Tigers Move on to Sectional

THE COACHES
Kris Huffman is in her fifth year with the Tigers and her teams have posted an 86-41 record for a .677 winning percentage. The former Iowa Miss Basketball and Iowa Women's Basketball Hall of Fame inductee is the winningest coach in DePauw history both in terms of number of victories and winning percentage. Huffman was the Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1996 after leading the Tigers into the NCAA Division III tournament for the first time.

St. Thomas' Ted Riverso, a 1976 West Chester graduate, is in his 14th season with the Tommies and his teams have posted a 314-75 record for an .807 winning percentage. He has led St. Thomas to the Division III tournament each of the last 12 years. Included in that stretch is a national championship in 1991 and third-place finishes in 1995 and 1996.

SERIES RECORD
DePauw and St. Thomas have never met in women's basketball. Interestingly, the two teams met in men's basketball in this same scenario in 1990 as St. Thomas hosted the sectional. DePauw defeated the Tommies in that game in double overtime and eventually finished second in Division III.

SCOUTING THE TOMMIES
The University of St. Thomas has the fourth best winning percentage in Division III history and is among the top 20 in terms of victories. They also are no strangers to the Division III tournament as they've made appearances in 12 straight tournaments dating back to 1987.

The Tommies graduated four starters from last year's 26-2 "sweet 16" squad, but reloaded for the 1997-98 season. Player of the Year finalist Kirsten Vipond leads the way with 18.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game and leads Division III in field goal percentage at 71.2 percent. Guard Paige Olson scores just 14 points per game and ranks second in Division III with 89.9 free throw shooting and 12th with 43.2 percent from behind the three-point line. Forward Erin Hempel rounds out the double-figure scorers with 11.3 points per outing.

TIGER SEASON RECAP
The Tigers are coming off their first-ever NCAA tournament win as they topped Baldwin-Wallace 70-63 on Saturday. Susan Bender led the way with a career-high 31 points and seven rebounds. The teams were tied with just under four minutes to play, but the Old Gold went on a 9-0 run to take control. The Tigers connected on 29 of 36 free throws in the win and Bender hit 15 of 16. Ann Hall added 13 points and Kelly Bailey 10 rebounds. Shauna Van Horn led four B-W double-figure scorers with 15.

That win extended DePauw's record win streak to 15 games. The Tigers haven't lost since watching a late-game lead slip away against Millikin on January 10. Two of the other three losses have come at the hands of Central Region second seed Washington (Mo.) in the first game of the season and to NAIA Division I fourth-ranked Simon Fraser.

Kelly Morrison comes off the bench to lead the Tigers with 13.2 points per game. The junior led the nation in three-point shooting at 50 percent (entering the tournament) and set ICAC records for three-point percentage and free throw percentage. Ann Hall is next at 12.7 points per game with Susan Bender rounding out the double-digit scorers with 10.8 per game. A big key for the Tigers this season has been on the boards where they average a 12.5 rebound advantage over the opposition. Kelly Bailey leads the way with 8.6 per game and five-foot-nine Amy Hasbrook hauls down 8.0 per outing with nearly 44 percent of those coming on the offensive glass. The Tigers shoot the ball well from three-point range at a nation-leading 40.9 percent.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY
St. Thomas is making its 12th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship and 13th in the 17-year history of the tournament. The Tommies won it all in 1991 and finished second in 1995 and 1996. Only Scranton and Capital (with 28 tourney wins) have won more games in the tournament than St. Thomas' 24. Overall, the Tommies are 24-12 in NCAA play.

The Tigers are now 1-1 in NCAA tournament play. In addition to Saturday's win, the Tigers lost at Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 1996 by a 77-45 score to the eventual national champions.

TOUGH SECTIONAL
The West Sectional may be the toughest in the nation if you believe the pollsters. The Women's Basketball Coaches Association, in its final poll of the regular season, ranked St. Thomas second, Mount Union third, St. Bendedict fourth and DePauw 14th.

MORRISON IS NATION'S TOP THREE-POINT SHOOTER
DePauw junior Kelly Morrison entered last week ranked first in Division III at 50 percent from behind the arc. She was 0-for-1 on Saturday marking the first time since a January 10 loss to Millikin that she was held without a three-pointer.

OTHER NATIONAL STATS
The Tigers entered the tournament ranked sixth in free throw percentage (72.8) and fourth in rebound margin (+13.2). St. Thomas ranks eighth in scoring offense, 19th in scoring defense, third in scoring margin, first in field goal percentage and 13th in three-point percentage.

OTHER RECORDS BROKEN THIS SEASON
No Tiger women's team had won 23 games until Saturday. The Tigers topped last year's record of 22-4 with the win over Baldwin-Wallace. DePauw has also posted new standards for three-point field goals (109), free throws made (474) and rebounds (1182).

ALSO ON THE CAREER CHARTS
Susan Bender ranks third in school history with 247 assists and 204 free throws, fifth with 150 steals, seventh with 170 free throws made and 10th with 408 rebounds. Kelly Morrison leads with 135 three-pointers and is seventh with 170 free throws made. Ann Hall ranks fifth with 54 career three-pointers. Kelly Bailey is third with 44 blocked shots and Mary Hand is fifth with 31.

TIGER NOTES
Susan Bender's 31 points in the second-round win was the second-best effort by a DePauw woman. Jenny Bauer poured in 40 against Huntington in 1985 ... Bender's 15 free throws made was one shy of tying a Division III tournament record, but broke a DePauw single-game mark. Her 16 free throw attempts tied a DePauw record ... The Tigers five offensive rebounds was a season low ... The Tigers have been tough to beat at home as they've posted a 14-1 record in the Neal Fieldhouse this season. The Old Gold has also won 36 of its last 40 on their home floor ... The last two seasons have been the best two-year span in DePauw women's basketball history as the Tigers have posted a 45-8 record for an .849 winning percentage ... St. Thomas has won 48 of its last 49 home games and 112 of the last 117 and are 16-0 in NCAA Championship home games in the 1990s.

INDIVIDUAL RECORDS ESTABLISHED
Kelly Morrison broke her own single-season record for three-pointers made with 57 and Kelly Bailey topped the blocked shot record and now has 41 this year. Bailey's 233 rebounds this year is a DePauw single-season record and topped the mark of 220 held by Seana Murphy (1989-90). Morrison also tied the record for three-pointers in a game with six against St. Mary's.

TOURNAMENT REVIEW
Home teams won 14 of the 16 second-round game on Saturday and 12 of the 16 first-round games on Wednesday. Of the 16 remaining teams, 14 are either one or two seeds from their respective regions. Only Austin (#3 in the South) and Elmira (#5 in the East) defeated a higher seeded opponent in the second round.

UP NEXT
The winner of Friday's game advances to the West Sectional final to face the winner of Friday's St. Benedict-Mt. Union contest. That game will take place following the DePauw-St. Thomas game. The sectional championship contest tips off at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.