FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The No. 13-ranked Indiana Tech women's basketball team defeated the University of Michigan-Dearborn, 78-42, Wednesday evening inside the Schaefer Center in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) action. The win ends the first half of conference play and has the Warriors sitting in second place and a game behind No. 14-ranked Siena Heights University.
DeAnn Kauffman had 22 points, nine rebounds and two assists while
Erika Foy added a career-high 16 points, six rebounds, four blocks, three assists and two steals off the bench.
Alexis Hill chipped in 14 points, six rebounds and five assists while
Emma Wolfe had 12 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Rachel Bell had a season-high 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Tech started the game on a 7-0 run and held the Wolverines scoreless until the 5:59 mark of the first quarter. The visitors came back with a 7-0 run of their own to tie the game up at the 4:41 mark, but a pair of free throws from Foy sparked a 6-0 run for Tech and the hosts never trailed again. The Orange and Black closed the quarter on a 6-4 run and took a 19-13 lead into the first quarter intermission.
The Warriors began to assert their dominance in the second quarter as they outscored the Wolverines 24-9 while going 10-15 from the floor and holding UM-Dearborn to just 4-17 shooting from the field. Foy scored six points in the first two minutes of the period and ended the half with 11 points in all. Tech used a strong inside game, outscoring the Wolverines 18-6 in the paint in the period, to extend their advantage to 43-22 at the break.
The hosts continued to press down on the defensive end in the third as UM-Dearborn shot 16.7% from the floor and were outscored 17-8 by the Orange and Black. Tech used an 11-3 run to push their lead to 58-28 and took a 30-point into the last 10 minutes of regulation.
The Warriors continued to hum on both the offensive and defensive ends of the fourth in the fourth quarter as they never led the lead dip until 29 points and won their fourth straight game with a 78-42 lead.
Tech (15-4, 9-1 WHAC) returns to action on Saturday as they kick off the second half of conference play against Lourdes University on the road. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. from the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center.
