Bishops check Tigers in NCAC Women's Basketball Tournament Semifinal

They say it’s hard to beat a team three times in a season.

Friday, it rang true again as the Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops ousted the DePauw Tigers in the North Coast Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament semi-final 79-66.

The Bishops came out firing on all cylinders, jumping out to a quick 14-6 lead paced by two three pointers from Lauren Denison.

DePauw cut into the deficit with baskets from Moira McGinley and Diana Burgher but Wesleyan closed out the quarter on a 9-0 run as Denison added five more for 11 total points in the first quarter. The Bishops held a 23-13 advantage going to the second period.

Wesleyan’s defense was doing a great job keeping the Tiger starters in check, though DePauw’s bench was able to keep the hosts hanging around.

Burgher and Lily Huntzinger scored five each in the second stanza to stay within reach. A steal and a layup from Riley Mont made it a nine-point game late in the second. A late score from Kasey Schipfer gave the Bishops a 46-35 lead at the half.

The second half started the same as the first with the Bishops running out on a 9-2 run and putting the Tigers down 18.

DePauw started chipping away, going on a spurt of its own as Mya Shannon got into the scoring and Burgher scored four more getting the lead down to 13.

The Tigers would not be able to get any closer as Wesleyan closed the quarter with a pair of threes, including a buzzer beater banked in from Fillmore

DePauw continued to battle, but every time it looked like it might make a run, Schipfer seemed to have an answer. Burgher would finish with eight points in the quarter, adding to the 41 bench points for the Tigers. The No. 3 seed Bishops closed out for a 79-66 upset win over DePauw.

Burgher finished with 19 points on the night and Huntzinger added 10. Burgher also added seven boards as the Tigers out rebounded the Bishops 34-31.

Wesleyan shot close to 50 percent for the game, hit nine threes and was a perfect 10-of-10 at the foul line.

DePauw season ends at 19-8 with a lot coming back next season. Wesleyan will play Oberlin in the title game Saturday afternoon as the Yeowomen upset No. 1 seed Wittenberg in the first game 63-57.

Team Stats

Scoring - (D) Burgher 19, Huntzinger 10, Hassle 9, McGinley 8, Shannon 7, Mont 6, Stulken 3, Boras 2, Fitzgerald 2; (OWU) Schipfer 24, Denison 16, Ross 11, Homan 11, Simpteimphelter 8, Griner 6, Guscoff 3