The opening 10 minutes in Saturday's (Feb. 29) WHAC semifinal matchup between Aquinas and #10 Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne, Ind. helped push the home Warriors past the Saints by a 73-51 final score. Indiana Tech held a 22-7 lead after the first quarter and despite AQ being outscored by just one point over the next two quarters, it was not enough as the Saints fell to the top-seeded Warriors on their home floor.
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It was the third matchup of the season and the second consecutive Saturday showdown between Aquinas and Indiana Tech, the two teams that met for last year's WHAC Championship. Indiana Tech was the tournament's top seed, while Aquinas was the fourth seed; AQ defeated Concordia 63-44 on Thursday night (Feb. 27) to earn the rematch with the Warriors.
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Aquinas sees its season end with a 17-14 overall record, while Indiana Tech (28-4) returns to the WHAC Tournament finals.Â
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The Saints had two players post double-doubles, as
Camaryia Williams closed her stellar AQ career with a game-high 16 rebounds, 12 points, four steals, and three assists.
Ally Frederickson put up one of her best games in a Saints uniform with 14 points on 6-for-12 shooting, grabbed 11 rebounds, and notched a career-high five blocked shots.
Daz'Sha Day was the third player in double-digits, making 5-of-8 shots for 11 points.
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Indiana Tech was more efficient offensively on its home floor, shooting 49.2 percent from the field and going 8-of-22 from downtown. Aquinas shot 29.6 percent overall and did not make one of its 14 three-point tries. The Saints did commit just 13 turnovers and forced the Warriors into 17 miscues.
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AQ held a 22-7 advantage in second chance points, thanks to a 19-11 edge in offensive boards. The Saints also led in points in the paint (40-38) and in points off turnovers (16-12). Overall, Indiana Tech won the rebounding battle, 44-40.
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The Warriors scored the game's first five points and led 9-2 before
Destini Lewis hit a pair of free throws. Indiana Tech pushed the edge to 18-4 and stayed on top 22-7 after the opening 10 minutes. Â
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Aquinas played the Warriors even (11-11) in the second quarter, with Indiana Tech leading 33-18 at the intermission. Although AQ was outscored by just a point (21-20) in the third quarter, the Saints could not pull closer than 46-34 at the 4:08 mark. That 12-point deficit came after a three-point play by Williams and a
JaKarri Alven layup and would be the closest Aquinas would get the remainder of the game.
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It was the final game in an AQ uniform for both Williams and fellow guard
Keeley Hinton, who totaled three rebounds and an assist in 25 minutes.
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The WHAC Defensive Player of the Year, Williams closed her senior season with 348 rebounds this year, breaking the old Aquinas season record by 44 rebounds. She had 19 games of double-digit rebounds this season, including back-to-back 16-rebound performances in her final two games.Â
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