INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - On the final day of the year Western Illinois (5-8, 2-1) closed out 2011 at IUPUI (5-9, 1-2) with a thrilling 65-60 victory inside The Jungle on Saturday afternoon.
A second half that saw the Leathernecks shoot 50 percent and knock down 6-of-8 three-pointers was the difference in The Summit League tilt. The Leathernecks turned 12-second half Jaguar turnovers into 20 points to capture all the momentum and steal the victory from IUPUI.
Michele Salvatori got the Purple & Gold off and running with a three-pointer on the first possession of the game. Sadie Webb followed with a triple at the 16:35 mark giving Western a 7-5 advantage.
IUPUI regained control and would secure a 15-12 lead at the nine-minute mark on a jumper from Clara Mitchell with 9:06 remaining.
The sharp shooting early in the half stalled during the latter part and IUPUI drilled a three-pointer for the Jags extended its lead to 20-12 with just under seven minutes to play.
Salvatori knocked down another triple to end the scoring drought for Western at the 5:55 mark. Salvatori then started a fastbreak with a quick pass to Valencia Kelly for the bucket. Kelly followed with a three-point play making it 25-20 with 3:35 remaining before halftime.
Consecutive baskets from Kelly and Rachel Evans made it 30-24 with 2:34 left before halftime. However, the impressive shooting would continue for the Jaguars and even collected a buzzer-beater from Dawn Luster to extend the halftime lead to 38-24. IUPUI shot 54 percent (7-for-13) in the first half.
Kelly led the Leathernecks with nine points while Salvatori dropped in eight and pulled down 10 boards in the first 20 minutes.
Katie Comello paced the Jags with nine points while Mitchell collected eight. IUPUI dominated the paint with a 12-6 advantage in points-in-the-paint.
Both teams struggled offensively to open the second half. Kelly collected the first points with a free throw at with 17:34 left in the game.
IUPUI regained its first half attack while Western continued to search for offensive threats. At the first media timeout of the second half, the Jaguars led 41-25 with 15:26 remaining in the game.
Brittany Demery knocked down the first field goal of the half at the 15:12 mark, making it 41-27. Rebecca Henricson followed with a layup forcing IUPUI's head coach Austin Parkinson to call a timeout.
Western then went on a 9-0 run to pull within 41-34 at the 13:09 mark. The Jags eventually snapped the run and held onto a 43-36 advantage at the 12:47 mark.
Back-to-back triples from Saule Kontautaite pulled Western within two at 47-45 with 7:23 remaining. Evans knocked down a jumper at the 6:40 mark to tie the game at 47-47.
Salvatori went to the line and sunk two free throws to give Western its first lead at 49-47 with 5:54 left in the game.
A three-pointer from Kerah Nelson at the 5:08 mark gave the lead back to IUPUI. Kontautaite answered with another triple to tie the game at 52-52 with 4:42 left in regulation.
Two free throws from Luster at the 2:27 mark gave the Jaguars an eight-point lead. Salvatori was the offensive threat the leathernecks needed in the final minute and change.
Kelly stole the ball and found Salvatori for a fastbreak bucket cutting IUPUI's lead to two, 60-58. The Purple & Gold defense came up with the biggest stop of the season to give possession back to Western.
IUPUI turned up the pressure and forced Western to take two timeouts to avoid turnovers. The Leathernecks eventually broke the press and Salvatori went to the line and hit two clutch free throws giving Western a 63-60 advantage.
Suffocating defense on the other end forced a five-second violation on IUPUI and Webb knocked down two more free throws to secure the 65-50 win.
Salvatori and Kelly led all scorers with 17 while Salvatori also pulled down 11 boards to collect her third double-double of the season. Webb chipped in 11 points while Henricson dished out five assists while contributing large amounts of energy on defense.
Markovic and Mitchell finished with 12 points while Nelson poured in 11 points.
The Leathernecks will begin 2012 with a trip to Ft. Wayne, Ind. to face the IPFW Mastodons at 11 a.m. (CT).
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