January 30, 2013

For Immediate Release

Box score

Fort Wayne, Ind. – The Indiana Tech women’s basketball team led for nearly 38 minutes of Wednesday night’s conference showdown, pushing third-place Siena Heights University to the edge before the Saints rallied to defeat the Warriors 80-73.

The Warriors built a 19 point cushion early in the second half, but would get into foul trouble as Siena Heights climbed back into the game with a 21-6 run. Tech eventually slowed the Saint charge and maintained their late, but the Warriors would not make a field goal over the final 4:11 of the game while the Saints outscored them 12-1 to come out on top.

The setback dropped Tech to 11-14 on the year and 9-8 in the WHAC while Siena Heights, who came in ranked just outside the Top 25 at No. 26, advanced to 17-8 and 12-5 in league play.

Chelsea Carradine (Redford, MI/Thurston) got the Warriors off to a tremendous start, scoring six quick points to help build an early 9-2 advantage. The trend continued as Tech dominated for much of the first half, shooting 50 percent while connecting on 6-of-11 shots from behind the arc.

Preonda Reese (Ft. Wayne, IN/Northrop) extended the Warrior lead to 14 just before half, but a SHU bucket at the buzzer made cut Tech’s advantage to 44-32 at the break.

The Warriors came out of the locker room on fire scoring seven unanswered points to take a 19 point lead, 51-32, at the 18:41 mark.

However, a 21-6 run by the Saints over the next seven minutes cut the deficit to just four, but Rachael Kruse (Ft. Wayne, IN/Homestead) responded with a big three as part of a quick 5-0 spurt by the Warriors to push the lead back to nine, 62-53.

Tech went up 72-68 following a basket by Kaneisha Bass (Detroit, MI/Lincoln Trail) at the 4:11 mark, but would be shutout from the field the rest of the way by the visitors, who took their first lead of the game with 2:30 remaining and would hold on the rest of the way.

After the hot start to the half, the Warriors ended shooting just 31 percent over the final 20 minutes compared to SHU’s 48. The Saints also held the edge on the glass grabbing 43 rebounds to Tech’s 33. Additionally, the Warriors committed 26 fouls and the Saints capitalized on their trips to the charity stripe going 23-for-29.

Kruse led all scorers with 20 points and added five rebounds, five assists, and four steals. She has now scored at least 20 points in three of the last four games. Ulyssia Richmond (Temple Hills, MD/Riverdale Baptist) contributed 19 points finishing 4-for-5 from three-point range. Bass also reached double figures with 13 points.

The Warriors will look to bounce back against Lourdes University in the Schaefer Center on Saturday, Feb. 2. Game time is schedule for 1 p.m.

For more information on Indiana Tech athletics please call the Athletic Office at 260-422-5561 ext. 2492 or visit our website at http://www.indianatech.edu/athletics

- Go Warrior Pride -