DePauw basketball squads sweep weekend

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

SHERMAN, Texas -- Jenna Fernandez scored 23 and Cassie Pruzin added 20 as 13th-ranked DePauw completed a weekend Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference sweep with a 69-64 win at Austin.

DePauw improved to 13-3 overall and 6-0 in the SCAC, while the Kangaroos dropped to 4-12 overall and 3-4 in the conference.

The Tigers used` a 15-0 run midway through the first half to take a 23-10 lead, but the hosts rallied with 11 straight at the start of an 18-2 stretch which gave them a 28-25 advantage with just over two minutes left in the half. Maegan Fitzgerald's two free throws with 1.1 seconds left gave the Kangaroos a 30-28 halftime lead.

Fernandez opened the second half with a pair of layups in the opening minute and Cassie Pruzin followed with a three-point play to make it 35-30 with 16:16 remaining.

The lead was still three before DePauw scored eight straight to extend the margin to 45-34 with 12:46 left. The Tigers pushed the margin to as many as 13 before Austin closed it back down to four in the closing seconds.

DePauw shot 60 percent in the second half on the way to a 47.4 percent performance for the game, while Austin shot 40.9 percent for the contest.

Pruzin led the Tigers with six rebounds and four assists. Katy Williams paced Austin with 30 points and nine rebounds,while Amber Stafford added 15 points. Austin held a 36-29 edge on the boards.

On the men's side, DePauw junior guard Mike Moore's playing status was questionable headed into today's matchup at Austin College after taking a finger in his eye on Friday night, but all he did was net a career-high 32 in the Tigers' 86-70 win over the Kangaroos.

DePauw improved to 12-4 overall and 4-2 in the SCAC, while Austin slipped to 4-12 overall and 1-6 in the conference.

Moore knocked down a pair of threes in the closing 1:26 of the first half to bring the Tigers back from as much as a four-point deficit as the teams went to the intermission tied 33-33.

Austin held a 41-40 lead after Kola Alade's jumper with 15:27 left, but the Tigers gradually pulled away. They stretched the margin to double digits at 61-51 after Ryan Werntz buried a three with 7:59 remaining. A 6-0 run later in the half pushed the lead to 73-57 with less than five minutes remaining.

Stephen Schott added 21, while Werntz followed with 11 and Brian Oilar scored 10. Schott grabbed eight rebounds as the Tigers held a 31-30 edge on the boards. Moore and Tony James each dished out four assists.

Alade led Austin with 21, while Chris Sturtevant added 18 and a game-high 11 rebounds. Mark Foster followed with 13 points.

Each team committed just seven turnovers in the contest.

DePauw returns to action on Friday, January 25, when it hosts Hendrix at 8 p.m.

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