Fort Wayne, Ind. — After trailing by as many as 14 points, the Aquinas women's basketball team got within three points with just over a minute remaining but didn't have enough in the tank to upset No. 21-ranked Indiana Tech on Tuesday evening (Nov. 22) in Fort Wayne, Ind.

The Warriors (8-2, 3-1 WHAC) barely held off the pesky Saints (3-4, 1-3 WHAC) to win their eighth straight game over Aquinas. AQ's last win over Indiana Tech came on Feb. 9, 2019.

The Saints nearly broke that unfavorable streak by outscoring the Warriors 15-7 in the fourth quarter, and had a chance to tie the game down three points with 15.8 seconds left in regulation. AQ never got a shot off and turned the ball over in the final seconds to fall 49-46. 

After an even opening quarter finished with Indiana Tech up 10-8, the Warriors shot 43.8% in the second quarter to build up a 29-15 lead at halftime. The Warriors scored nine points in the first half off turnover and finished the game with a 12-0 advantage on points scored off turnovers.

Aquinas picked up its defense in the second half, going to an effective 3-2 zone at times, to be better positioned to contest Indiana Tech's jump shots.

The Saints defense forced the Warriors to shoot 6-for-28 (21.4%) in the second half. It also allowed AQ to claw its way back into the contest. The Saints used a 7-0 run — capped by an Eliza Brown 3-pointer — at the start of the fourth quarter to get within four points at 42-38 with just under seven minutes to play.

Seven different AQ players ended up scoring in the fourth quarter. But, they needed one more long-range bucket at the end to force overtime. Instead, Indiana Tech crowded the perimeter and forced the Saints into a game-ending turnover.

AQ's Isabel Reemsnyder finished with a team-high 16 points on 7-for-14 shooting. JaKarri Alven grabbed 10 rebounds to go with six points. Brown went 2-for-2 behind the arc (3-for-4 from the field) to notch eight points. Indiana Tech's Taylor Covington led all scorers with 18 points with 13 points coming in the first half.

Aquinas scored more bench points (18-8), points in the paint (22-16) and second chance points (16-7). 

The Saints are now off for the Thanksgiving break. AQ will return to action on Wednesday (Nov. 30) with a road contest at Lourdes. Tipoff at 5:30 p.m.