ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Siena Heights women's basketball team suffered a tough loss to 12th-ranked Indiana Tech inside the SHU Fieldhouse on Wednesday night. The Saints (13-5, 5-3 WHAC) were setback by missed free throws down the stretch, allowing the Warriors to build a large enough cushion to pull out the victory.
Sha'kyia Parker led the way for SHU with 15 points. Parker swiped three steals, dished an assist, and pulled down a rebound. Madison Hamilton scored 12 points while also hauling seven rebounds. Anaya Powell also registered seven rebounds while scoring nine points and registering three assists. E'Anna Won also tallied nine points, six rebounds, and two steals.
Both teams started slowly, with the first basket being scored 3:17 into the opening frame when Parker hit a three-point jumper to give Siena the opening lead. However, Indiana Tech responded with an 11-0 run that spanned almost four minutes. The final basket went to Hamilton as the score sat at 11-5 when the first quarter ended.
The Saints cut the deficit to a single point with five-straight points to begin the second quarter. A layup by Won at the 7:58 mark knotted things up at 12 before a two-minute sequence of traded buckets tied the score a few more times. The Warriors nursed a lead of just a few possessions for the remainder of the half, holding a 26-24 advantage as the teams entered the locker room.
A jumper by Parker in the opening 30 seconds of the third stanza cut the Indiana Tech lead to just a point, 27-26. The Warriors used a 5-0 run starting at 8:41 to pull ahead 34-28, but the Saints would storm back to cut the lead back to just one point, 36-35, with 5:29 left. Jillian Gelso hit a three that sparked a 7-0 run for the Saints and earned the home team a 42-38 lead with 3:27 left on the clock. The blue and yellow pushed the advantage to 48-42 with 46 ticks left in the third. Two free throws from Indiana Tech cut the SHU lead to four points as the game moved into the final 10-minute period.
Three straight points from Indiana Tech dropped the Siena Heights lead to a single point in the opening minute of the final period. A shot from distance allowed the Warriors to retake the lead, 54-52, as the game was under five minutes away from the final buzzer. Allye Minor hit both free throws to tie the game at 54 with 3:25 left. Indiana Tech traded layups for free throws and pulled ahead 60-56 with 1:09 remaining in regulation. A missed layup by the Saints forced the home team to foul to preserve time, and Indiana Tech cashed in enough of those shots to take the win.
Up Next
The Saints hit the road to face Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) foe Lawrence Tech this Saturday, January 15. The game is slated for a 1:00 p.m. start.
