ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. – The No. 4-ranked Indiana Tech women's basketball team defeated Rochester University 79-55, Wednesday evening in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) action inside Garth Pleasant Arena to notch their fifth straight win.
 
Alexis Hill led all players with a career-high 26 points on 12-17 shooting while adding eight rebounds, two assists and a steal. DeAnn Kauffman added 25 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals while Kyra Whitaker had eight points, four rebounds and two steals. Rachel Bell chipped in two points, seven assists, six rebounds and five steals.
 
Rochester controlled the game early on as they got out to a 6-2 lead over the Warriors in the first four minutes of the game, but a 6-0 spurt from Tech put them ahead 8-6 just a minute later. The hosts responded with a three-pointer from Lexey Tobel to take back the lead, but an 10-2 run from the Orange and Black but them ahead 18-11 with two minutes left in the first quarter.
 
Rochester ended the period on a 4-0 spurt though to cut the lead down to four points at the break and carried that momentum into the second with a 5-0 run that put them back up 20-18. A jumper from Kauffman at the 6:48 mark snapped a 5:14 scoring drought for the visitors and sparked a 16-0 run to give Tech a 34-20 advantage. It was Tech's turn to turn up the pressure on defense as they held Rochester scoreless for a 6:26 stretch and forced five turnovers to enter the half leading 36-25.
 
Hill would take over the third quarter as she scored nine points during the period while a triple from Emma Wolfe sparked a 7-0 run for the Warriors to put them ahead 49-34 at the 5:08 mark. Tech continued to keep their foot down on the gas pedal with a 9-2 run to end the quarter and give them a 58-38 lead at the end of 30 minutes.
 
The fourth quarter would be Kauffman's turn to shine as she scored 10 points in the final period, including eight straight over a 90-second frame to give the Warriors a 72-51 lead with 3:40 left on the clock. Tech would not allow a single made field goal from Rochester over the final 4:08 of the game as they cruised to the 79-55 win.
 
Tech (5-1, 2-0 WHAC) returns to action on Saturday, November 23 as they travel to Cornerstone University for a conference matchup. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. from Mol Arena.