'We were right there': IUPUI came so close in March Madness debut. The Jaguars have come so far.
IUPUI came so close. And the Jaguars have come so far.
The 13-seed Jaguars made their first NCAA tournament appearance in program history on Saturday night, visiting 3-seed Oklahoma. They hung right with one of the top scoring teams in the country, but fell 78-72.
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IUPUI’s undoing came early in the third quarter, when it missed its first 12 shots of the second half. With 8:20 to play in the third, IUPUI trailed by two. Less than four minutes later, the deficit was 14.
The Jaguars regained their shooting stroke late in the quarter and trimmed the deficit to 10 heading into the fourth. Anna Mortag hit a layup to make it a four-point game with 3:32 to play, but Oklahoma answered with a 3-pointer. It was a five-point game with 1:51 to play and Mortag hit a 3-pointer with 24 seconds left to trim the deficit to four again, but Oklahoma iced the game at the free-throw line.
IUPUI’s 3-point shooting, which had been a strength all season, struggled. The Jaguars led the Horizon League in 3-point shooting (36%), but shot just 7-of-33 on Saturday. They missed their first 12 attempts from behind the arc in the second half, during which the deficit ballooned.
“We were right there,” IUPUI coach Austin Parkinson said. “We got so many open looks and missed shots. In a game like this, that sometimes can be the difference. I’m proud of this group. We were probably a couple made shots away from this potentially being a different result.”
Macee Williams, the four-time Horizon League Player of the Year, scored 17 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in the final game of her storied college basketball career. Rachel McLimore led the team with 18 points. Mortag scored 14 off the bench.
“Teams that play fast can quickly turn a game, especially when you’re missing shots. We fought back,” McLimore said. “A lot of teams that would miss that many shots in a row would fold and lose by 20. We made it a game. We were still in it at the end.”
A team effort helped IUPUI keep pace with Oklahoma in the first half. The Sooners came into the game with the third-best scoring offense in the country, but the Jaguars trailed by only one after the first quarter thanks in large part to 10 points from Williams. Several times in the second quarter, Oklahoma threatened to stretch its lead to double-figures, but IUPUI kept hitting shots to stay within striking distance. The Sooners led by just four at halftime.
IUPUI’s veteran-laden roster made history. Williams leaves as the program’s all-time leading scorer. In her five seasons, the Jaguars won a combined 104 games and the first two Horizon League tournament titles in program history. She led the Jaguars to new heights from the minute she stepped onto IUPUI’s campus, winning Horizon League Freshman of the Year. IUPUI won the Horizon League tournament during her junior season, and thought it would make its first NCAA tournament appearance. But COVID canceled the tournament.
IUPUI lost in the Horizon League championship game during her senior season, but Williams returned for a fifth season, determined to take care of unfinished business. She averaged 18.7 points and 10.7 rebounds through 27 games.
“I was really proud of how she played tonight,” Parkinson said. “If I’m a WNBA team, with a first or second round pick, I take a hard look at her. We played two Big Ten teams and one Big 12 team. Every single one had to double her. That says a lot about what she’s able to do.”
Williams was surrounded by a supporting cast that shined all season long. McLimore averaged 13 points per game and shot 92% from the free-throw line. Rachel Kent, a transfer from Saint Louis, shot 39% from 3-point range. Destiny Perkins hit arguably the biggest shot in the program’s history against Cleveland State in the Horizon League title game, giving IUPUI a late lead. Madison Wise provided key moments after transferring from Iowa State.
The Jaguars took Michigan to overtime in their season opener before beating a ranked Iowa team on the road. The team won at least 20 games for the sixth time in seven seasons.
“Our kids represented IUPUI really well,” Parkinson said. “To have people tuning in to see what these kids are capable of was really neat.”
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: NCAA women's basketball tournament: Oklahoma beats IUPUI
