No. 20 DePauw women win, clinch NCAC tie; men lose, fall to 15-8

DELAWARE, Ohio — DePauw shot 54 percent from the field and outrebounded host Ohio Wesleyan by 29 on the way to an 85-55 North Coast Athletic Conference women’s basketball win over the Battling Bishops on Saturday.

With the win, the Tigers clinched a share of their seventh North Coast Athletic Conference title in eight years.

The 20th-ranked Tigers improved to 19-4 overall and 13-1 in NCAC play, while Ohio Wesleyan dropped to 10-13 overall and 5-9 in the conference.

Ohio Wesleyan led early in the opening quarter before DePauw put together a 13-4 run to take the lead for good. The Tigers shot 64 percent in the opening quarter and led, 21-13, at the quarter break.

DePauw extended the lead to 42-32 at halftime and still led by 11 with less than four minutes left in the third. The Tigers closed the quarter with a 12-2 run to push the lead to 21 with one quarter left and the Bishops got no closer the rest of the way.

Sydney Kopp led all scorers with 23, while Claire Keefe followed with 19 and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

Maya Howard scored 15 to move into second place on DePauw’s all-time scoring list (1,455) behind Savannah Trees (1,480). Mya Shannon rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11. Howard paced the Tigers with seven assists.

Cierra Joiner led Ohio Wesleyan with 15 points and eight rebounds with Erin Delaney chipping in 12 and Claire Sterling handing out three assists.

DePauw shot 54.0 percent from the floor to Ohio Wesleyan’s 40.7 percent. The Tigers outrebounded the Bishops 45-16.

DePauw hosts Denison at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

Men’s game

• Ohio Wesleyan 72, DePauw 67 — At Delaware, Ohio, DePauw trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half at Ohio Wesleyan and rallied to take a seven-point lead, but the host Battling Bishops scored 12 straight and held on for a North Coast Athletic Conference win over the Tigers on Saturday.

DePauw dropped to 15-8 overall and 9-7 in the NCAC, while Ohio Wesleyan improved to 12-11 overall and 7-9 in conference play.

The hosts got out to a quick 18-8 lead before DePauw trimmed that back to four. The Battling Bishops, however, answered with a 17-5 run over a 5-minute stretch to grab a 36-20 lead. Ohio Wesleyan led at the intermission, 38-27.

DePauw opened the second half on a 16-6 run to cut the Bishops’ lead to 44-43. Ohio Wesleyan countered with a 3-pointer, but Cole Jenkins hit a layup and a trey before Nolan Ginther followed with a jumper to give DePauw a 50-47 advantage with 11:22 left.

The Tigers gained their biggest lead of the game at 59-52 with 6:14 remaining after Matt Mahlke’s jumper capped a 7-0 stretch.

Ohio Wesleyan scored 12 straight as DePauw came up empty on eight straight possessions which included five turnovers as the hosts led 64-59 with 2:02 remaining.

DePauw closed to within three points on multiple occasions in the final two minutes, but the Battling Bishops hit 8 of 10 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

Ginther led DePauw with 22 points and eight rebounds, while Cole Jenkins added 11 points and Nick Felke dished out four assists.

Ethan Stanislawski paced Ohio Wesleyan with 23 points, while Grant Gossard and Nick Carlson chipped in 15 points apiece.

Gossard added a game-high 11 rebounds and Jaret Gerber dished out five assists.

DePauw shot 38.7 percent from the field to Ohio Wesleyan’s 43.6 percent with DePauw hitting 8 of 25 from 3-point range compared to the Bishops’ 13 of 31.

The Tigers also held a 42-29 edge on the boards.

The Tigers host Denison on Wednesday at 8 p.m.

This week

DePauw basketball has two home doubleheaders scheduled this week.

On Wednesday, both teams host Denison starting at 6 p.m. with the women’s game followed by the men’s contest.

On Saturday, the Tigers host Wooster for a twinbill with the women’s game starting at 1 p.m.

Denison’s women are second in the NCAC standings, while Wooster’s men lead the men’s standings.

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