FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The No. 17-ranked Indiana Tech women's basketball team defeated Rochester University 85-83 Tuesday evening in the championship game of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Tournament inside the Schaefer Center to complete the sweep of the conference titles while winning their fourth straight conference tournament.
 
The victory also pushed Tech's winning streak to 14 games. Indiana Tech is just the second team in the history of the WHAC to win four straight conference tournaments, with former member Davenport University winning eight straight from 2010-17. It's the third time that the Warriors have won both the regular season and conference titles (2019, 2020).
 
Emma Tuominen had a career-high 25 points on 11-17 shooting while adding six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Taya Andrews added 17 points, eight assists, six rebounds, four steals and a block while Erika Foy went for 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal. Bethany Worm chipped in 11 points, six rebounds, two steals and a block off the bench while Kyra Whitaker had 10 points, two assists and a rebound. Lauren Wynn and Elysia Mattos both had 24 points for Rochester, with the former adding 16 rebounds.
 
Tech took the first lead of the contest at the 8:17 mark and while Rochester tied the game up three different times in the first quarter, would not be able to go on top at all. The two sides battled back and forth through the period, with Tech holding a slim 22-19 lead the break while shooting 56.3% (9-16) from the floor while Rochester was almost as efficient with a 9-17 (.529) shooting clip.
 
With Foy leading the Warriors with eight points in the opening stanza, it was Tuominen's turn to take over in the second as she went 5-6 from the floor for 11 points as the hosts shot went 9-16 from the floor again en route to 22 points. The Orange and Black limited Rochester to just 10 points on 4-14 shooting while the visitors went 0-4 on shots from behind the three-point arc. The big push came in a 10-0 run coupled with a 3:44 scoring drought for the visitors as Tech pushed the lead to 38-22 with 4:10 to play in the second quarter.
 
Tech continued to hold a large lead in the third after entering halftime leading 44-29, with the advantage staying in double digits for all but a 2:22 stretch where Rochester went on a 7-0 spurt to cut the deficit to 53-48. Tuominen snapped a 3:10 scoring drought for the hosts at the 3:01 mark that sparked a 9-0 run to end the quarter and give Tech a 62-48 lead with 10 minutes to play.
 
Rochester would not lay down quietly into the night though, powered by 19 points from Elysia Mattos in the final quarter as she went 6-9 from the field and 4-5 from behind the arc to spark the comeback. Mattos and Wynn combined for a 10-0 run to bring Rochester within five points at 75-70 with 4:12 to play. A triple from Whitaker stopped the run while a runner from Andrews pushed the lead back up to 10 with 2:56 to go, Rochester came roaring back.
 
With Tech leading 82-72 and 1:18 on the clock, Mattos ripped off nine straight points on two three-pointers and an old-fashioned triple with 25 seconds to play to make it an 82-81 contest. Rochester had their opportunity to take the lead following two missed free throws from Tech, but Worm drew a offensive charge on Lexey Tobel to give the host the ball back with 11 seconds on the clock. Whitaker calmly stepped to the line after being fouled and sunk both attempts to put the Orange and Black up three. The ball ended up in the hands of Mattos, who fired a triple from just beyond Dan Kline's signature, but the shot missed everything and landed out of the bounds.
 
The threat was not over yet though as Mattos got a steal and a quick two points off the inbounds to cut the deficit to 84-83 with three seconds left. Andrews went to the line after being fouled and converted the first attempt, and while she missed the second shot, time expired as the both teams battle for control of the ball as Tech held on for the win.
 
Tech (30-2) now turns its attention to the NAIA National Championships with the selection show and Opening Round brackets being announced Thursday, March 3 at 7 p.m. on the NAIA's Facebook page. The Warriors first game will be on Friday, March 11 at one of the 16 Opening Round sites.