Second Half Offensive Explosion Leads Tigers Past Terriers

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Greencastle, Ind.- The DePauw women's basketball team extended their perfect conference record to 4-0, defeating Hiram College 84-31, Saturday afternoon at Neal Fieldhouse.

The 15th-tranked Tigers improved to 11-1 overall and 4-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, while Hiram dropped to 4-9 on the year and 0-4 in NCAC play.

Both teams got off to a slow start, before DePauw was able to pull away with 10:53 remaining in the half. The Tigers closed the final ten minutes on a 13-4 run, taking a 33-18 lead into the locker room.

Savannah Trees and Lauren Abendroth paced DePauw, scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively, in the half. Despite their 15 point halftime lead, the Tigers struggled from the floor, shooting just 37.5 percent (12-of-32) and were just 6-for-12 from the charity stripe.

While DePauw's offense struggled early they presented a strong defensive front, forcing 13 Hiram turnovers and limiting the Terriers to just 36.4 percent (8-of-22) shooting in the half.

In the second half, the Tigers found their rhythm, quickly stretching their lead to 30 by the eight-minute mark. Abendroth sparked the DePauw offense, sinking two threes in the opening five minutes of the half.

A slew of Tigers assisted in the second half offensive explosion as 15 player scored at least one point in the half. DePauw shot a much improved 59.4 percent (19-of-32) from the floor, including a 6-of-6 mark from three.

Abendroth tied her career high with 18 points to lead all scorers. Trees added 17, whileHannah Lukemeyer and Emily Budde tallied seven points. Abby Keller grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and Emma Ondik dished out five assists.

Hiram shot 28.3 percent (13-of-46) from the floor and was paced by Brianne Goodrich with nine points, while Kayla Yost and Kaylee Shockley each added five points.

DePauw shot 48.8 percent (31-of-64) in the game, including an impressive 75.0 percent (9-of-12) from three. The Tigers held a 40-30 edge on rebounds and forced 28 turnovers, scoring 32 points off those turnovers. Furthermore, DePauw committed only seven turnovers and totaled 21 assists.

Trees moved up to sixth on the DePauw career scoring list with an even 1,200 points. Next up for Trees to catch is current Tigers' assistant Alex Gasaway, who sits fifth with 1,248 points.

The Tigers are back in action Wednesday, January 7, when they travel to Denison for a 7:30 p.m. contest.