IUPUI scored the first 12 points of the game and never looked back as it beat the Youngstown State women's basketball team 68-45 on Thursday evening at The Jungle.
IUPUI moved back into a tie with the Penguins for first place in the Horizon League standings, and the Jaguars now control their own destiny for the top seed in next week's Keeps Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship.
Youngstown State is now 23-5 overall and 17-4 in Horizon League contests, and IUPUI is 20-6 and 17-4. The Penguins are still in line for at least a share of the regular-season title if they can shake off Thursday's loss and beat UIC on Saturday. IUPUI will host Robert Morris on the same day.
Jen Wendler led the Penguins with a season-best 11 points in 16 minutes off the bench, and Paige Shy was the top-scoring starter with eight points. Shy's first of two 3-pointers came on Chelsea Olson's 500th career assist. Olson became the fifth Penguin to reach 500 career assists, and she is one of 18 active Division I players to reach the milestone.
Macee Williams scored a game-high 18 points, and Morgan Allen scored 12 off the bench as the Jaguars held a 34-12 edge in the paint.
The Penguins' first points of the game came on Shy's 3-pointer at the 3:42 mark of the first period, and IUPUI led 12-0 at that point. The Jaguars led 14-3 at the end of the period, and they maintained a double-digit lead until Wendler scored in transition to make the score 22-13 just under four minutes into the second period. Neither team scored until Madison Wise's jumper with 4:31 on the clock, and the Jaguars built their lead to 31-15 at halftime.
Malia Magestro hit a 3-pointer on YSU's first possession of the second half to make the score 31-18, but that 13-point margin was as close as the Penguins would get. YSU kept the Jaguars scoreless for nearly three minutes after a Rachel Kent 3-pointer at the 4:53 mark, but the Penguins were only able to shave four points off the deficit during that stretch. IUPUI had three-point plays on three straight possessions to push the lead to 52-31, and the difference was at least 20 the rest of the contest.
Youngstown State will complete the regular season at UIC on Saturday. Tipoff against the Flames is set for 2 p.m. Eastern at Credit Union 1 Arena, and the game will be broadcast live on 570 WKBN and ESPN+.
