Tigers survive Pioneers' comeback efforts, move on

Sunday, March 9, 2014
Junior guard Savannah Trees fights through traffic to attempt a lay-up against Transylvania. She went 5 of 16 and scored 13 points in the win. (Banner Graphic/ JAY LOCKETT)

The Tigers came out swinging in their match-up against Transylvania (23-3) taking a commanding lead early but the Pioneers made the DePauw women's basketball team work to maintain its lead throughout.

The women were able to stave off Transylvania's comeback efforts, winning the contest 76-68.

"We're thankful again today," DePauw coach Kris Huffman said. "That was the story yesterday (against Claremont-M-S) and we're thankful again to be moving forward."

After defeating the prolific scoring team of CMS in round one, DePauw was up against one of the country's premiere Division III scoring threats in Transylvania's junior guard Nicole Coffman.

"We knew coming into the game that they could score," Huffman said. "They have a lot of athletes and on defense they stretched us in every way imaginable."

If the Tigers were worried about the scoring of Transylvania early in the game, their solution was to beat the Pioneers at their own game. They were able to jump out to a 16-3 lead before the first timeout.

"We were definitely tight at the beginning," senior Transylvania guard Madisen Webb said. "We were at a disadvantage. They hit us in the mouth early. We could've stepped up defensively but I'm proud of the girls and the way they fought back."

Transylvania coach Greg Todd knew that his team would be hard-pressed to stop the scoring of DePauw and planned on matching the offensive firepower but wasn't able to implement the plan on the basketball floor.

Senior forward Alex Gasaway drives past defenders for a layup in the second half of Saturday's contest. She was one of four tiger players in double digits recording 10 rebounds and 16 points. (Banner Graphic/JAY LOCKETT)

"They came out and really played like National Champions at the beginning," Todd said. "We knew they could score and we are a good defensive team, not a great one. We didn't feel like we could stop DePauw's offense, but we weren't able to match some of their baskets. We were more disappointed that we were getting stopped offensively."

DePauw was able to keep the defensive pressure on throughout the first half, causing six turnovers. They were also hungry on the offensive glass scoring 17 second-chance points and taking a 43-34 lead into halftime.

The Tigers had senior Allison Stephens to thank for their rebounding success. The forward contributed, a career high, 16 rebounds to go along with her 4 of 5 shooting percentage. She scored eight points.

"She gives us an extra possession it seems every time up the floor," said Huffman. "We'll miss her a lot next year because she's got that motor."

Stephens attributes the great day on the glass to a combination of her perseverance and technique.

Senior forward Alex Gasaway drives past defenders for a layup in the second half of Saturday's contest. She was one of four tiger players in double digits recording 10 rebounds and 16 points. (Banner Graphic/ JAY LOCKETT)

"I just try to keep moving," Stephens said. "It's hard to box someone out who continues to move. It's a mentality. I try to get every single board. Which can be dangerous because I'm sometimes fighting my teammates."

Transylvania came out in a full-court press at the beginning of the second half. This was the same tactic that CMS used in the first round and much like the game against CMS, DePauw struggled to hold a steady lead.

"When we are aggressive against the press we can run right through that and get into our offense," Huffman said. "We were a little tentative and that is when you start over thinking."

Playing against the press, DePauw was called for an over and back and a 10-second violation. They turned the ball over seven times leading to 14 Transylvania points. However, the Tigers were able to keep the scoring threats of Transylvania at bay, limiting Coffman, the two-time Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference player of the year, to just ten points in the win.

"It seemed like 110," Huffman said. "We tried to limit her touches throughout the game. We tried to forced her to go left because she's less effective when she goes left."

Junior guard Ali Ross who went 5-of-10 and scored a game-high 17 points said staying aggressive against the press will be essential as the team goes deeper into the tournament.

"When they were pressing our guards should've been more assertive," Ross said. "They were sort of driving on us."

Stephens believes it is more of a winning mindset that will serve the team better in the coming future rather than adjusting its style of play.

"It's being poised and confident when the game gets close," Stephens said. "Having that kind of mentality is going to be important as teams get better. We have to take it possession by possession and make sure we get good shots each time down the court."

The next opponent for DePauw will be Carthage College (26-3) who defeated No. 2 Hope College 72-67 Saturday at DePauw. The other game featured will be Wisconsin-Oshkosh (26-3) and Wisconsin-Whitewater (24-4) with the winners playing on Saturday.



At DePauw University

NCAA Division 3 Round 2

Transylvania 34--34--68
DePauw 43--33--76

Indiviual Scoring

DePauw (76): Ross 17, Gasaway 16, Trees 13, Abendroth 10, Douglas 9, Stephens 8, Ondik 3, McGinnis 0, Keller 0.

Translyvania (68): Fender 13, Webb 12, Coffman 10, Neeley 9, McKenzie 8, Botkin 8, Smith 6, Dobson 2.

Team Stats

Assists: DPU 16, TV 7 Blocks: DPU 3, TV 4 Steals: DPU 5 TV 3 Turnovers: DPU 9, TV 13 Rebounds: DPU (14-27) 41, TV (14-27) 41, FG: DPU 129-69, TV 25-63 FT: DPU 9-13, TV 16-20, 3FG: DPU 9-21, TV 2-4

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  • Way to go, Tigers! And thanks to B-G for their excellent coverage.

    -- Posted by mandp523 on Sun, Mar 9, 2014, at 11:51 AM
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