The Tigers proved once again that they are the team to beat in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Sunday afternoon when they beat Hendrix College 80-71 for their second straight title and their 10th in 13 years with the SCAC.
This season, the Tigers went 15-1 against conference opponents. Coach Huffman felt that her team deserved the title without having to go through the tournament, but was extremely proud of her players' ability to step up and prove themselves once again.
"We certainly enjoyed our time in the SCAC and I thought with this year's team we did so well in the regular season we deserved that conference championship," Huffman said. "It's great to leave the conference on top."
Huffman also ended her conference experience on top, earning her seventh SCAC coach of the year award. Senior guard Katie Mathews collected her second-consecutive defensive player of the year award and was the only Tiger to be selected for the conference's first team.
"She's kind of one of those special players who has the ability as a 5'9'' guard to defend some of those smaller post players and has the speed to defend other guards," Huffman said.
Mathews's consistent play on both ends of the court also earned her the tournament's Most Valuable Player award. Using her pull-up jumper, Mathews led the Tigers in scoring against Hendrix with 14 points on 7-12 shooting.
Hendrix led most of the first half at one point leading 23-19 before the Tigers put together a 12-0 run to take the lead for good.
"Hendrix came out very strong and ready to play," said junior forward Katie Aldrich. "It was rough starting out with an 11-2 deficit, but there was no doubt in our mind what we wanted to accomplish. We weren't coming back to Greencastle without that conference championship trophy."
The difference in the win came from DePauw's production off the bench who outscored Hendrix's bench 30-19. Freshmen Ali Ross and Alex Gasaway each had great games, scoring 11 and 14 points respectively.
"We have that versatility that different players step up at different times," Huffman said. "Overall, it was a great team effort."
Along with Mathews and the bench, the Tigers were lifted all weekend by stellar play from sophomore point guard Kate Walker. In Saturday's win against Trinity University, Walker led all scorers with a career-high 19 points. In the championship game, Walker had a double-double, putting up 13 points and leading the Tigers with 10 rebounds.
The Tigers shot 46.9 percent for the game and held a 45-32 edge on the boards, including 15 offensive rebounds resulting in 21 second-chance points. In a classic Huffman win, the Tigers captured the title using their deep bench and ability to capitalize off of every rebound.
"I just think back to all the hard work that went into winning it, and all the sacrifices we've made to make our team successful," Aldrich said. "It's a great feeling to be rewarded for all that dedication."
With the win on Sunday, the Tigers locked up an automatic bid to their eighth-straight NCAA tournament. Monday afternoon, DePauw was selected to face Hope College (26-2) in the first round. Last year, Hope eliminated the Tigers in the second round of the tournament and went on to the title game, where they lost to Washington University-St. Louis.