Box Score | Box Score (.pdf) | Photo Gallery

INDIANAPOLIS -- The IUPUI women's basketball team could not overcome 34 turnovers in their exhibition opener on Monday night, falling to Kentucky State, 65-63, at Conseco Fieldhouse.  The Thorobrettes drained a three-pointer with 26.3 seconds left to snatch the contest from the Jaguars.

"We just never matched their intensity," IUPUI head coach Shann Hart said following the game.  "We're young, but we have to learn that we can't take plays off or we'll be burned."

After waiting out an hour and a half delay due to Kentucky State's travel issues after their bus broke down near Scottsburg, Ind., it was the Jaguars who played as if they had just gotten off a bus, consistently turning the ball over to start the game.  Five turnovers in the first four minutes of the game helped fuel the Thorobrettes' 12-2 run to open the contest.

For most of the first half, it was Jessica Huffman who helped keep the Jags in the contest; the junior transfer scored 12 of her 13 points in the opening stanza, going 5-for-6 from the field to help keep IUPUI afloat.

"At times we looked like the Bad News Bears," Hart said.  "We showed flashes of talent, but it's a matter of focusing it for 30 seconds of every possession and for 40 minutes during the game."

Down two points to start the second half, the Jaguars eventually took their first lead of the contest due to Mariah Fleming catching fire from the field.  The Mt. Vernon H.S.-product knocked down four field goals over a 2:53 stretch of the second half, giving IUPUI a 44-43 lead with 13:01 left to play in the game; after a Janna Eichelberger jumper, the Jaguars enjoyed their largest lead of the game at three, 46-43.

IUPUI held tough down the stretch, keeping Kentucky State on the short end of the scoreboard for the next 11:30, as Fleming drained her fifth bucket of the half - a three pointer from the right wing that broke a 52-52 deadlock and put the Jaguars back in front with 5:53 to play.

After Stephanie Harper tied the game with a layup, it was Fleming who responded again, knocking down her sixth bucket of the half from the right wing to once again give the Jaguars a three-point advantage, 60-57, with just over four minutes to play in the contest.

The two teams traded free throws over the next minute, with two Kiarra Morgan freebies creating the 11th tie of the game at 61-61.  After a steal by Huffman, newcomer Ebony Davis drew a foul on the layup attempt and sank both free throws to put the Jags up, 63-61 with 129 ticks left on the clock.

Neither team could dent the twine for the next 1:40, but with the shot clock winding down, Harper took aim from the top of the three-point circle and knocked down her only three-point attempt of the night to give the Thorobrettes their first lead since the 13:01 mark of the second half.

The Jags drew up a play for Fleming, who had not missed on the contest, and her three from the wing was on line but came up short; after a foul and free throw put Kentucky State ahead by 2, Eichelberger couldn't connect from the left baseline as the clock wound down.

IUPUI will open their regular season in 11 days, when the Jaguars travel to Akron, Ohio, for a game against the University of Akron on Friday, Nov. 13.  Tip-off is scheduled for 12:00 p.m..