Tigers get opening round win

GREENCASTLE -- Amy Hasbrook brought passion and intensity to the basketball court every time she put on DePauw University uniform No. 34. She set the DePauw field goal shooting percentage record of 65.2 percent by scoring inside, many of those shots coming from offensive rebounds, and she is fourth on the program's all-time rebounding list.

So it was only fitting that on a night when basketball fans remembered the 2000 graduate, who died in a house fire in 2002, that the DePauw Tigers should win by controlling the offensive boards and playing nearly shutout defense.

Led by senior Emily Marshall with 11 rebounds and nine points, DePauw pulled away from the young Northland College Lumberjills for a 66-45 victory in the Amy Hasbrook Memorial Tournament at Neal Fieldhouse.

"We talked about (Amy) today at shooting practice. If we could all play like her, and have the intensity and passion and work ethic, we would all be better players. So that's something we hope to be a little more like Amy," DePauw coach Kris Huffman said.

DePauw will play Saint Mary College (7-3) on Wednesday in the 4 p.m. championship game. Saint Mary, from Notre Dame, Ind., beat Maryville College 74-64 in the tournament opener. Northland and Maryville will play the consolation game at 2 p.m.

As usual, DePauw had balanced scoring, Brooke Osborne leading the way with 11 points as the only Tiger in double figures. Northland was led by sophomore Maria Mackey with 11 points.

DePauw outrebounded Northland 46-21 for the game, grabbing 21 offensive rebounds. And from the 3:34 mark of the half to 10:05 in the second, the Tigers outscored the Lumberjills 29-1 to break the contest open.

First-year Northland coach Bill Wilson said DePauw's defensive pressure got to his players.

"Our ball handlers got more flustered than anything and I think that's what led to a couple of turnovers. And flat out, the offensive boards at DePauw's end were a huge, huge difference in the game," Wilson said.

The final 21-point margin does not show how dominant DePauw was through the final 3:30 of the first half and first 10 minutes of the second. At the same time, it does not reflect how hard Northland attacked the first 16 minutes.

There were eight lead changes in the first 16 minutes of the contest, Northland taking a 12-8 lead with 11:15 left in the half on a 3-pointer by Lulu Seelye.

DePauw was dominating the offensive boards, but the putbacks rolled off the rim on shot after shot.

"This is the first time in three games we've struggled (with putbacks), so I thought we had kind of solved (the problem). I thought we were just a little impatient tonight offensively. Some of those looks should be kicked back out. We should run our offense again. We tried to make something with those rebounds that weren't there," Huffman said.

With 3:34 left in the half, Northland tied the score 25-25. From that point, DePauw went on a 29-1 run. The Tigers closed the first half with a 10-0 run, started and ended by Kate Walker baskets. In between, Ellie Pearson scored four points and Jenna Fernandez netted two.

"We did have a couple of good possessions down the stretch in the first half, which was nice because (the score) was back and forth. We made some adjustments at halftime and I really liked how the team responded to start the second half," Huffman said.

The Tigers opened the second half with a 19-1 run, with seven different players scoring, and some great defense. DePauw forced Northland into shot-clock violation and a five-second call trying to put the ball in play.

Brooke Osborne knocked a three and hit a one-hand runner in the lane. Lauren Goff hit a trey and later took a steal line-to-line for a layup. Katie Aldrich chipped in two and Kathryn Denbow converted a steal into a layup. Marshall hit a free throw and Walker swished a three and hit free throw.

DePauw took its largest lead of the game, 59-30, with 7:24 to play.

"I thought we were trying to score too quickly and (were) too predictable the first half. We got a little bit more movement and we wanted to make a few more passes. I thought (the Tigers) did a nice job of finding the seams (the second half)," Huffman said.

After the tournament, DePauw travels to Centre College on Jan. 3 for a SCAC game.

At DePauw

Northland College (45) -- Seelye 1-6 0-0 3, Hamm 3-7 0-0 7, Mackey 4-8 0-0 11, Waytashek 0-4 2-2 2, Lundgren 2-6 2-4 6, Hoge 3-5 1-1 7, Lake 0-0 0-0 0, Runge 1-1 0-0 2, Stanfield 2-4 2-2 7, Zimmer 0-0 0-0 0, Dake 0-1 0-0 0, Fisher 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 16-45 FG, 7-9 FT, 45 TP.

DePauw (66) -- Marshall 4-7 1-2 9, Fernandez 1-5 0-0 2, Walker 3-4 0-0 7, Mathews 1-5 0-0 2, Osborne 4-9 0-0 11, Goff 3-8 0-0 8, Vandivier 1-2 0-0 3, Radcliff 0-3 0-0 0, Denbow 1-1 2-2 4, Pearson 3-5 3-4 9, Lauer 0-1 1-2 1, Aldrich 3-6 0-0 6, Barrow 0-0 0-0 0, Meadows 1-3 1-2 4, Molloy 0-1 0-0 0, Boraz 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-61 FG, 8-12 FT, 66 TP.

3-Pt. Goals -- NC 6-18 (Mackey 3-4, Hamm 1-2, Stanfield 1-2, Seelye 1-4, Lundgren 0-1, Hoge 0-1, Dake 0-1, Fisher 0-1), DPU 8-22 (Osborne 3-7, Goff 2-7, Walker 1-1, Vandivier 1-2, Meadows 1-2, Radcliff 0-3). Total fouls -- NC 9, DPU 11. Fouled out -- None. Turnovers: -- NC 19, DPU 16. Rebounds -- NC 21 (Lundgren 7), DPU 46 (Marshall 11). Assists: NC 9 (Hamm 3), DPU 12 (Mathews 3). Steals: NC 8 (Lundgren 3), DPU 10 (Mathews, Pearson 2). Blocked shots -- NC 0, DPU 2 (Fernandez, Pearson).

Next game -- On Wednesday, Maryville (6-4) will play Northland (6-3) at 2 p.m. for third place and Saint Mary's College (7-3) will play DePauw 7-3) at 4 p.m.