TERRE HAUTE, Ind.-- The Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers defeated the #9 DePauw Tigers with a tightly contested 49-47 victory in the first game on day two of the Midwest Challenge. This marked the first ever win over DePauw and also the first ever win over a top 10 ranked team for Rose-Hulman women's basketball.
Ally Bromenschenkel passed a benchmark in her career as an Engineer becoming the 10th women's basketball player to reach 1,000 career points. She finished the night with 20 points, 4 assists, and 9 rebounds. Abby Bromenschenkel was able to record 8 points, 2 assists, and 3 rebounds, while Debie Gedeon contributed 8 points and 8 rebounds to the effort. Sophie Brooks had a productive night as well scoring 7 points off the bench with 2 assists and 3 rebounds.
The Engineers found themselves in a hard fought battle against the Tigers. DePauw was able to grasp the lead 13-8 at the end of the first quarter. DePauw pushed its lead to 14 points in the second quarter, before Rose-Hulman rallied to trim the margin to 30-23 heading into halftime.
Rose-Hulman was able to establish a strong defensive presence in the second half. Ally Bromenschenkel was able to tally 8 points in the third quarter as the team was able to outscore the Tigers 14-to-8. This cut the Tigers lead to just 1 point with the score at 38-37 heading to the final quarter of play.
Great defensive pressure continued to help the Engineers, who took the lead 45-43 with 6 minutes left in the final quarter. Rose-Hulman held a 49-47 lead in the waning seconds, before relying on its defense to secure the win.
DePauw had a final inbounds play with eight seconds remaining. Maya Howard attempted a potential game winning three at the top of the key that fell short, and the Tigers had a second desperation shot at the buzzer that also fell short to secure the historic Rose-Hulman victory.
Rose-Hulman ended the game shooting 40.7% from field goal range. The team was also able to out rebound the Tigers 35-31.
The Engineers stand at 2-3 so far this season and will look forward to facing St. Mary-Of-The-Woods in the Dorsett Automotive Crosstown Classic on Wednesday 11/28 at 7:00 PM.
In the Championship game of the Midwest Challenge the Illinois Wesleyan Titans were able defeat the Washington University Bears with a final score of 81-63.