The top-seeded Wright State women's basketball team punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history (2014 and 2019) on Tuesday afternoon with a 53-41 win over No. 5 IUPUI in the 2021 Horizon League Championship game inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
The Raiders (18-7) now await their opponent in the NCAA Championship, which will be played in a neutral-site format in San Antonio. The NCAA Women's Basketball Selection Show is next Monday, March 15.
Fans can check out some of the on-court celebration postgame on the Raiders' Twitter page.
On Tuesday,
Angel Baker led the Raiders with 23 points and was named the MVP of the 2021 #HLWBB Championship All-Tournament Team, where she was joined by
Tyler Frierson on the All-Tournament Team. Frierson scored nine points and
Destyne Jackson added seven points off the bench for Wright State. Baker finished the contest 10-for-16 from the field and 3-for-5 beyond the arc. Frierson went 4-for-8 while pulling down eight rebounds.
Jada Wright added a team-leading 12 rebounds for the Raiders.
Wright State used an early 6-0 run in the first quarter to force an IUPUI timeout just three minutes into the contest. Following the timeout, IUPUI scored 12 of the final 16 points of the quarter to take a two-point lead into the second quarter. The second quarter was a back-and-forth affair that saw both teams tally 11 points as Jackson's pull-up three with just over two minutes before the break pulled the Raiders within two yet again, as IUPUI had a 25-23 lead at the half.
The second half was the difference, as Wright State held IUPUI to just 16 total points over the final 20 minutes while the Raiders recorded 30 of their own. The Raiders allowed just five Jaguars points while holding them to 0-for-6 shooting from three-point range in the fourth quarter. A Frierson bucket and back-to-back threes from Baker with just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter started what would eventually be a 14-0 Raider run over a nearly 10 minute stretch.
Jada Wright's second chance layup with 1:14 to play in the fourth quarter put the Raiders up by 10 and ultimately sealed the contest.
Wright State finished the contest shooting 41.5 percent from the floor, including 50 percent in both the first and fourth quarters. IUPUI finished the afternoon shooting just 25 percent from the floor while connecting on 13-of-17 free throws (76.5 percent). The Raiders tallied 12 second-chance points to the Jaguars' seven. Wright State's bench outscored IUPUI's by an 11-0 mark.
Wright State won the battle on the boards for the 23rd consecutive time this season, outrebounding IUPUI 37-34 overall. The Raiders won the defensive glass, pulling down 27 rebounds to the Jags' 21. The offensive side saw IUPUI found the advantage pulling down 13 offensive boards to the Raiders 10.
