FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech women's basketball team led NAIA Preseason No. 10, Purdue-Calumet, 53-48 at halftime, but their upset bid fell short in a 97-83 loss at the Schaefer Center on Thursday night in front of 200 fans.
It was a great turnout for the Warriors (0-2) home opener and they put on a show early.
Shallante Clements tallied the first four points for Tech, both layups, and
Baylee Rinehart broke a 4-4 tie with a deep three to take a 7-4 lead. After the Peregrines (4-0) answered, Rinehart scored five unanswered points for the 12-6 lead.
The Orange and Black maintained their lead, stretching it to as many as seven points, 18-11 at the 15 minute mark, but Purdue Calumet didn't go away, taking their first lead, 24-23, five minutes later. Another Rinehart three, her third in as many tries in the half, put Tech back in front and a
Nikki Grose free throw at the 7:21 mark put the Warriors up seven, 33-26, their largest lead of the game.
Tech maintained their advantage over the next three minutes, but a 10-2 run by the Peregrines tied the game at 48 with 1:21 left in the half.
Taylor Seiss hit a three and
Nikki Grose converted a layup as time expired to give the Warriors the 53-48 lead at the break. Tech shot 58.8 percent (20-for-34) in the half including a 6-for-7 (85.7%) mark from behind the arc, hitting 7-of-12 (58.35) free throws. On the other end, PUC shot 55.3 percent (21-for-38) in the half, going 3-for-10 (30%) from the three-point arc and 3-for-5 (60%) at the charity stripe.
The Peregrines used a 10-2 run to take a three point, 58-55, lead early in the second half. A pair of
Rayana Villalpando free throws followed by a Grose three gave Tech the lead, 60-58. The two teams tied three times over the next three minutes, the last coming on a
Linsey Masnari fast break layup to make it 65 all at the 12:48 mark. Unfortunately, an 8-2 run by the visitors made it 73-67, giving the Peregrines a lead they didn't relinquish.
The Orange and Black cooled off in the second half and finished the contest 29-of-67 (43.3%) from the floor and 10-for-14 (71.4%) from the arc while hitting 15-of-21 (71.4%) free throw attempts. Purdue Calumet finished 40-of-71 (56.3%) from the field, hitting 4-of-15 (26.7%) three-point attempts while converting 13-of-16 (81.3%) free throws.
The difference in the contest was inside as the Peregrines scored 70 points in the paint to the Warriors 36, also outscoring Tech in second chance (19-14) and fast break (14-6) points. The Orange and Black held a 20-17 advantage in points off turnovers and a 25-8 margin in bench points.
Grose finished with a game-high 22 points while grabbing a team-high eight rebounds. Rinehart finished with 16 points, hitting 4-of-5 three-pointers, with Masnari adding 13 points and seven rebounds.
The Warriors return to action on Saturday, Nov. 8 when they travel to Winona Lake, Ind. to face Grace College, who is currently receiving votes. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
