FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech women's basketball team heads back to the court on Saturday after completing finals as they close out their pre-Christmas slate when they head to Huntington take on the 20^th ranked Foresters and look to extend their winning streak to eight games.
 
Indiana Tech (9-3, 6-1 WHAC)
 
Saturday, Dec. 19, 1 p.m. at No. 20 Huntington (6-5, 0-3 Crossroads League) – Huntington, Indiana (Platt Arena)
 
Following the Warriors: Links to live stats and video will be available at IndianaTechWarriors.com. You can also follow @INTechWBB and @INTechWarriors on Twitter to catch the action.
 
Last Time Out: The Warriors defeated Aquinas, 72-62, last Saturday in Grand Rapids, Michigan for their seventh win in a row. Taylor Seiss had a game-high 19 points while grabbing four rebounds and picking up a pair of assists. Haley Cook added 18 points with six rebounds and Baylee Rinehart also scored in double figures with 16 and had two steals. Rayana Villalpando and Sarah White each had a team-high eight boards while Villalpando had three assists and a trio of steals.
 
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: Huntington – The Foresters broke a four-game losing streak last Wednesday with a 113-12 victory over Great Lakes Christian College. Miranda Palmer leads the team in scoring with 18.2 points per game while shooting 46.8% from the field and 44.8% from behind the three point line. She is also dishing out a team-best 2.9 assists per game. Amelia Recker and Kelsey Hubble also score in double figures with 15.6 and 11.8 points per contest, respectively. Recker also leads the team in rebound by pulling down 8.6 boards a night.
 
Series History: Huntington – Tech is 3-7 against their neighbors to the south since the 2005-06 season, but has dropped the last three in a row. A year ago in Fort Wayne, the Foresters came away with a 71-48 victory. Linsey Masnari scored 13 points while Baylee Rinehart added eight.
 
Seizing her Award: junior guard Taylor Seiss was named the WHAC Player of the Week on Dec. 14 after 19.5 points in wins against Siena Heights and Aquinas to help the Warriors push their winning streak to seven games. She shot 44.1% from the field and hitting 43.8% of her three point attempts and also picked up five rebound, three assists and a block in over 73 minutes of game action.
 
We're Going Streaking: The eight-game winning streak by the Warriors is the longest in program history since the 2011-12 season, when the Orange and Black won five in a row to open the season. Tech's streak is the sixth longest current streak in NAIA Division II, trailing only No. 17 Bryan College (13 games), No. 1 Saint Xavier (12), No. 8 Davenport and No. 10 Jamestown (nine) and No. 13 Southern Oregon (eight), while No. 24 Goshen and No. 12 Dakota Wesleyan currently have seven game winning streaks as well.
 
Twice as Nice: Sophomore guard Haley Cook was named the WHAC Player of the Week for the second time this season on Dec. 7 after scoring 38 points over the week of Nov. 29-Dec. 6, including a career-high 26 in a 96-72 win over Lourdes last Wednesday. She also grabbed five boards and dished out a career high seven assists in the win. In the 76-54 victory over Concordia on Saturday, she notched 12 points while pulling down a career high nine boards and three assists. Cook also won the weekly conference award on Nov. 23.
 
Looking Behind the Arc: The Warriors find themselves among the national leaders when it comes to both the offensive and defensive side of the three point line. Tech had made 95 triples so far this year, the 15^th most in the country. Their 36.7% shooting percentage from downtown ranks tied for 13^th while their 7.9 three pointers per game is the 15^th most in the nation. Defensively, the Orange and Black are holding opponents to shooting just 29.2% from deep, placing them in a tie for 45^th.
 
Locking it Down: Head coach Jessie Biggs preaches lockdown defense to her players and the Warrior have been playing suffocating defense all season. They have only allowed four teams, then-No. 2 Davenport, then-No. 9 Marian, Lourdes and Siena Heights (in overtime), to score more than 70 points in a game this season. Tech has given up less than 60 points five games this year, including three-straight games of not allowing a team to score more than 44 points.
 
Lighting it Up: Taylor Seiss has been a threat to score from almost anywhere on the court, shooting 45.8% from the floor and 40.2% from behind the arc for a team-best 14.9 points per game. Her shooting ability has her among the nation's best, especially in the long range department. She ranks 15^th in total three point field goals made (33), 17^th in three point field goals made per game (2.8), 45^th in three point field goal percentage and is tied for 50^th in total scoring (179 points).
 
Home for the Holidays: Following Saturday's matchup with Huntington, the Warriors stay at home for their next four games. The welcome in crosstown rival Saint Francis and Bethel College for a Holiday Tournament on Dec. 29-30 before hosting No. 25 Lawrence Tech on Jan. 2 and Cornerstone on Jan. 6.
 
This and That: Biggs has started the same five players in every game this season: Rayana Villalpando, Haley Cook, Taylor Seiss, Kendall Knapke and Taylor Carver…The Warriors had a season-low 12 fouls and only committed six turnovers, also a season-low, against Aquinas…Taylor Seiss and Haley Cook each had season-highs in field goal attempts against the Saints with 20 and 18 shot attempts, respectively while the Warriors as a team had a season-high 74 attempts…Cook was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line against Siena Heights…Tech hit 23 free throws as a team against Siena Heights, tying a single-game season-high.
 
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.
 
Stacking Up Against the Competition: The Warriors have faced off with three teams ranked in the NAIA Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll: No. 2 Davenport, No. 9 Marian and No. 11 Purdue Calumet. Tech will take on two more teams that are currently ranked in the Top 25: No. 20 Huntington (Dec. 19) and No. 25 Lawrence Tech (Jan. 2).
 
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.