DAYTON, Tenn. – The No. 11-ranked Indiana Tech women's basketball team defeated No. 17-ranked and previous undefeated Bryan College, 77-52, Tuesday afternoon inside Summers Gymnasium.
DeAnn Kauffman scored a game-high 24 points and collected a career-high 14 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.
Emma Wolfe added 13 points and four rebounds while
Alexis Hill and
Kyra Whitaker each scored 12 points, with Hill pulling down nine boards and Whitaker grabbing seven rebounds.
Kelsey Ivers added nine points off the bench while
Rachel Bell had six rebounds and six assists.
The first quarter set the tone in a rematch from the 2018 NAIA Division II National Championship, with neither side getting out by more than three points as they Warriors held a 23-20 advantage at the end of the period. A quick 5-0 spurt from Tech gave them a 28-20 lead just two minutes into the second quarter while a triple from Wolfe pushed the advantage to 36-25 at the 2:48 mark. The Lions appeared to cut the deficit to just six points, but Wolfe hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Orange and Black a 42-33 lead at the break.
The Warriors ratcheted up the defensive intensity in the second half as they held the Lions to just 26.9% shooting from the field and 14.3% from three-point range. While Tech's offensive output in the second half was far from stellar (33.3% FG and 30% 3-pt FG), the visitors went 12-15 from the free throw line to build their lead and ice the game away. The Warriors held Bryan scoreless for the first four and a half minutes of the third quarter while using a 9-2 run to make it a 59-38 game with just over a minute to play in the period.
A 9-0 run from Tech extended their lead to 70-43 with 3:56 to play in the game while the Lions did not score until the 3:44 mark of the fourth quarter while going 0-6 from the floor and committing five turnovers during the scoring drought as the Warriors won their second straight game.
Tech (10-3) returns to action Friday as they host Trinity Christian College in their final game before Christmas. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. from the Schaefer Center.
