Women's Basketball

DePauw Defeats Tough Austin to Advance in Tourney;
Faces St. Benedict on Their Home Floor on Friday
By Mike Lillich, University Editor
Photos by Marilyn Culler, University Photographer

 

GAME STATISTICS


PHOTO GALLERY
 

DePauw's NCAA Championship Page

 

GREENCASTLE, IND. - DePauw advanced to the round of 16 for the second straight year with a hard-fought, physical 67-62 victory over Austin College on Saturday afternoon at Neal Fieldhouse. And while senior Susan Bender, picked up the team and carried it on her back through the second half, she had a lot of help from her friends.

"We challenged our players at halftime," Coach Kris Huffman said at the post-game press conference. When it was all over, the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year allowed that her charges put forth "a good defensive effort and did a good job on the boards."

Bender had 21 points - 14 in the second half - to hold off the determined Kangaroos, led by Marisa Hesse, who had a game-high 22 points.

 
Junior forward Amy Hasbrook grabbed 13 rebounds in Saturday's win.  
   

Juniors Amy Hasbrook and Kelly Bailey also came up big in the second half, in which the Tigers never trailed after the teams were knotted at 28-28 when the first-half buzzer sounded. Hasbrook did yeoman board work, finishing with 13 rebounds (three offensive). Bailey had 10 caroms , to go along with her 11 points, nine of which came after intermission.

At the end, it might as well have been senior night for DePauw, though. Paula Boback spelled Jamie Selip at the point and made two free throws with less than a minute remaining to put DePauw up for good. Kelly Morrison put the final nails in the Kangaroo coffin by making two free throws with 16 seconds remaining.

"We have three tremendous young women on our team," Coach Huffman said. "They're irreplaceable. They want the ball down the stretch. They are great senior leaders."

Morrison finished with 12 points. She and Austin's Hesse are among the 10 players competing for the Jostens Trophy for the Division III Player of the Year, based on basketball ability, academic achievement and community service.

   
Susan Bender led the Tigers with 21 points and five assists.
     

While Bender was certainly on target in terming the victory "a good team win against a talented Austin team," the Indianapolis senior had perhaps her finest hour, backing down neither physically nor mentally against the bigger, taller opponents, in her final game in front of the home fans.

DePauw moves on to face the College of St. Benedict on Friday at St. Benedict. The Blazers defeated rival St. Thomas 76-68 on Saturday afternoon.

"Last year, our goal was to get the round of 16," Huffman said. "This year, our goal has been to get to the final four."

Bender's ready. "We're a much-improved basketball team from last year," she said. "Wešre just hitting our peak. Wešre hitting on all cylinders."

 

GAME NOTES: Saturday's win extended the Tigers' school-record win streak to 17 straight games ... Kelly Bailey's blocked shot with 18:16 left in the game was her second of theafternoon, but it was also the 93rd of her career breaking the record held by Jenn Hein (1993-97) ... Kelly Morrison's 4-for-4 performance lifted her NCAA-leading mark to 90.5 percent and her career percentage to 83.17 percent which is higher than the DePauw record of 82.9 percent held by Carla Weaver (1988-92) and would top the NCAA Division III record of 83.04 percent by Southern Maine's Tammy Anair from 1984-87 ... The Tigers' win lifted their NCAA Championship record to 2-2 and their mark in the Neal Fieldhouse to 2-0 ... The seniors finish their home careers with a 50-7 mark at the Neal.

 

DePauw's NCAA Championship Page