DPU travels to Calvin for NCAA tourney

Coming off a 76-53 NCAA Division III second-round win over Maryville last Saturday, the ninth-ranked and 26-2 Lady Tigers travel to Grand Rapids, Mich., for a 7:30 p.m. contest at sixth-ranked and 29-0 Calvin College tomorrow evening.

Calvin is serving as one of four hosts of sectional semifinal and final rounds with #24 Texas-Dallas (26-4) and #3 George Fox (29-0) squaring off in tomorrow's 5 p.m. game. Friday's winners meet on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. for the right to advance to the national semifinals which are back in Grand Rapids on March 20.

Tickets for the games at Calvin's Van Noord Arena will be available at the gate on online and complete information is available through Calvin's host site. Prices are $7 for general admission adults and $4 for students, senior citizens, children and members of the military.

The Tigers, appearing in their 16th NCAA postseason and 12th consecutive, are making their ninth appearance in the sectional semifinals and come in with a 6-2 record in this round including six straight wins. DePauw ranks eighth in tournament history with 31 wins and is one of seven schools to win multiple national championships (2007, 2013).

Savannah Trees, who became DePauw's all-time scoring leader last Saturday, leads the Tigers with 15.8 points per game, while Emma Ondik follows with 11.7 and Hannah Douglas 11.5. Abby Keller is the team's rebounding leader with 7.2, while Ondik hands out 2.8 assists.

The Tigers rank third in the nation in field goal percentage (46.2) and fourth in three-point percentage (38.1). Ondik leads the way with 72 three-pointers and 40.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc, while Lauren Abendroth has knocked in 54 treys and is hitting 38.0 percent from long range.

As a team, DePauw leads the nation in fewest turnovers per game with just 11.1 and are ninth with a 1.19 assist turnover ratio.

Calvin is also appearing in its 16th NCAA postseason with an all-time postseason record of 18-15.

Breanna Verkaik leads the Knights with 14.2 points per game and is the nation's leader with 48.4 percent three-point shooting. Kayla Engelhard follows with 12.5 points with Anna Timmer and Hannah Acre chipping in 11.1 apiece. Acre leads with 5.5 rebounds, while Engelhard dishes out 3.4 assists.

Calvin is sixth in Division III with 80.8 points per game and seventh with 45.4 percent shooting from the floor. The Knights are fifth in the country with 8.6 three-pointers made per game and third in scoring margin (+24.7).

The teams have met twice previously with both coming in NCAA postseason play. Calvin came to Greencastle on March 5, 2005 and handed the Tigers a 72-63 defeat. On March 10, 2007, DePauw defeated the Knights, 74-61, in the sectional semifinal at Emmanuel College in Boston.