FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech women's basketball team opens up a four-game homestand starting on Wednesday when they welcome Marygrove to the Schaefer Center before hosting Michigan-Dearborn on Saturday. Both games will be part of doubleheaders with the men's team.
 
Indiana Tech (2-3, 0-1 WHAC)
 
Wednesday, Nov. 18, 6 p.m. – vs. Marygrove (4-3, 1-1 WHAC) – Fort Wayne, Indiana (Schaefer Center)
Saturday, Nov. 21, 1 p.m. – vs. Michigan-Dearborn (0-4, 0-1 WHAC) – Fort Wayne, Indiana (Schaefer Center)
 
Following the Warriors: Links to live video and stats will be available at IndianaTechWarriors.com. You can also follow @INTechWBB and @INTechWarriors on Twitter to catch the action.
 
Last Time Out: The Warriors fell to second ranked Davenport, 94-83, on Saturday afternoon. Taylor Seiss had a season-high 26 points while going 10-13 from the field and 4-5 from beyond the arc. Taylor Carver, Baylee Rinehart and Sarah White also scored in double figures with 14, 13 and 12, respectively.
 
Head Coach Jessie Biggs: Now in fourth season at Indiana Tech, Jessie Biggs has amassed 44 wins through her first three years, including a 19-13 mark in 2013. That season, Biggs led the Warriors to a 14-7 mark in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) action and a fourth place finish. The Warriors would defeat Aquinas in the quarterfinals before falling to top seed and No. 2 Davenport in the semifinals. The Northern Iowa alum has had five players on the WHAC All-Academic Team, five WHAC All-Conference selections, two NAIA All-Americans, two NAIA Scholar-Athlete and one WHAC All-Newcomer Team selection.
 
Scouting the Opposition: Marygrove – The Mustangs defeated Michigan-Dearborn, 62-59, on Monday night in Dearborn to pick up their first win in conference play. Elisha Major leads the team in scoring with over 22 points a game while Shavarra Patton is averaging just under 17 points a night and dishing out five assists per game. Breanna Thomas is averaging a double-double (10.9 ppg and 10.3 rpg) through seven games and Thersea Dray pulls down nine boards a contest.
 
Michigan-Dearborn – The Wolverines host No. 2 Davenport on Wednesday before coming to Fort Wayne on Saturday. Megan Swick is averaging just under 10 points a night while Kendall Rose is averaging six points and six rebounds a game.
 
Series History: Marygrove – Tech is 7-0 against the Mustangs since 2010, most recently winning 86-60 on Jan. 21. Taylor Carver notched a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, Baylee Rinehart added 15 points and eight rebounds, while Taylor Seiss added 13 points.
 
Michigan-Dearborn – The Warriors are 12-5 since 2005, most recently losing 84-77 on Feb. 18. Taylor Carver led all scorers with 26 points while Taylor Seiss added 19 points and four assists.
 
New Rules, Same Game: With all the rule changes that were passed over the summer in the NCAA, the NAIA has adopted those same rules. Instead of two 20-minute halves, teams will now play four 10-minute quarters. Teams will reach the bonus once its opponents have committed five fouls in a given quarter. 1-and-1 free-throw scenarios have been eliminated in favor of two shots for all common fouls. And teams will now have the option to advance the ball to the frontcourt in the final 59.9 seconds of the game.
 
Sharp Shooters: The Warriors are shooting over 43 percent from the field as a team and have five players shooting over 45 percent, with four making more than 50 percent of their attempts. Kendall Knapke leads the way at 57.7 percent (15-26), Claire Volpenhein is next at 57.1 percent (4-7), Taylor Carver is at 54.2 percent (26-48) and Sarah White is right at 50 percent (10-20).
 
Home Cooking: Tech's upcoming four-game homestand matches the longest stretch the Warriors will be at the Schaefer Center all year. They also have a four game stretch at home to end 2015 and open up the New Year.
 
Floor General: Senior point guard Rayana Villalpando has been steady as the Warriors floor general, averaging three assists per game while logging over 32 minutes a night. She also averages just under 8.8 points a game while pulling down 4.2 rebounds a contest.
 
Hitting Her Mark: Freshman forward Kendall Knapke been lighting it up for Tech in her first four collegiate games, shooting 57.7 percent from the floor and 52.9 percent from behind the three-point line. She's also a perfect six for six from the charity stripe and is fifth on the team in scoring with nine points a game and second in rebounding (4.6 rpg).
 
Stacking Up Against the Competition: The Warriors will take on eight teams who are ranked or receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll. Tech has already faced off with T-No. 11 Purdue Calumet and T-No. 9 Marian, and faces No. 2 Davenport on Nov. 14. The Orange and Black travel to No. 17 Huntington on Dec. 19 and hosts crosstown rival and 20th ranked Saint Francis on Dec. 29. Madonna was ranked 21^st in the initial rankings, while Cornerstone and Siena Heights picked up 26 and 13 votes, respectively.
 
Poll Thoughts: Tech was picked to finish fifth in the WHAC Coaches' Preseason Poll, receiving 83 votes to finish in a tie with Lawrence Tech. The Warriors finished in sixth last season with a mark of 11-11 in the conference, falling in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament to third seeded Madonna.
 
Staying Close to Home: Freshman Kendall Knapke didn't have to look far away when making her college decision. The Heritage High School product decided to stay in Fort Wayne when she signed with the Warriors last winter. The 5'11" forward averaged 10.5 points per game and 5.3 rebounds in her final prep season with the Patriots and is expected to start right away for the Orange and Black.
 
Carving it Up Again: Senior Taylor Carver is second on the team in scoring (12.8 ppg) and leads the Warriors in rebounding (5.2 rpg) and is hitting over 54.4 of her shots from the floor, good for 40^th in the nation. The WHAC All-Conference Honorable Mention selection a season ago has given the Warriors a dynamic 1-2 punch inside with the emergence of freshman Kendall Knapke.