Greencastle, Ind. - DePauw trailed by five early in the third quarter, but went on a 24-6 run to push the lead to double digits and fought off Millikin in the fourth for a 66-62 win in the Amy Hasbrook Classic. DePauw improved to 11-1 with its eighth straight win, while the Big Blue dropped to 5-4.
The Tigers led by as many as seven in the opening 10 minutes and still held a 20-16 advantage after Lex Gaumer's three-pointer made it 23-19 with 3:50 left in the first half.
Haley Toohill, Yanni Saddler and Cassie Somers hit threes on consecutive possessions before Emily Schultz added a pair of free throws to cap an 11-0 run and give Millikin a 30-23 lead with 1:47 remaining in the half. Kylie Morris and Emily Budde hit buckets to trim the halftime deficit to 30-27.
Saddler opened the third period with a layup to push the margin to five. DePauw's Sydney Koppresponded with a three before Claire Ryan followed with a steal and layup and Taylor Howard added a pair of buckets to give the Tigers a 36-32 lead with 8:11 left in the quarter.
DePauw held a 38-36 advantage midway through the third before going on a 13-2 stretch to grab a 51-38 lead. The Tigers held a 52-40 lead at the quarter break after hitting 9-of-13 from the floor in the stanza.
The Tigers led by 11 after Taylor Howard's basket with 7:23 left in the contest, but Devin Curry and Saddler each knocked in threes and Saddler followed with a jumper to trim the Tigers' lead to 56-53 with 5:17 remaining.
Schultz's basket with 3:49 remaining closed the gap to 59-57 before Maya Howard made one free throw at the 2:41 mark to extend the lead to three. Millikin couldn't convert on its next possession, but the Tigers made it 62-57 when Maya Howard dished to Taylor Howard for a layup with only 1:49 left. DePauw sealed the win with four free throws in the final 21 seconds.
Maya Howard and Budde each scored 11 for DePauw, while Taylor Howard and Kopp followed with 10 each. Morris grabbed eight boards as DePauw held a 31-23 edge on the glass. Maya Howardhanded out a career-best seven assists with no turnovers, while Ryan had four steals.
Saddler led Millikin with 23 points followed by Schultz with 20 including the Big Blue's first 14 of the contest. Curry added 10, while Lauren Moses hauled down seven rebounds.
DePauw shot 42.4 percent from the field to Millikin's 52.2 percent and the Big Blue connected on 7-of-15 from beyond the arc to DePauw's 5-of-19. The Tigers committed just nine turnovers to Millikin's 17 and held a 24-7 margin in points off of turnovers.
DePauw hosts Coast Guard Academy tomorrow at 5 p.m.