DePauw continues Hiram domination to reach NCAC semifinal

Given time and space, DePauw's Ava Hassel made no mistake from deep, knocking down one of her four first-half threes as part of a career-high 27 points Tuesday against Hiram. The Tigers advanced to the semifinal of the NCAC Women's Basketball Tournament with a 71-54 win over the Terriers and will face Ohio Wesleyan at Neal Fieldhouse Friday at 7 p.m.

Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

After complicated measures were put into motion after DePauw and Wittenberg could not be separated at the top of the NCAC Women’s Basketball standings, the Tigers had a date with Hiram Tuesday night with the chance to host the rest of the NCAC Women’s Basketball Tournament on the line.

The Terriers were game for nearly 19 minutes of the first half and kept the Tigers honest until a late run finally put the visitors away in a 71-54 win at Neal Fieldhouse, extending their win streak to 26 in the series.

“This is the kind of game we expected from Hiram,” DePauw head coach Kris Huffman said. “They can score from every level, have great post and guard play and have some great defenders.

DePauw and Wittenberg’s stalemate at the top of the conference leaderboard, both 13-1 in league play and having won the corresponding home matchup, led to a coin toss with choices for the winner at stake.

Should the winner have taken the No. 1 seed in the tournament, they would get their choice of when to play the semifinal game while the No. 2 seed would host the semifinals and finals, both factors assuming the teams won their opening game of the conference tournament.

DePauw won the toss and opted for the No. 2 seed and hosting duties, getting a third meeting with Hiram this season in the process.

The Terriers (9-17, 3-11 NCAC) made the Tigers (19-7, 13-1 NCAC) work for the win, starting the game by answering the hosts blow for blow.

A three by Ava Hassel was met in kind by Maddie Rakestraw, while Ava Mory’s layup was countered by a Mya Shannon jumper as the teams were tied at 7-7 midway through then opening quarter.

A Hayley Thompson three and Mory layup gave Hiram a brief 14-9 lead before baskets from Hassel and Ainsley Boras trimmed the gap to one at 15-14 after a quarter of play.

With Moria McGinley, who had made a starting spot her own over the second half of the season, out of Tuesday’s contest, Hassel, who had started but had been recently been coming off the bench, made the most of the opportunity.

The sophomore hit a three and jumper to open the second quarter, then answered a Thompson three to keep the score tied at 21-21.

Shannon scored five-straight points and Lydia Stullken added a jumper, but each score was met with points in kind by the Terriers, as the Tigers led 28-27 with two minutes left in the half.

Two Shannon free throws and a three pushed the lead to six and a late Hassel three, having nearly turned the ball over seconds earlier, helped complete an 8-0 close as DePauw led 36-27 at the break.

“We were without one of our starters (McGinley) and had to survive without here as she she is impactful for us,” Huffman said about missing the sophomore on offense as Hassel and Shannon had 30 of the team’s 36 points at the intermission. “We had to rely on everyone to do just a little bit more.”

Hassel opened the second half with a jumper and a three by Shannon made it a 12-point lead at 41-29.

Hiram refused to go away as Rakestraw and Taylor Valaitis hit threes to bring the gap back to single digits while a Mory hook cut the lead to six at 43-37.

Hassel answered with two free throws and a three to push the lead back to 11 while Shannon added a jumper and free throw to make it a 14-point game at 51-37.

The Terriers scored the last four points of the third quarter and a Brooke Hickman free throw made it a nine-point game at 51-42.

A Jo Janda three made it 57-49 but Diana Burgher hit a three in reply and the lead would not return to single digits again.

Burgher, who scored nine of her 11 points in the second half, added a layup and jumper around a Hassel layup while Shannon added a final three and Hassel capped off a career-high 27-point night with a jumper to make it 71-50 before the reserves finished out the evening.

Shannon added 23 points and four assists while Burgher added eight rebounds and Hassel had six rebounds. Stullken scored six points and had four blocks while Boras had the other four points for the Tigers.

With Tuesday’s results, DePauw will face three-seed Ohio Wesleyan in the second semifinal on Friday at Neal Fieldhouse at 7 p.m. Wittenberg, which opted for the opening game at 5 p.m., will play Oberlin.

Scoring

Hiram (11-39 2FG; 6-14 3FG; 14-17 FT) — Hickman 12, Scjarer 9, Mory 8, Thompson 8, Valaitis 7, Rakestraw 6, Janda 3, Barnett 1

DePauw (16-39 2FG; 9-17 3FG; 12-13 FT) — Hassel 27, Shannon 23, Burgher 11, Stullken 6, Boras 4

Statistics