FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech women's basketball team completed their perfect run through the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference with a 58-53 win over the Siena Heights Saints in the WHAC Conference Tournament Final. With tonight's win, the Warriors have claimed six of the last seven regular season titles (three in a row) and five of the previous six conference tournament titles.
 
The defensive intensity heavily influenced the opening five minutes, leading to a stalemate of the offenses as a bucket in the paint from Erika Foy knotted the game at five with 5:50 left in the opening frame. The Saints' defensive pressure continued to stymie the Warrior's offense through the remaining five minutes, resulting in the hosts trailing after the first quarter, 13-9. The Orange and Black settled in in the second quarter, finding a rhythm, and easily navigated the Saints full-court pressure, reducing their turnovers to zero after coughing it up three times in the first. The extra possessions, the continued defensive pressure, and seven points from Genevieve Decker led the Warriors to take a 32-24 lead into the midway break.
 
The Warriors continued to stretch their lead out of the break, taking their first double-digit lead at the 9:07 mark of the third quarter. However, every time the hosts seemed to begin to pull away, the Saints came with a response to keep the game within reach. A six-minute scoreless drought, stretching the final three minutes of the third into the fourth, for the Warriors almost spelled disaster as Siena Heights cut the lead to one with just over three minutes remaining in the fourth. Huge threes on back-to-back possessions from Bethany Worm and Juliana Burris gave the Warriors the lift they needed to hold on down the stretch. The solid second quarter proved to be a pivotal frame for the hosts as the Saints outscored the Warriors in the second half. Still, the lead established was enough to get the job done, winning 58-53.
 
Erika Foy and Genevieve Decker led the way for the Warriors, chipping in eleven points apiece. Foy was one rebound short of the double-double, corralling nine with three assists. Decker pulled down five boards and dished out one assist. Taylor Covington poured in ten points to round out Tech's double-digit scorers and added four dimes.
 
The Warriors now wait to find out where they will play in the first and second rounds of the NAIA National Tournament. The NAIA Selection Show is live-streamed on the NAIA YouTube Channel on Thursday, March 7^th, at 7:00 p.m. CT.