Tigers Fall To Nationally Ranked DePauw

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Kathy Hittle

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — A 27-2 run late in the first half propelled the visiting DePauw Tigers to an 82-60 victory over Wittenberg in the HPER Center.

The loss dropped the homestanding Tigers to 3-4 on the season, while DePauw, ranked fifth nationally, improved to 7-1.

Wittenberg was looking good through the first eight minutes of the game, taking a 15-9 lead on a three-pointer by senior guard Andrea Hackett (Springfield, Ohio/Catholic Central). But after a DePauw timeout, the visitors went right to work, getting a pair of backdoor lay-ups and a turnover to quickly get back into the game.

After Wittenberg senior post Kathy Hittle (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) hit a short jumper, DePauw really got after it, putting together a game-breaking 27-2 burst. Hittle broke the string with the host Tigers first field goal in nearly nine minutes just before the intermission. Still, DePauw held a commanding 44-23 edge.

The lead swelled as high as 29 in the second half, and Wittenberg never managed to push it lower than 17 over the final 20 minutes.

DePauw put together a very balanced offensive effort, led by Emily Marshall and Meghan Warner with 12 points apiece and Caitlin McGonigal with 11. Marshall also added a team-high 11 rebounds, while guard Suzy Doughty had a strong performance with eight points and nine assists.

Hittle was pretty much a one-person act for Wittenberg as she posted season-high totals of 22 points, 11 rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals. For the game, the Tigers were outrebounded 38-26 and committed five more turnovers than DePauw, which also shot 54 percent from the field, compared to 43 percent for Wittenberg.

Wittenberg is in the midst of a busy stretch of three games in six days. Next up is a trip to Manchester on Monday, followed by a home date with perennial Ohio Athletic Conference powerhouse Wilmington on Wednesday.