FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The No. 7-ranked Indiana Tech women's basketball team defeated Lawrence Tech, 89-65, on Saturday afternoon inside the Schaefer Center to advance to the title game of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Tournament for the second straight season.
 
DeAnn Kauffman and Alexis Hill each score a team-high 19 points, with the former going 8-10 from the field and the latter grabbing six rebounds. Kendall Knapke added 17 points and eight rebounds while Rachel Bell had eight point, seven rebounds, seven assists and two blocks. Jenna Szostak knocked down three triples for nine points with Bella Lozano-Dobbs had eight points, five assist and three rebounds.
 
A triple from Lozano-Dobbs put the Warriors ahead for good at the 6:46 mark in the first quarter as the senior knocked down her first of three triples on the afternoon. The three started a 12-4 run for Tech as they held the Blue Devils to just two made field goals in the final five minutes of the opening quarter.
 
After going 10-16 (62.5%) from the floor in the first quarter, the Orange and Black continued to heat up the gym on a cold and dreary February day as they shot 60% in the second period en route to 23 points, with seven of those coming from the free throw line. An 8-0 run from the Blue Devils cut the Warrior lead to 22-18 with 7:28 to play in the opening half, but a three from Szostak started a 13-3 run, with Szostak capping the spurt with back-to-back triples and making it a 35-20 game with 4:28 on the clock.
 
After taking a 42-24 lead into the locker room, the hosts got right back to work with 27 points in the third quarter and going 10-16 again from the floor and a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. Tech pushed their lead up to 28 points and didn't let the lead get under 18 points in the period. The top-seeded team in the tournament, Tech finished the game shooting 61.1% from the field, 70% from three-point range and 80% from the charity stripe as they won their seventh straight game against LTU.
 
Tech (29-3) will host second-seeded and No. 23-ranked Aquinas College in the WHAC Tournament Championship game on Monday, February 25. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. from the Schaefer Center.