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Tigers into second round after 79-68 win
In a first-round bout with an opponent from three time zones away, the DePauw Tigers had their work cut out for them.
The women's basketball team squared off against the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas (24-3), the winner of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship. Throughout the physical game the Athenas were able to keep the pressure on the home team, but the Tiger effort prevailed with a final score of 79-68.
"That was a tough first-round match-up," coach Kris Huffman said. "They are a very athletic team. They're spacing is good on offense and hats off to them. They made us battle for 40 minutes."
The first half of the game was a close one. DePauw jumped ahead and kept the lead for the first half but weas never able to push its lead to double digits. The Tigers were able to win the physical battle, drawing eight personal fouls and going 6-7 from the foul line.
"Everyone was being very aggressive," senior forward Alex Gasaway. "We expected that. Everyone wants to win and move one. It was a lot of fun to play."
Gasaway was the main offensive contributor in the half going 4 of 4 from the foul line and scoring 14 points. This helped the Tigers build a 34-29 lead.
The Athenas came out in the second half pressuring DePauw with a 2-2-1 full court zone. This led to CMS scoring 14 points off of 8 eight turnovers in the second half alone.
"We've seen a fair deal of the 2-2-1 (press) and in this game they kept coming at us. " Huffman said. "They made a lot of plays and we turned the ball over."
Still the Tigers were able to win the physical battle. Drawing 13 second half fouls the women were able to work CMS into the penalty by the four-minute mark.
"DePauw is a great team," CMS coach Kristen Dowling said. "There is a reason they were national champs. They have a lot of players that can put the ball into the basket. We tried to keep the ball to the side of the court. We tried to keep them under 60 points. We didn't quite do that. They are a great team they'll go far in the tournament."
Junior guard Savannah Trees turned in a career-high seven rebounds and seven assists, while seniors Ali Ross and Gasaway led in scoring with 15 and 20, respectively.
The Tigers are matched up with Transylvania next and that game is scheduled for Saturday at 7p.m. Huffman says there won't be much difference in the intensity in the second round.
"Claremont-Mudd-Scripps was a tough match-up," Huffman said. "I'm not disappointed at all in how we battled. We've got Transy next. We'll see a two-three zone. We'll see a press. We'll see a very balanced offense.
"It'll be another tough matchup. Players are supposed to eat and go to bed."
At DePauw University
NCAA Tournament round 1
DePauw 34 45 -- 79
Claremont-MS 29 39 -- 68
DePauw -- Gasaway 20, Ross 15, Trees 11, Abendroth 10, Ondik 8, Stephens 7, Douglas 6, McGinnis 2, Keller 0
Totals -- 26-50 FG, 10-19 3-FG, 17-22 FT
Claremont-MS -- Barnes 19, Brackmann 19, Scamman 14, Ray 6, Dobbert 6, Falahee 2, Dungca 2, Glosniak 0, Barthold 0, King 0, Donnelly 0; Totals -- 26-55 FG; 6-18 3-FG, 10-12 FT
Rebounds (Offensive): D 31 (10), CMS 23 (10). Assists: D 18, CMS 7. Steals: D 5, CMS 7. Blocks: D 2, CMS 2. Turnovers: D 12, CMS 9. Fouls: D 21, CMS 14.