Oshkosh, Wis. – With fellow big Kylie Morris out, senior Taylor Howard stepped up and scored 18 points and recorded a career-high 12 rebounds to lead No. 11 DePauw to a 67-57 win over No. 14 Gustavus Adolphus in the first round of the DIII Women's Basketball Championship on Friday.
Howard was a part of DePauw's 19 second chance points, a statistic they ran away with 19-6. Howard herself had four offensive rebounds and shot 8-of-10 from the floor. She also recorded a block and an assist.
"I took it upon myself to play for Kylie and because it's my senior year," Howard said. "At this point if you lose you're done, and I don't want to be done."
DePauw outrebounded Gustavus 45-28. Melinda Franke added eight rebounds, and Paige Littrell came off the bench and brought down four.
The bench also played a huge factor, outscoring the Gusties 25-7. Emily Budde led the way with 17 points and a career-high five steals.
Eight of the nine Tigers who entered scored. Maya Howard finished with eight points, Sydney Kopp scored seven and Blair Carlin and Claire Ryan each scored six.
Gustavus held a 15-13 lead after one quarter and led 24-20 with 7:17 left in the second quarter. However, the DePauw defense held them scoreless for the remainder of the second quarter and closed the half on a 10-0 run to take a 30-24 lead.
In the third quarter, Gustavus went on a 9-0 run of their own to take a 33-32 lead with 4:49 left in the quarter. Yet, DePauw finished strong to take the quarter 16-13 after a Carlin 3-pointer at the buzzer made it a 46-37 game in favor of the Tigers.
In the final quarter, Budde, Taylor Howard and Ryan combined for 20 of the team's 21 points. Gustavus never got closer than six in the final stanza.
The Tigers shot 44 percent (25-of-57) from the floor, 23 percent from beyond the arc (3-of-13) and 58 percent (14-of-24) from the foul line. Gustavus shot 35 percent (20-of-58) from the floor, 20 percent (4-of-20) from 3-point range and 77 percent (13-of-17) from the foul line.
DePauw is now 32-15 all-time in the NCAA DIII postseason including 9-4 in first-round games and 10-2 on neutral courts. They improve to 27-2 overall, while Gustavus ends the year at 25-3.
DePauw plays in the second round of the tournament at 7 p.m. CST Saturday against Wisconsin-Oshkosh after the Titans topped the Knights, 63-55.