Gambier, Ohio - Trailing 40-36 with five minutes remaining, DePauw scored nine straight and hung on for a 45-42 North Coast Athletic Conference win which also was the 600th for Tigers head coach Kris Huffman. DePauw, ranked 20th in the latest coaches' poll and 21st by D3hoops.com, moved to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in the NCAC while the Ladies dropped to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
DePauw held a 32-27 lead after Claire Keefe's jumper with 9:02 left in the fourth period, but Kenyon's Paige Matijasich hit a three before Sharon Hull knocked in back-to-back treys to give the Ladies a 36-32 advantage with 7:45 left.
The teams exchanged buckets and then free throws which gave Kenyon a 40-36 lead with 5:42 remaining. Sydney Kopp's 3-pointer with just under five minutes left and her jumper at the four-minute mark put the Tigers back in front, 41-40.
Maya Howard hit a pair of free throws and Emma LeMasters scored a layup as Kenyon missed shots on three straight possessions and DePauw extended the lead to 45-40 with 2:54 remaining.
Each team missed on its next possession before Lane Davis scored to cut the Tigers' lead to 45-42 with 1:34 left. After the teams again exchanged misses, Davis was whistled for an offensive foul with 37 seconds on the clock. Howard missed on the other end, but Kenyon was unable to get a shot off as time expired.
The game was tight throughout as DePauw held leads of 11-10 after the first quarter and 22-21 at the intermission.
Keefe and Howard each scored 11 in the win, while Kopp grabbed eight rebounds.
Hull paced Kenyon with 17 points followed by Davis and Matijasich with 11 each. Matijasich hauled down seven rebounds.
DePauw shot 32.7 percent from the field and held Kenyon to just 31.9 percent. The Tigers held a 39-33 rebounding edge and grabbed 14 on the offensive glass. Each team committed nine turnovers.
With a 600-122 career record in 26 seasons as DePauw's head coach, Huffman ranks fifth on all levels of NCAA women's basketball history in terms of fewest number of games to reach 600 victories.
The Tigers host Wittenberg on Wednesday, December 5, in a 7 p.m. NCAC contest.