DePauw closes out home schedule with sweep of OWU

Third-ranked DePauw outscored Ohio Wesleyan 28-6 in the fourth quarter and clinched the outright North Coast Athletic Conference title with a 77-56 win over Ohio Wesleyan. The Tigers moved to 22-1 overall and 14-0 in the conference with their 18th straight win, while the Battling Bishops dropped to 12-11 overall and 7-7 in conference play.

Ohio Wesleyan opened the game with 3-pointers on its opening two possessions to take a 6-0 lead, but the Tigers gained the lead by scoring the next 11. After the Battling Bishops evened the count at 14-14, DePauw scored the final five of the quarter for a 19-14 advantage. The Tigers opened the second period with five straight to push the lead to double digits and headed to the halftime intermission with a 35-27 lead.

The Battling Bishops put together a 23-point third quarter and took a 50-47 lead after Nicole Popovich converted a three-point play with 40 seconds left in the quarter. Mya Shannon’s layup cut the Tigers’ deficit to 50-49 as the teams moved to the fourth. DePauw held a 53-52 lead three minutes into the final quarter and Sydney Kopp extended it to four points with a 3-point play. Hayley Cange added two free throws and Kopp scored on a break after Claire Keefe’s steal to push the lead to 61-52.

Following a timeout, Ohio Wesleyan countered with a bucket but Kopp and Keefe quickly converted baskets to start a 14-0 run that sealed the win.

Keefe and Kopp each scored 23 in the win, while Cange added 10. Kopp paced the Tigers with nine rebounds and five steals and Grace Kinsey dished out five assists.

Claire Sterling led Ohio Wesleyan with 20 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

DePauw shot 51.0 percent for the game including 65 percent in the second half, while Ohio Wesleyan connected on 38.9 percent from the floor. The Tigers outscored the Battling Bishops from the line 19-7 and held a 39-21 edge on the boards for a 25-8 edge in second-chance points.

The Tigers travel to Denison on Wednesday for an 8 p.m. NCAC contest against the Big Red.

Men’s game

• DePauw 90, Ohio Wesleyan 52 — The DePauw University men’s team celebrated Matt Mahlke and Luke Steinhart on senior day with a dominant victory over Ohio Wesleyan.

After falling to Ohio Wesleyan on the road 55-77 in its last face off this season, the Tigers looked to even out the series in a similar fashion.

Finishing the game shooting 58.6 percent from the field and going 15-16 from the free-throw line, DePauw played with confidence and composure throughout the entirety of the game.

Throughout the first 10 minutes of play, the Tigers and the Battling Bishops fought to pull away from each other. Resulting in seven ties and two lead changes throughout the opening minutes of the first half.

With just under nine minutes left in the half, the Tigers would go on a 17-6 point run to put DePauw up by double digits minutes before going into halftime.

In the first half, nine different Tigers had scored, with Nolan Ginther leading the charge with 15 points and three rebounds. Shooting over 40 percent from the arc and committing just one turnover in the half to the Battling Bishops five gave DePauw the cushion it was looking for to open the game in the second half.

Nick Felke drained a three-pointer to start the second half, which would be his first three points of 17 scored in the second half alone.

The Tigers played with confidence on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court. On the defensive end, DePauw held Ohio Wesleyan to just 40 percent from the field while forcing 14 turnovers throughout the second half. Offensively, the Tigers outscored the Battling Bishops 30-10 in points off of turnovers.

A combination of multiple players putting up shots, and locking down defensively, the Tigers lead over Ohio Wesleyan would grow to as much as 38 points, evening out the series between the Battling Bishops and DePauw with ease.

Improving to 10-6 in the NCAC and 13-10 overall, DePauw travels to Denison University on Wednesday to face the Big Red at 6 p.m.