FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The No. 6-ranked Indiana Tech women's basketball team returned to action following a 12-day layoff for the holidays and extended its winning streak to 15 games as they defeated Aquinas College, 67-55, in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) action on Wednesday evening in the Schaefer Center.
 
Alexis Hill had a game-high 17 points while adding a team-best seven rebounds and three blocks to go along with a pair of steals and assists. Kendall Knapke added 15 points, six rebounds and two blocks while DeAnn Kauffman chipped in 13 points and three steals. Bella Lozano-Dobbs had 11 points, three assists and two steals while Rachel Bell added eight points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
 
The first quarter would be a back-and-forth affair between the two sides with four ties and two lead changes with the Warriors taking control of the action first with a 10-7 advantage at the 5:08 mark. Aquinas responded with a 9-3 spurt to go ahead 16-13 with just over a minute to go in the period but a three-pointer from Jenna Szostak right before the buzzer would tie the game up at 18-18 following 10 minutes of play.
 
The Saints would clamp down on the Warriors in the second quarter by holding the hosts to just five points 2-13 shooting from the floor and 0-4 from downtown. The visitors ended the half on a 10-2 spurt while holding Tech scoreless over the last 4:27 of the period to take a 31-23 lead in the break.
 
A triple from Knapke to begin the third quarter would jump start the Warriors offense as they outscored Aquinas 25-9 in the period, while the pesky defense of the Orange and Black returned to form by holding the Saints to just 3-16 shooting. Following the three-pointer from Knapke, Tech would go on a 14-5 spurt to go ahead 37-33 with just under six minutes to go in the quarter. A fast break layup from Bell would give the Warriors their first lead since the first quarter at the 6:26 mark while an 11-4 run ended the quarter and gave Tech a 48-40 lead heading into the fourth.
 
Tech grew their lead to as many as 14 points in the fourth while the Saints were never able to cut the deficit to under six in the 10 minutes of play, while the lead stayed in the double digits for the final 2:50 of the game. Following a basket on the opening possession of the period by the Saints, Tech went on an 8-0 run to make it a 56-42 game and never looked back as they defeated their WHAC rival for the 10^th straight time.
 
Tech (16-1, 8-0 WHAC) returns to action Saturday as they take on No. 22-ranked University of Michigan-Dearborn on the road. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. from the UM-Dearborn Fieldhouse.