FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The No. 7-ranked Indiana Tech women's basketball team opened postseason play Wednesday evening by defeated the University of Northwestern Ohio, 64-53, in the quarterfinals of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Tournament inside the Schaefer Center.
 
Kendall Knapke notched her seventh double-double of the season with a game-high 21 points and 11 rebounds while adding three assists. Rachel Bell scored a career-high 17 points on 8-11 shooting while adding seven rebounds and five assists. DeAnn Kauffman and Alexis Hill each added eight points with the former adding five rebounds and the latter adding four rebounds and two steals.
 
Both teams struggled offensive in the first quarter with neither side shooting better than 32% from the floor, but the top-seeded Warriors would hold a 16-7 lead after 10 minutes of play. Trailing 7-5 with 5:55 to play in the opening period, Tech went on an 11-0 run to close out the quarter, holding the Racers scoreless for nearly six minutes.
 
UNOH would find some rhythm in the second though as they outscored the Warriors 20-11 in the period. The eighth-seeded Racers went on a 10-2 run over the final four minutes of the half to tie the game up at 27 at the break.
 
Tech came out of the locker room on an 11-0 run to begin the third quarter and didn't allow the visitors to score until the 4:15 mark in the period. UNOH cut the deficit to eight points with 3:36 to play in the quarter, but Bell put the hosts back up by 11 as the buzzer sounded on the third.
 
The Warriors extended their lead to as many as 17 as they used an 11-5 run to put the game out of reach following an and-one play from Hill with 1:49 on the clock. The Racers scored the last six points of the game, but it would be not enough as Tech advanced to the conference semifinals for the fourth straight season.
 
Tech (28-3) returns to action on Saturday as they host fifth-seeded Lawrence Tech. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. from the Schaefer Center.