Tigers Come Up Just Short Against League-Leading DePauw

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - A 12-0 run midway through the second half put the DePauw Tigers in control of a key North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) game and propelled the 13th-ranked team in the nation to a 63-54 victory over the host Wittenberg Tigers.

The win moved DePauw to 14-1 overall and kept the visiting Tigers atop the NCAC at 7-0. Wittenberg fell to 11-5 overall and 3-3 in the league, heading into another home league contest on Saturday, Jan. 17, against Oberlin.

The host Tigers held a lead for most of the first half before DePauw headed into the locker room on a 5-0 run to take a 20-19 lead. The two teams then exchanged the lead multiple times over the first eight minutes of the second half before the visiting Tigers embarked on the aforementioned decisive run.

Wittenberg pulled to within two points on a lay-up by senior Katelyn Haralamos (Maineville, Ohio/Kings) with 6:53 remaining. However, DePauw answered with a 9-3 burst and pulled away from that point.

Senior Heather Schroeder (Aurora, Ohio/Aurora) led the way for Wittenberg with 15 points, while Haralamos added 14 points. Also of note was the play of senior Darbie Zirkle (St. Paris, Ohio/Graham), who contributed nine points, three rebounds and a career-best six assists.

As a team, Wittenberg shot 41.2 percent from the field, compared to 36.7 percent for DePauw. Both teams shot well from the free throw line, while the visiting Tigers won the rebounding battle 38-30. The most significant statistical difference between the two sets of Tigers was three-point shooting as the visitors hit 8-of-21 from long distance, compared to 2-of-11 for Wittenberg.

Written By: Ryan Maurer