DePauw women seeking 14th straight league title, NCAA bid

Saturday, October 29, 2016
Emily Budde is the leading returning scorer for the DePauw women’s team, averaging 13.3 points per game last year.
DePauw photo

The 2015-16 season ended for the DePauw women’s team with a first-round NCAA tourney loss to Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

The tourney appearance marked the 13th straight year the Tigers had won their conference title and appeared in the NCAA tourney.

Coach Kris Huffman was not exceptionally disappointed with that team’s season ending earlier than normal.

“I thought we were in a year of inexperience last year, so I thought we achieved what we should have achieved,” she said. “We felt we were lucky to get into the national tourney so it was a great ending for us.”

The team lost five seniors to graduation, but returns three starters in point guard Claire Ryan, leading scorer Emily Budde and forward Taylor Howard.

“Claire does a nice job at the point for us,” Huffman said. “Emily can play either the 2 or 3 spots, and Taylor is an undersized forward but she is a great scorer inside. She has stepped up her game this year.”

Among those looking to step in and help establish depth this year are junior forward Mel Franke.

“She is a great defender and rebounder, and as a stretch four she can shoot the 3,” Huffman said.

Huffman also noted that guard Maya Howard will also see time at the point, and was the Great Lake Region Newcomer of the Year last year.

“She can do a little bit of everything,” Huffman said. “She has really stepped up her defense, which I’m very happy about.”

Other people who will need to step up for the Tigers up front are junior Kylie Morris, freshman Julia Keesling, senior Lex Gaumer.

“Lex is one of the best leaders in our program,” Huffman said. “We hope this is the year she steps into the lineup for us. She is an excellent offensive player.”

Sophomore Annie Gillard of Bloomington South has gotten herself ready for the season, Huffman said, and should also contribute.

Blair Carlin is a sophomore who Huffman says is a great shooter and one of the team’s best passers.

Freshman guards Sydney Kopp of Chicago and Paige Littrell of Columbus North.

“Sydney has caught on very quickly to what we do, and Paige has won a state championship,” Huffman said. “They are both very good for freshmen.”

The transition to college basketball is often tougher on the defensive end than the offensive end, Huffman said.

“We value each possession so much,” Huffman said. “We have to get everyone in the right position, so we are drilling the details. The intensity of the defense that we expect is a hard adjustment for them to make.”

Offensively, Huffman said that what her team does is not necessarily complex for her players — it’s just part of a big package of new information.

“It just takes a while to catch up,” she said. “They have to start over again.”

Huffman thinks her team has normally been defensive oriented.

“I think we are going to have to work hard for that to be our strength this year,” she said. “I think offensively we will be pretty good. We have a lot of different weapons we can use, and that’s definitely the strength of our freshman class.”

Huffman said her team has also been working on getting up and down the court.

“The goal is to get back to the NCAA tourney again,” she said. “We have a challenging conference race this year, with many teams having a lot of players back. I don’t think we’ll be the favorite going in.”

Huffman considers Denison, with an All-American center, as one of the top contenders.

Kenyon College has everyone back and finished third last year, she said, while Hiram and Oberlin also have a lot of returning players.

“We have to have our younger lineup to step up and match that,” she said. “The league has gotten better and better since we got in it.”

The Tigers open the season with a challenging tourney on Nov 18-19.

Teams in the field are Birmingham Southern, an NCAA tourney team last year; Rose-Hulman, which tied for first place in its conference last year; and Texas-Dallas, which was a tourney team two years ago.

“We want to be the best we can be, so we want to put the best competition we can in front of us.”

2016-17 schedule

(Times are EST unless specified)

Nov. 18 — vs. Birmingham Southern in DePauw Tipoff Tournament 8 p.m.

Nov. 19 — vs. Rose-Hulman/Texas-Dallas in DePauw Tipoff Tournament TBA

Nov. 22 — Franklin 8 p.m.

Nov. 26 — vs. Washington (Mo.) in Bloomington, Ill. Midwest Challenge @ Illinois Wesleyan University 1 p.m. CST

Nov. 27 — vs. Ill. College or Ill. Wesleyan in Bloomington, Ill. Midwest Challenge @ Illinois Wesleyan University TBA

Dec. 2 — at Hiram* 6 p.m.

Dec. 3 — at Allegheny* 3 p.m.

Dec. 7 — Wittenberg* 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 10 — at Wooster* 1 p.m.

Dec. 19 — vs. Vassar @ San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Classic noon

Dec. 20 — vs. Wis.-Oshkosh @ San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Classic TBA

Dec. 28 — vs. Millikin in Amy Hasbrook Memorial Classic 5 p.m.

Dec. 29 — vs. Coast Guard in Amy Hasbrook Memorial Classic 5 p.m.

Jan. 4 — Ohio Wesleyan* 6 p.m.

Jan. 7 — Kenyon* 1 p.m.

Jan. 11 — at Denison* 6 p.m.

Jan. 14 — Oberlin* 1 p.m.

Jan. 21 — at Ohio Wesleyan* 1 p.m.

Jan. 25 — at Wittenberg* 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 28 — Wooster* 1 p.m.

Feb. 3 — Hiram* 6 p.m.

Feb. 4 — Allegheny* 1 p.m.

Feb. 8 — Denison* 6 p.m.

Feb. 11 — at Kenyon* 1 p.m.

Feb. 18 — at Oberlin* 1 p.m.

* Conference

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