Greencastle, Ind. - Maya Howard and Claire Ryan combined for 40 points as 11th-ranked DePauw moved to 20-1 overall and 12-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference with a 61-50 win over Hiram. The Terriers dropped to 15-6 overall and 7-5 in conference play. The win was the Tigers' 17th straight and gave them their 16th consecutive 20-win season.

Hiram got out to a 10-6 lead in the opening four minutes before the Tigers closed the first stanza on an 11-0 run. Emily Budde scored six during the stretch with Ryan adding three and Maya Howard two.

Taylor Howard's jumper early in the second gave DePauw a 19-10 lead. That margin reached as much as 14 at 27-13 before DePauw went to the intermission with a 27-17 advantage.

DePauw still led 36-22 in the third before Hiram trimmed the margin to three at 38-35 with 3:00 remaining in the quarter. Mercedes Jones and Kaylee Shockley combined for all 13 Hiram points of the 13-2 stretch. The Tigers quickly pushed the lead back to 10 and headed to the fourth with a 47-39 lead.

Maya Howard's three with 8:17 remaining in the game gave DePauw a 10-point lead at 52-42. The teams were scoreless for nearly three minutes before Jones hit a jumper, Allison Vannoy knocked in a trey and Kayla Yost scored a layup to cut the DePauw lead to 52-49 with 3:28 left.

Again, Maya Howard came up big as she sliced through the lane for a layup that stretched the lead to five. Ryan blocked Dana Perotta's three-point attempt in the next possession and then followed that up with a three-point play to make it 57-49 with only 48 seconds left.

Maya Howard led DePauw with 22 points and four assists, while Ryan added 18 points, seven rebounds and six steals. Budde rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11, while Melinda Franke grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.

Jones paced Hiram with 18 points and six rebounds, while Shockley added 15 points. Yost dished out a team-best four assists.

DePauw shot 40.7 percent for the game to Hiram's 37.8 and the Tigers held a 38-19 advantage on the boards.

The Tigers host Allegheny tomorrow at 1 p.m.