Top-ranked DePauw ovecomes 13-point deficit, stays unbeaten

Monday, January 20, 2014

Top-ranked DePauw found itself in an unfamiliar situation Saturday in its North Coast Athletic Conference contest with visiting Ohio Wesleyan as the Battling Bishops scored the game's first 13 points in the opening three minutes, but the Tigers regrouped and surged to a 76-61 victory.

DePauw improved to 16-0 overall and 7-0 in the NCAC, while the Battling Bishops dropped to 9-7 overall and 4-3 in the conference. The victory was DePauw's 50th straight matching the third longest string in Division III women's history and seventh on all levels of NCAA women's hoops. It also was the Tigers' 69th straight regular season triumph.

In the first three minutes, Ohio Wesleyan hit all five of its shots including a trio of three-pointers and DePauw missed on all five of its field goal tries.

Hannah Douglas broke the DePauw drought at 16:40 and Savannah Trees followed with a layup, but the Battling Bishops scored the next six to expand the margin to 19-4 with 14:02 remaining.

Douglas knocked down a three and hit a jumper before Emma Ondik nailed a three and Abby Keller a jumper to trim the Bishops' lead to 19-14 with 12:03 left in the half.

Later in the half, DePauw scored seven straight, capped by Alex Gasaway's three with 7:00 left, and knotted the score at 24-24. Ohio Wesleyan briefly stopped the Tigers run with four straight, but DePauw closed the half with a 10-0 stretch to head to the intermission with a 34-28 lead.

The Tigers kept the momentum in the second half by scoring the first six to push the margin to double figures. Ohio Wesleyan climbed back to within four and trailed 48-42 before DePauw delivered the deciding blow with a 14-0 run that pushed the lead to 20. The Tigers led by as many as 22 before Ohio Wesleyan finished with a 9-2 stretch.

Douglas led five DePauw double-figure scorers with 15 points and dished out four assists, while Ondik followed with 14 and Gasaway 11. Trees and Alison Stephens each chipped in 10 and Stephens grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for a double-double.

Emily Julius led Ohio Wesleyan with 12 points, while Tamra Londo added 10. LaNiece McRae snagged a team-high seven rebounds and Sarah McQuade handed out eight assists.

The Tigers shot 45.2 percent for the game including 51.7 percent in the second half, while the Battling Bishops connected on 43.1 percent. DePauw also held a 36-30 rebounding edge and committed just nine turnovers with just six coming in the game's first 37 minutes.

DePauw returns to action on Wednesday, January 22, when it entertains Oberlin in a 6 p.m. NCAC contest.

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