ADRIAN, Mich. -- The 22nd-ranked Siena Heights women's basketball team upended the No. 7 Warriors of Indiana Tech 79-75 in a Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) game at the SHU Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon. It's the second-consecutive year that the Saints have handed Indiana Tech its first loss in conference play. Peyton Banks (Wadsworth, Ohio) tallied a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds to help lead the Saints to the four-point win.
THE BASICS
Final Score: Siena Heights 79, Indiana Tech 75
Location: Adrian, Michigan (SHU Fieldhouse)
Records: Siena Heights (10-1, 6-0 WHAC), Indiana Tech (8-2, 5-1 WHAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Saints hustled to an early 10-7 lead in the first quarter. A layup by the visitors cut the lead to one-point before the Saints used a 6-0 run to build their largest lead of the game, 16-9 with 3:00 remaining in the opening quarter. A Warrior layup sparked a 5-0 run by Indiana Tech that cut the Siena Heights lead to just a bucket, 16-14, with 1:35 left. The Saints would hold a one-score lead, 18-16, as the first 10-minutes ended.
Emma Wolfe hit a three-point jumper for Tech in the opening minute of the second quarter to give the Warriors their first lead of the game, 19-18. The teams would trade baskets, and leads, three times until a 5-0 run by the Saints gave them a small cushion, 27-22, with just over six minutes left in the half. A jumper from behind the arc cut the Saints lead to two points, but Shelby Morrow (Flushing, Mich.) put the home team back on top by five, 32-27, with 2:11 left on the clock. Kelsey Wyman (Blissfield, Mich.) answered a Warrior three with her own to keep the SHU advantage at five points. A jumper in the final 30 seconds cut the Saint lead to three, 35-32, as the teams entered the locker room for halftime.
Wolfe was big for Indiana Tech again hitting a three-point jumper out of a break to knot things up at 35. Again, the teams would trade the lead for the rest of the third quarter with the Warriors holding a 55-52 advantage going into the final 10 minutes of the contest.
Indiana Tech would experience its largest lead at the 7:23 mark of the fourth quarter when the score was 62-54. Kiana Votava (Port Huron, Mich.) hit a layup that sparked a 6-0 run for the Saints to cut the Warrior lead to just a score, 62-60, with 5:46 left in regulation. Addyson Tomczak hit a free throw to bring Siena within one point but a layup by Tech increased the deficit to three points, 66-63, with just over four minutes left. Banks hit a layup on the next SHU possession to ignite a 7-0 run and give Siena back the lead for good, 70-66, with 2:49 on the clock. Indiana Tech would cut the lead to two points (75-73) but would run out of time before being able to catch the home team
TOP SAINTS
• Banks shot 4-7 from the floor, 1-2 from three, and 5-6 from the charity stripe to lead the team. Ten of her 12 rebounds came on the defensive glass. She also added three assists and a steal to her stat line.
• Demi Russell (Toldeo, Ohio) led the team with 16 points each. She shot 7-8 from the floor and pulled down six boards.
• Tomczak also scored 16 points on 5-12 shooting while leading the team with four assists and two steals.
• Wyman recorded 13 points off the bench. She was 4-8 from the floor and hit three of her five attempts from beyond the arc. She also tied for the team-high in steals with two and blocks with one.
THE OPPOSITION
• Leading scorers: Alexis Hill (22), DeAnn Kauffman (18), Emma Wolfe (17)
• Rachel Bell led the Warriors with seven assists.
• Hill had a team-high six rebounds.
UP NEXT
The Saints make a short trip to Sylvania, Ohio next Saturday, December 14 to face Lourdes in a WHAC contest. That game is scheduled to tip-off at 3:00 p.m., EST.
