DPU women to face conference foes

The 11-1 fifth-ranked DePauw women's basketball team, riding a 10-game winning streak, will travel to Chattanooga to face the Sewanee Tigers Friday at 6 p.m.

Depauw's leading scorer Liz Bondi, who was the tournament MVP, continues to lead the Tigers toward the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference championship with a per game average of 15.6 points while also leading the team in rebounds.

"My ankle is doing great, " Bondi commented, referring to an injury that kept her sidelined early in the season.

"I'm just excited to be playing again."

DePauw continues to dominate their opponents, averaging an impressive 82 points a game. For the season, they have outscored their opponents, 989-665.

When asked about her squad, coach Kris Huffman cited balanced all-around play as a big part of her teams success.

"We've been out-rebounding our opponents. Our defensive rebounding has been a huge factor," she said.

DPU is shooting more than 47 percent from the floor, including 45 percent from beyond the arc. They are also shooting 75 percent from the free throw line.

Cassie Pruzin and Jenna Fernandez both are averaging 10 points a game for the Tigers. Emily Marshall is helping dominate the inside by averaging eight points and six rebounds per contest.

Another major component to Depauw's continued success is the play of Suzy Doughty. She is averaging six assists a game and has accumulated 35 steals on the season.

The Sewanee Tigers are 3-4 on the season and will hope to bring their season to .500 with a home win against DPU.

Sewanee is led by Dani Pettay, who is averaging 15 points and grabbing six boards per game. Steffi Renninger is contributing 14 points a game for the Tigers.

Courtney Childress is averaging seven rebounds a game while tallying six points.

DePauw will face Sewanee again two games before the start of the SCAC championship, but coach Huffman plans to approach it like any other game.

"We'll do normal prep," coach Huffman commented. "We just go one game at a time and don't look too far down the road."

"We really work on what we need to accomplish as a team," Bondi said. "We do incorporate our opponents' tendencies into practice."

On paper, DePauw is clearly the dominant team, leading Sewanee in all but one category - rebounds. Sewanee holds a very slim advantage pulling down 40 boards a game with DePauw nipping at their heels with 39.

DePauw will also be traveling to Atlanta, Ga to face the Ogelthorpe Stormy Petrels this Sunday at 3 p.m. Depauw has a perfect all-time record against Ogelthrope of 15-0.

Ogelthorpe has an 8-4 record of the season, including 0-1 in SCAC conference play. The Petrels are on a winning streak of their own, winning their last six games.

"Both teams we face this weekend will press us," Huffman said. "We'll need to make sure we take care of the ball."

Both games will be carried live by WGRE 91.5.