Tiger women cruise to victory over Hanover

Emma Ondik buries a three-pointer as the first half comes to an end. (Banner Graphic/JOHNATHON GOODE)

For the 12th straight year the DePauw University women's basketball team has made a bid into the 64-team Division III tournament. After losing in the North Coast Athletic Conference semifinal to Ohio Wesleyan for its second loss of the season and ending its 67-game home game winning streak, the Lady Tigers still managed to get into the tournament as a hosting site for the first and second rounds.

DePauw defeated the Hanover College Panthers convincingly Friday night, 83-57, and moved into the round of 32 in the tournament for the fourth straight year.

After falling behind 3-0, the Tigers (25-2, 16-0 NCAC) went on a 23-5 run, forcing Hanover (19-9, 13-5 HCAC) into 11 missed shots and four turnovers.

Seniors Lauren Abendroth, Hannah Douglas and Savannah Trees combined for 16 of those points.

"I'm really proud of how those girls responded," DePauw Coach Kris Huffman said. "We were having a little bit of trouble with that zone defense. Our movement was better. Our offensive rebounding was better."

Senior Emma Ondik concluded the half for the Tigers with a three-pointer with less than 10 seconds left in the half to give her team a 37-18 lead.

The Tigers acquired a big portion of the lead by offensive rebounding and second-chance points. They won that battle 12-0 in the first half and outrebounded the Panthers 26-14.

DePauw also outscored the Panthers 12-0 on points off turnovers in the first half and eventually won the battle 24-15.

"I thought we did well against the press," Huffman said. "If we would have shown a weakness, they would have stayed in it."

Douglas started the second half, adding to her team-leading 10 first-half points with another second chance put back and continuing her team's rebounding dominance.

Hanover made a push with just under 13 minutes left, cutting the lead to 12 at 46-34. Senior Megan Caudill led her team with eight points during that span.

DePauw Coach Kris Huffman rallies the troops during a timeout Friday. The Tigers defeated Hanover 83-57 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. (The DePauw/BROCK TURNER)

It took no time, though, before the Tigers had the lead up to 21. In a matter of seconds the lead was 19 and Trees hit a three with 10:34 left to push the lead to 56-35.

Trees' three gave her team a needed spark and in just under two minutes the Tigers went on an 8-2 run finished off by a Claire Ryan steal and pass to Hannah Lukemeyer for a wide-open lay-up.

"I thought we executed pretty good on the game plan," Huffman said. "Hanover had some kids who were good and super athletic, so we put our focus on them and our attention to detail was great."

With five minutes left in the game and up by 30, Huffman started taking her starters out and letting her practice players get some well-deserved time but not before Trees made two consecutive free throws with 5:36 left. That tied her with Douglas and Abendroth at 15 points each, but it also gave her 1,447 career points, tying her with Amy Argetsinger for the most points in DePauw history.

Trees will have a chance to break that record Saturday night.

Rebounding, which has been a concern for the Tigers, prevailed Friday as they won the battle 51-27 and the won the second-chance points battle 21-8.

"We talked a lot about boxing out this week," Huffman said. "We knew we had to be diligent in our work there and I'm really proud of how we responded."

DePauw, who also hosts the round of 32, will face Maryville at 7 p.m. Saturday. Maryville won the first game at Neal Fieldhouse against John Carroll 66-56. If the Tigers win this game they will get into the Sweet 16 for the third straight year.

"There is a total different prep than Hanover," Huffman said. "They're going to throw some press at you and 2-3 zone. There is always work inside, so we're going to have to be better in post defense."

NCAA Division III Tournament First Round