Top-ranked DePauw never trailed in its 57-47 North Coast Athletic Conference win over visiting Kenyon and the Tigers now sit atop the NCAC standings as the lone unbeaten team in conference play.

The Tigers improved to 14-0 overall and 5-0 in the NCAC, while the Ladies dropped to 11-4 overall and 5-1 in the conference. The win was DePauw's 39th straight regular season victory and its 74th straight home conference win.

In a defensive battle, DePauw held a 15-10 lead with just over nine minutes left in the first half before Kate Walker and Lauren Abendroth knocked down threes and Walker followed with a layup to push the lead to 23-10 with 6:48 remaining.

Kenyon's Lauren Kriete stopped the run with a bucket from beyond the arc, but Walker hit two free throws and converted a three-point play prior to Alison Stephens nailing a trey to extend the gap to 31-13. DePauw went to the break with a 31-15 advantage.

DePauw, however, couldn't pull away from the Ladies as the Tigers went scoreless for nearly five minutes and the guests scored seven straight to close the lead to 35-25. While the Tigers stretched it to as many as 16, Kenyon used an 8-2 run capped by Kayla Ernst's three-pointer to again pull within 10 at 53-43 with just 3:13 remaining.

After a DePauw turnover, the Ladies missed on a couple of chances to cut the lead to single digits before Savannah Trees put the game away on a layup with 1:27 left.

Ellie Pearson (pictured) led four DePauw double-figure scorers with 13 points, while Walker added 12. Tree followed with 11 and Alex Gasaway chipped in 10. Pearson and Gasaway each snagged seven boards while Pearson blocked four shots. Walker led the way with four assists.

Ernst paced Kenyon with 16, while Kriete added 15 and Maureen Hirt 11. Kriete and Hirt had six rebounds apiece and Maggie Boelter handed out four assists.

DePauw shot 41.8 percent for the game to Kenyon's 32.7 percent and the Tigers held a 40-31 edge on the boards.

The Tigers travel to Wooster on Saturday for a 1 p.m. contest, while Kenyon hosts Hiram on the same day.