Top Seeds Advance in Opening Round of Women's Tournament

All four top seeds took care of business on Wednesday night in the quarterfinal round of the 2024 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) tournament. #1 seed Indiana Tech defeated #8 Aquinas 61-52 to advance to take on #4 Cornerstone who orchestrated a big second half comeback to defeat #5 Rochester. #2 Siena Heights led from start to finish to take down #7 Lawrence Tech 61-45 and will host #3 Concordia who handily defeated Lourdes, 79-56.

Indiana Tech will host Cornerstone at 6 p.m. on Friday while the Siena Heights vs. Concordia gametime is 7 p.m.

#1 Indiana Tech def. #8 Aquinas 61-52

The Warriors took a 31-19 lead into the half and led by as many as 20 points late in the third quarter on Wednesday. Aquinas did not back down, however, battling back to cut the lead to as little as five points with seven minutes left in the game. Undeterred, Indiana Tech took advantage of late free throw attempts and steadied its defense to earn the victory and advance to the semifinals where they will face Cornerstone. Erika Foy led all scorers with 24 points while also pulling down five rebounds and blocking four shots. Taylor Covington and Korryn Smith each added 10 points for Indiana Tech. Maddie Sermak came off the bench to lead the Saints with 12 points followed by Paige Guernesy with 11.

#2 Siena Heights def. #7 Lawrence Tech 61-45

Siena Heights struggled to get its offense going early in the fourth, going nearly four minutes without a point, but once they turned it on, they took the lead and never looked back. A 13-1 first half run eventually sent the Saints into the break leading 28-23. They outscored the Blue Devils 33-22 in the second half to secure the 61-45 win and punch their ticket to the semifinals to face Concordia. Kayla Hinton led all scorers with 17 points in addition to nine rebounds. E'Moni Guice-Finch came off the bench to score 11 and Jakarri Alven was SHU's other double-digit scorer with 10 points and seven rebounds. Dede Smith came off the bench to lead LTU with 11 points followed by Maggie Long with 10. Kate Jacobs pulled down 10 boards.

#3 Concordia def. #6 Lourdes 79-56

In what proved to be the most lopsided game of the evening, Concordia used a 30-point first quarter to defend its home court and punch its ticket to the semifinals. The defense was also on point for the Cardinals who held Lourdes to just four points in the second quarter to take a 49-23 lead into the half. Lourdes flipped the script and held Concordia to four points in the fourth quarter but it was all for naught as the Cardinals won 79-56. Four players scored in double digits for Concordia led by Abby Long with 19. Jess Andrew scored 16 off the bench followed by Ellie Kallner with 12 and Taylor Leatherman with 11. Lourdes' Macie Stringfellow led all scorers with 20 points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds. 

#4 Cornerstone def. #5 Rochester 78-73

It was a tale of two halves in the #4/#5 matchup as Rochester came out hot in the first half but could not outlast Cornerstone who rallied in the second. Rochester outscored Cornerstone 46-32 in the first half but Cornerstone flipped the script and won the second half 46-27 to secure the five-point victory and advance to the semifinals. Stephanie Ainsworth posted a big day for the Golden Eagles, scoring 22 points and pulling down 11 boards for a double-double. She was one of three Cornerstone scorers in double figures along with Olivia Kubik with 13 and Jaylee Long with 12. Mackenzie Stien scored nine and added six rebounds, four steals and four assists. Rochester scoring was led by the trio of Shahd Bakkar, Celeste Mershimer and Jacey Somers who scored 19, 18 and 16 respectively. Mershimer added 14 boards, eight assists and three steals for a big game and a double-double.