notes
The Westerwinds set a season high with four blocks in the game as a team.

In the first action of her career at Western, freshman Anneloes Kodde scored two points on 1-of-2 shooting from the floor. She also pulled down two rebounds, while recording a block and an assist. The Oss, Netherlands, native sat out all of last year with a medical redshirt and missed the first six games of the 2008-09 season due NCAA ineligibility rules.

Postgame Quotes

Head Coach Leslie Crane
Opening statement
“We didn't come ready to play aggressive basketball. Our offense was back on our heels all night. They wouldn't attack the bucket, we wouldn't attack the press, and we played tentative all night. I'm not sure why that happened but that was the way it was until about the last minute of the game.”

On improving in the second half
“We did a better job of running the offense and taking care of the ball in the second half, but it was too little, too late. It's a disappointing situation to start The Summit League at 0-1.”