FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech women's basketball team hosts Siena Heights and Concordia this week in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) action and look to sweep the season series with both teams.
 
Indiana Tech (13-9, 9-5 WHAC)
 
Wednesday, Jan. 27, 6 p.m. vs. Siena Heights (13-9, 7-7 WHAC) – Fort Wayne, Indiana (Schaefer Center) Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Game
Monday, Feb. 1, 7 p.m. vs. Concordia (10-10, 5-9 WHAC) – Fort Wayne, Indiana (Schaefer Center)
 
Following the Warriors: Live stats and video will be available for both games via Stretch's Internet Game Central at 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: Tech gave defending conference champion and eight-ranked Davenport all it could handle on Saturday, but came up just short, falling 84-80. Haley Cook had a game-high 23 points while dishing out a career-high eight assists, pulling down six rebounds and had two steals. Kendall Knapke recorded her second double-double in as many games by scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds and had a career-high four blocks. Taylor Seiss scored 12 points while Taylor Carver had 11 points. Rayana Villalpando added nine points, six rebounds and five assists while Sarah White and Claire Volpenhein combined for 13 points off the bench.
 
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: Siena Heights – The Saints snapped a three-game losing skid on Saturday as they defeated Concordia, 70-65. April Watson leads the team in scoring (13.7 ppg) and rebounding (9.5 rpg) while shooting 52.5% from the field. Jaaliyah Arrington adds 11.5 points a night.
 
Concordia – The Cardinals will host Aquinas on Wednesday and travel to the Concordia Invitational Tournament in River Forest, Illinois this weekend before coming to the Summit City on Monday. Brianna Rowe and Kari Borowiak are both averaging 14.1 points per game, while Borowiak is averaging four assists a night, the second most in the WHAC. Karlee Morris is grabbing a team-high 11.9 rebounds a night and chipping in 7.1 ppg.
 
Series History: Siena Heights – Tech is 7-16 against the Saints since the 2005-06 season and most recently snapped a three-game losing skid with a 86-82 overtime victory in Adrian. Haley Cook and Taylor Seiss had 22 and 20 points, respectively, while pulled down four rebounds and dished out three assists. Seiss shot 57.1% from the floor and the three point line. Kendall Knapke and Taylor Carver also recorded double digit scoring efforts with 14 and 10 points, respectively, with the duo combining for 13 rebounds. Rayana Villalpando chipped in eight points while pulling down a season-high 10 boards.
 
Concordia – The Warriors are 9-12 since 2005 against the Cardinals and have won five straight. In their last meeting, a 76-54 win for Tech back on Dec. 5, Kendall Knapke led all scorers with a career-high 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-7 from behind the three-point line. She also pulled down eight rebounds while recording a pair of assists, blocks and steals. Taylor Carver added 15 points with five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Haley Cook and Taylor Seiss also scored in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Cook added a team-high nine rebounds while Seiss dished out a game-high five assists.
 
Lacing up for Cancer: Tech will be collecting donations at Wednesday night's game for the Coaches vs. Cancer program, a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Coaches will also be donning suits and sneakers during the game. For more information, click here.

Commanding the Floor: Senior Rayana Villalpando has been at the helm of Coach Biggs' offense all four of her years in the Summit City and has never averaged less than 3.6 assists per game in a season. This year she is dishing out 4.3 apg and has increased her dime production to 4.5 assists per game in conference play, ranking first in overall games and second in WHAC game, respectively. The Bellflower, California native is also a key part of the Warriors rebounding effort, averaging five boards a night and 4.9 in conference play. She ranks 14^th in the nation in total assists (95) and 20^th in assists per game.
 
Closing in on Triple-Fives: Villalpando stuffs the stat sheet every time she hits the floor and she is closing in on 500 career assists as well as 500 career rebounds. The Downey High School product currently sits at 487 assists and 484 rebounds and also has 603 career points. She would be the first Tech player in recent memory to achieve the triple-500 feat.
 
Double-double Machine: Freshman forward and Heritage High School product Kendall Knapke has been solid for the Warriors all season long, but has really stepped her game up, particularly on the boards, in the last five games. The Fort Wayne native has recorded back-to-back double-doubles and has three games of double-digit rebounding in her last four. She grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds against UNOH on Jan. 13 and is leading the team with seven boards a night.
 
Lighting it Up: At the forefront of the Warriors offensive attack is the duo of backcourt duo of Taylor Seiss and Haley Cook. Both are averaging over 15 points a game, while Cook is averaging 18.4 ppg in WHAC play and Seiss pouring in 17.7 points a night. Seiss averaging 15.8 ppg and Cook serving up 15 points a night. The pair rank first and third in the WHAC in points per game in conference play, respectively, and are fourth and fifth in overall games.
 
Long-Range Offense: Tech's sharp-shooters are converting 37.4% of their shots from downtown this season, the fifth-best mark in the nation. In all, their 183 triples ranks 11^th in the country while they are 15^th in three-pointers made per game (8.3). In conference games they are shooting 40.5% from behind the arc, ranking first in the WHAC while averaging 1.5 more three-pointers per game than any other conference team.
 
Sharp-Shooting: At the forefront of the Warriors long-range attack has been Taylor Seiss. The junior has knocked down 68 three-pointers this season, the seventh most in NAIA Division II. She makes 3.1 triples per game, the 11^th best mark in the country while shooting it at a 43.3% clip from downtown, ranking her 17^th in the nation. Haley Cook also ranks among the top 50 in total three-pointers made with 55 total (19^th), is shooting the three-ball at a 42.0% clip (27^th) and is averaging 2.5 triples per game (29^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.
 
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 had a season-high six blocks against Davenport on Jan. 23…besides Lawrence Tech, the Orange and Black have come the closest to knocking off the Panthers in WHAC play this season, falling by only four points.
 
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.
 
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 seven teams ranked or receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll at the time of play: Davenport (#2 and #8), Marian (#9), Purdue Calumet (#11) Huntington (#20), Lawrence Tech (#25) and Saint Francis (RV).
 
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.