SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The No. 9-ranked Indiana Tech women's basketball team defeated No. 24-ranked Olivet Nazarene, 88-73, Wednesday afternoon in the first round of the 2020 NAIA Division II National Championship, presented by Riverside Technologies, Inc. inside the Tyson Events Center.
The Warriors are in the second round of the national championship for the third straight season.
DeAnn Kauffman scored a team-high 20 points and added 10 rebounds for the double-double while
Emma Wolfe chipped in 16 points and six rebounds.
Rachel Bell and
Alexis Hill had 10 points each while
Kyra Whitaker and
Emma Tuominen had 10 points apiece.
Erika Foy chipped in eight points and four rebounds off the bench.
The Warriors held the Tigers, with their unique "Tigerball" system that is mimics the Grinnell system, off the scoreboard for the first 90 seconds of the game and led 14-8 following a 7-0 run with 4:14 left in the opening quarter. Tech continued to hold the Tigers at bay for the rest of the quarter, allowing just five points over the final four minutes of the period, and led 18-13 at the break.
Foy dominated the first two minutes of the second quarter, scoring six straight points for Tech as they were able to break the Tigers full-court press early and often to push their lead to 26-17. The frantic pace continued through the rest of the quarter as they two teams combined for 39 points with a triple from Tuominen giving Tech a 39-31 lead at the half.
The points continued to pile up on the scoreboard in the third quarter as the Warriors outscored Olivet Nazarene 28-24. ONU came out of the half firing with a 6-0 run to cut the deficit down to two points. A triple from Wolfe stopped the run though, and the Orange and Black maintained their lead throughout the rest of the quarter. Tech used patience and timely passing to break the press while a 7-2 run ended the quarter and gave the Warriors a 67-55 lead.
The Tigers clawed their way back into the game in the final quarter of regulation, cutting the deficit down to 73-67 with 4:49 left in the game and held Tech to just one basket over a 90-second stretch, but ONU was unable to get within two possessions. The Warriors ended the game on a 15-4 run and went 7-10 from the free throw line down the stretch to ice the game away.
Tech (30-4) returns to action on Friday, March 13 as they battle regional rival and No. 7-ranked Taylor University in a second round matchup of the 29
th, and final edition, of the NAIA Division II National Championship. Tip-off is set for 9:30 a.m. ET from the Tyson Events Center.
