FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The No. 4-ranked Indiana Tech women's basketball team defeated regional rival Grace College, 90-76, Tuesday evening in their home opener inside the Schaefer Center.
 
DeAnn Kauffman scored a season-high 32 points, just one off her career mark, while grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds and dishing out seven assists. Kyra Whitaker had a career-high 21 points while Alexis Hill recorded 14 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Emma Wolfe chipped in 12 points while Rachel Bell had 13 assists to tie her career-high and program record.
 
The first 10 minutes of the game produced a flurry of action with the Warriors putting up 35 points on the scoreboard while the Lancers had 22 points, with Tech shooting 72.2% from the floor and 63.6% from the three-point line. Grace took the first lead of the game on their opening possession, but the Warriors wouldn't be down for long as they went ahead for good with 4:26 to play in the quarter following a basket from Erika Foy that sparked a 9-0 run for the hosts to put them up 20-14. Kauffman finished the quarter with 15 points on 6-8 shooting while Whitaker from 3-4 for 10 points and Bell had eight assists.
 
The second quarter was another great offensive performance from the Warriors, who went 9-15 from the field, while the visitors kept pace thanks to a 4-7 effort from behind the three-point line. A jumper from Kauffman started a 7-0 spurt for Tech to begin the period that gave them a 42-22 advantage with 8:23 to play until the half. Grace cut the lead down to 12 with 4:51 left on the clock, but were unable to cut the deficit down any more as Tech took a 55-38 lead into the locker room.
 
The Lancers began to chip away at the lead in the third as they outscored the Warriors 25-14. A layup from Vironnica Drake, who had 32 points to match Kauffman, sparked a 12-4 run for Grace that made it a 65-56 game with 4:45 left in the third. Drake carried the load for the visitors with 14 points in the period and hit a pair of free throws with 14 seconds on the clock to make it a 69-63 game heading into the final 10 minutes of regulation.
 
The Lancers hit two more free throws to cut the deficit down to four points to begin the fourth quarter, but a three-pointer from Wolfe sparked a 7-2 run for the Warriors to push the lead back up to 10 points at 77-67 with 7:39 to play. Grace cut the lead back down into single digits, but Wolfe would nail another triple to push the advantage up to 11 points at 83-72 with 5:42 on the clock and the lead never dipped into single digits again as the Warriors won their home opener.
 
Tech (3-1) returns to action on Saturday, November 16 as they host Lourdes University in their conference opener. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. from the Schaefer Center.