SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – The No. 12-ranked Indiana Tech women's basketball team fell to Lawrence Technological University, 58-55, Friday afternoon inside Don Ridler Fieldhouse in a game that was moved up 44 days on due to COVID-19 postponements from opponents.
Kyra Whitaker had a team-best 13 points while
Taya Andrews had eight points, five rebounds and four assists.
Eileen Salisbury had eight pois, two rebounds, two assists and two steals while
Erika Foy had eight points, 12 rebounds and a block.
The Blue Devils jumped out to a 9-2 lead that was helped out by a 4:17 scoring drought by the Warriors. After the visitors broke their drought at the 4:56 mark, they slowly began to chip away at the lead, cutting it to 13-11 at the 2:32 mark and that's where the score stood when the clock showed triple zero's.
Indiana Tech went on a 9-2 run to start the second and take a 20-14 lead, prompting a timeout by LTU with 6:23 to go in the opening half. A 5-1 spurt from the Blue Devils brought them within a point just a minute later though, but the Warriors were able to hang on to the lead with back-to-back buckets from Whitaker. Lawrence Tech managed to tie the game up at 28 with 1:47 on the clock, but a basket from
Emma Tuominen put the visitors back ahead while a pair of free throws from
Bethany Worm gave the Orange and Black a 32-28 lead at the break.
The Warriors would only make four field goals in the third quarter, but three of those came from behind the three-point line as they outscored the Blue Devils 15-8, with Kendall Fisher to score six of her game-high 20 points during the period. LTU turned up the pressure on the defensive end of the court in the fourth as they limited the Warriors to just eight points on 3-15 shooting and just two players, Whitaker and Foy, getting a ball to go through the basket.
Indiana Tech led 51-39 with 7:17 to play but would not score again until the 2:56 mark with a pair of free throws from Whitaker while the Blue Devils went on an 8-0 run. Following the free throws, LTU scored the next six points to take a 54-53 lead following a layup from Jade Faris at the 1:12 mark. Foy put Tech back up with 51 seconds to play, but Fisher put the hosts back ahead with a pair of free throws and 36 seconds on the clock following Whitaker's fifth foul of the game. The Warriors would miss their next two shots but were unable to secure a rebound off the second miss by Faris at the charity stripe and Fisher made two more free throws to put LTU up 58-55 with six seconds left.
Laney Steckler was able to get off a potential game-tying shot from the corner but it bounced off the back iron and the Warriors took their first loss in conference play.
Tech (16-2, 8-1 WHAC) is slated to return to action Wednesday with a trip to Siena Heights. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. from the Siena Heights Fieldhouse.
