DPU gears up for weekend

Tuesday, February 6, 2007
DePauw senior Liz Bondi (shooting) leads the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference in field goal shooting percentage this year, hitting 111-of-188 shots for 59 percent.

The eighth-ranked DePauw women's basketball team continued its season of domination, defeating Centre, 77-46, Saturday to take them one step closer to a conference championship. DePauw will be on the road to face two conference rivals this week. One of the opponents the Tigers will face this weekend is one of three teams lurking in the shadows ready to take the top spot -- the Hendrix Warriors. The other team they will face this weekend is the Austin Kangaroos.

The Tigers first meeting with the Warriors started its current seven-game winning streak. DePauw defeated Hendrix, 87-65, on Jan. 12 with Cassie Pruzin scoring 19 points and grabbing a team-high five rebounds.

Hendrix is a formidable adversary for the Tigers with both teams among the league leaders in all major categories.

The Warriors are third in scoring behind leader DePauw and Ogelthorpe, at 76 points a contest.

Hendrix averages 47 percent from the floor including 34 percent from the three-point line, while holding its opponents to 36 percent floor shooting and 28 from behind the line.

Their leading scorers are Tori Huggins and Bonnie Hicks who account for approximately 43 of the Warriors average 76 points a game. They are also a force on the boards, averaging 12 rebounds combined.

Samantha Clark and Lindsay Merritt are putting in quality minutes contributing 14 points and 11 boards a game.

On the other end of the spectrum is the Austin Kangaroos.

The Roos are managing 63 point a contest and are 5-5 in conference play. The last time out, the Tigers handed the Roos a sound loss, 78-45, with Liz Bondi scoring a team-high 12 points and Bridget Bailey pulling down eight rebounds.

The Roos are shooting less than 40 percent from the field and are shooting under 30 percent from beyond the arc.

Austin relies on Katy Williams and Brittany Smith, who deliver 22 points as well as grab 12 rebounds a game.

DePauw, along with being one of the dominate defensive teams in the conference, have one of the leagues most commanding offensive presences.

Liz Bondi is sixth in the league in scoring and is the league leader in field goal percentage, while Cassie Pruzin is first in assists a game and third in steals. Kalei Lowes is the leader in three-point percentage with 50 percent.

Caitlin McGonigal and Bailey are chipping in 8 points and 10 boards a game.

The stats speak for themselves. DePauw is first in scoring margin, defeating their opponents by an average of 26 points and allows its opponents only 37 percent shooting from the floor.

The Tigers will face the Hendrix Warriors Friday at 6 p.m. and Austin on Sunday at 2 p.m. Both games will be carried live on 91.5 WGRE.

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