FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech women's basketball team ramps up the second half of Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) play this week as they travel to Lourdes on Wednesday before hosting nationally ranked Davenport on Saturday.
 
Indiana Tech (12-8, 8-4 WHAC)
 
Wednesday, Jan. 20, 6 p.m. at. Lourdes (5-14, 2-10 WHAC) – Sylvania, Ohio (Tam-O-Shanter)
Saturday, Jan. 23, 1 p.m. vs. #8 Davenport (15-4, 11-1 WHAC) – Fort Wayne, Indiana (Schaefer Center)
 
Following the Warriors: Live stats will be available for Wednesday's game against Lourdes at http://www.sidearmstats.com/lourdes/wbball/, while Saturday's game against Davenport will have live video and stats available via Stretch's Internet Game Central, http://portal.stretchinternet.com/indianatech/. You can also follow @INTechWBB and @INTechWarriors on Twitter to stay up to date on the action.
 
Last Time Out: The Warriors opened the second half on conference play on Saturday with an 84-49 victory over Michigan-Dearborn on the road as they swept the season series. Taylor Carver had a game-high 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds. Haley Cook poured in 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-7 from behind the three point line while pulling down seven rebounds. Taylor Seiss chipped in 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting and had two assists. Rayana Villalpando had four points and five assists. As a team the Warriors shot 50.8% from the field and 48.1% from the three point line, while holding the Wolverines to 25.8% from the field and 20.0% from downtown.
 
Head Coach Jessie Biggs: Now in her 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: Lourdes – The Gray Wolves have lost six of their last seven games, most recently falling to Aquinas on Saturday, 59-45. Jesse Fidler leads the team in scoring (13.0 ppg), rebounding (7.1 rpg) and steals (2.4 spg) while shooting 53.9% from the floor. Niki Meyer is also averaging double figures in scoring with 10.5 ppg.
 
Davenport – The eighth-ranked Panthers visit Siena Heights on Wednesday before coming to the Summit City this weekend and have won five of their last six games, most recently defeating Marygrove 127-52 on Saturday. Davenport's lone loss in WHAC play came to then-No. 20 Lawrence Tech last Wednesday when they fell at home, 64-59. Tiesha Stokes leads the team in scoring with 15.7 ppg, but hasn't played since Dec. 19. Alex Law averages 12.6 ppg and is shooting 40.8% from the field.
 
Series History: Lourdes – Tech is 7-1 all-time against Lourdes in a series that dates back to Jan. 7, 2012, and has won the last five meetings. The Warriors posted a 94-72 victory over the Gray Wolves in the last meeting back on Dec. 2 at the Schaefer Center. Haley Cook led all scorers with 26 points on 8-of-13 shooting and was 6-of-9 from behind the three-point line while dishing out seven assists and grabbing five rebounds. Baylee Rinehart chipped in 17 points off the bench, while Taylor Seiss, Kendall Knapke and Taylor Carver also notched double-figures in scoring. Rayana Villalpando dished out nine assists while adding nine points and pulling down a team-high eight rebounds. The Orange and Black are 3-0 games played at Tam-o-Shanter.
 
Davenport – The Warriors are 1-25 against the Panthers since the 2005-06 season, with their lone victory coming on Feb. 2, 2005. Earlier this season in Grand Rapids, Tech fell 94-83, to the then-second ranked team in the nation. Taylor Seiss had 26 points on 10-13 shooting and was 4-5 from the three point line. Taylor Carver added 14 points while Baylee Rinehart chipped in 13 points and two steals. Sarah White scored 12 points while pulling down a team-high eight rebounds.
 
We're Halfway There: The Warriors are into their second half of their conference slate and through 12 games Tech is tied with Cornerstone and Madonna for fourth place in the WHAC with 8-4 marks. The Golden Eagles and Crusaders hold the early tie-breakers with head-to-head victories over the Orange and Black though, making the next 10 games even more important in regards to conference tournament seeding.
 
Lighting it Up: At the forefront of the Warriors offensive attack is the duo of Taylor Seiss and Haley Cook. One of them has lead the Orange and Black in scoring in 14 of the teams 18 games, with Seiss averaging 15.8 ppg and Cook serving up 15 points a night. The pair have stepped their game up in conference play, averaging 18.1 and 17.6 points per game, respectively, and lead the league in the category. Seiss is shooting 49.4% from the three-point line in WHAC play, also tops, while Cook is right behind her at 46.5% from downtown.
 
Commanding the Floor: Senior Rayana Villalpando has been at the point for coach Biggs all four of her years in the Summit City and has never averaged less than 3.6 assists per game (apg) in a season. This year she is dishing out 4.3 apg while averaging 4.4 dimes a night in conference play, ranking second in the WHAC. She is closing in on 500 career assists and currently sits at 477. She is also cleaning up the glass nicely with a career-best 5.1 rebounds per game turning the ball over a career-low 2.6 times per game. Villalpando is also averaging 6.8 points per game while shooting 41.8% from the floor. The Bellflower, California native is tied for 15^th in the country in total assists (85) while ranking 21^st in assists per game.
 
Long-Range Offense: Tech uses the three point shot as a major part of their offensive game plan and they have become sharp-shooters converting 37.2% of their shots from downtown, ranking seventh in the nation. Their 162 total three-pointers made is tied for 12^th in the country while they make an average of 8.1 triples per game, the 16^th best mark in the nation.
 
Sharp-Shooting: At the forefront of the Warriors long-range attack has been Taylor Seiss. The junior has knocked down 62 three-pointers this season, the ninth most in the NAIA Division II. She makes 3.1 triples per game, the 11^th best mark in the country while shooting it at a 44.0% clip from downtown, ranking her 13^th in the nation. Haley Cook also ranks among the top 50 in total three-pointers made (47, 25^th), three-point field goal percentage (40.5%, 38^th) and three-point field goals made per game (2.4, 38^th).
 
Seizing The Awards: Junior Taylor Seiss was named the WHAC Player of the Week on Dec. 14 after averaging 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 hit 43.8% of her three point attempts while also picking up five rebound, three assists and a block in over 73 minutes of game action.
 
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.
 
Local Flavor: The Warriors have five players who played their high school ball an hour or less drive to the Schaefer Center. Two hail from the Summit City, Taylor Seiss and Kendall Knapke, while Sarah White (Wabash), Baylee Rinehart (DeKalb), Taylor Carver (Woodburn) and Abby Waddle (Elida, Ohio) are just a half-court shot away.
 
This and That: Coach Biggs has started the same five players in every game but one (Bethel) this season: Rayana Villalpando, Haley Cook, Taylor Seiss, Kendall Knapke and Taylor Carver; Sarah White got the nod against the Pilots…the Warriors attempted a season-high 34 three-point field goal attempts against UNOH a week ago and made 14 of them, their second-best mark this season…Tech had a season-high 19 steals against Michigan-Dearborn on Saturday…the Orange and Black held the Racers to just two good three-pointers, the lowest total of the year.
 
New Rules, Same Game: The NAIA has adopted many of the same rule changes that took place over the summer in the NCAA. 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, with 1-and-1 free-throw scenarios being 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 six teams ranked or receiving votes in any of the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll: then-No. 2 Davenport, then-No. 9 Marian, then-No. 11 Purdue Calumet, then-No. 20 Huntington, (RV) Saint Francis and No. 25 Lawrence Tech.
 
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.