FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech women's basketball program began their postseason run on Wednesday evening in the Schaefer Center with a 61-52 win over the visiting Aquinas College Saints in the opening round of the 2023-24 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Tournament. With tonight's victory, the Warriors are one step closer to completing the conference double of winning the regular season and conference tournament titles—a feat the Orange and Black have accomplished in three of the past six seasons.
 
Right from the tip-off, it was evident that both squads were hungry for the win, with neither willing to concede an inch. Tech struck first, scoring four straight points, but could not establish any larger of a lead through the opening ten minutes, as they held a 14-10 advantage to close the quarter. The Warrior's defense in the second quarter was solid despite forcing only two turnovers; the effort to contest shots and make the Saints uncomfortable limited the visitor's offense to nine points, making just three of their sixteen attempts. Offensively, the Orange and Black put up 17 points to widen the margin to twelve, heading into the halftime break.
 
In the second half, the Warriors maintained control and saw their lead swell to twenty points for the first time at the 2:13 mark in the third quarter. However, Aquinas refused to go down without a fight, staging a valiant comeback attempt that started in the closing minutes of the third quarter. The visitors continued their charge in the fourth quarter, cutting the Warriors lead to five with just under seven minutes remaining. Unfortunately for the Saints, foul trouble down the stretch gave the Warriors six points at the charity stripe, which was enough to keep them ahead before claiming the nine-point win.
 
Erika Foy led the Warriors offense with 24 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 blocks. Taylor Covington and Korryn Smith chipped in 10 points apiece, while Covington added 5 rebounds and 3 assists, and Smith grabbed 3 boards.
 
The Warriors are back in action, hosting one of the two semifinal games for the WHAC tournament on Friday evening. The Orange and Black will play the winner of the Cornerstone and Rochester quarterfinal, with Friday's game starting at 6:00 p.m.