FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The No. 13-ranked Indiana Tech women's basketball team began its quest for its third consecutive Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Tournament title as the number two seed Thursday evening as they defeated seventh-seeded Cornerstone University 73-37 inside the Schaefer Center.
Emma Tuominen had 15 points and 12 rebounds for her second straight double-double and fourth of the season.
Taya Andrews had 13 points, four rebounds and three assists while
Alexis Hill had 11 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for her sixth double-double on the year.
Eileen Salisbury and
Laney Steckler each chipped in nine points.
The Warriors got off to a slow start as they found themselves trailing 7-2 halfway through the first quarter and missed their first six shots from the floor until a jumper from Andrews at the 4:51 mark. Cornerstone grew their advantage to 10-4 at the 3:14 mark, but Tech found some momentum late in the half with an 8-3 run to cut the deficit to 13-12 at the quarter break.
The Orange and Black ratcheted up the defensive intensity in the second quarter as they held Cornerstone to just three points on 1-15 shooting and while the hosts went just 5-14 from the floor, they managed to put up 17 points in the period to take a commanding 30-15 at the half. The lone points of the period for the visitors came at the 6:59 mark and 2:29 marks via a free throw by Katrina Goebel and a layup by Shelby Nyboer, respectively. Prior to the Nyboer bucket the Warriors had enjoyed a 10-0 run and used a triple from Stecker and a pair of free throws from Andrews in the final 21 seconds to double up the Golden Eagles.
Tech turned over a new leaf on the offensive side of the court in the third as they went 8-14 from the field while converting three of their four three-point shots and going 6-8 from the charity stripe to the tune of 25 points while holding their opponents to just eight points on 4-15 shooting. The Warriors started the half on an 8-0 spurt to make it a 23-point lead and force a timeout from Cornerstone with 7:48 on the clock, and the lead never dipped under 20 points the rest of the game as Tech won its second straight WHAC Tournament game.
Tech (24-2) now turns its attention to third-seeded Siena Heights University in the semifinals of the WHAC Tournament on Saturday. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. from the Schaefer Center.
