The quest for a second national title begins today.
Ever since the DePauw women's basketball team won the Division III NCAA tournament title in 2007, and advanced to the quarterfinals the year after, the Tigers haven't advanced past the second round for four straight years.
They are losses that are difficult to talk about for players and coaches, and head coach Kris Huffman is determined to change that end result.
DePauw hosts the first round of the NCAA tournament against La Roche College in the Neal Fieldhouse tonight at 7 p.m. When the selection show announced Monday afternoon the Tigers would face the Redhawks, players and coaches alike turned to each other wondering where La Roche (24-2) was located.
It didn't take them long to find information on the school from Pittsburgh, Penn., and learn the selection meant their third straight NCAA appearance.
While players took to the internet, assistant coaches Mary Smith and Dana Ferguson began scouring game-tape on the Redhawks. There wasn't any past video in DePauw's vault because there wasn't any that existed. The programs have never before met.
"We've watched a ton of games trying to prep for it," Huffman said. "We come up with the best scouting report that we can when you've never faced them."
A brief glance at La Roche's statistics is telling enough: four juniors average more than 30 minutes per game, and they are led by two players scoring more than 15 points.
"In a normal game, minus media timeouts, I would think our depth would be a factor," Huffman said. "In the NCAA tournament, because they have so many media timeouts, I think it's a non-factor.
"Their athleticism stands out. They drive the ball well, are good in transition and have a post player who will be really difficult to slow down."
Jessica Pitts, a 5-foot-8 forward, will draw much attention from the Tigers' defense.
"She is so fast with the ball in her hands, and is by far the most athletic player we will have faced this year," Huffman said of Pitts.
Along with Pitts - who averages 15.4 points per game - is a 5-foot-5 guard, Casie Cygan, who led the Redhawks with 18.7 points per game. Cygan is the only player for La Roche to play in all 26 games, and averaged a team-high, 36 minutes per game.
"We need to make sure we have good team defense," Huffman said. "We have to make sure they're not getting to the rim on us. We need to finish that team defense with rebounding because they are very active on the glass.
"Their athleticism carries over to the offensive end where they can disrupt our offense, we have to take care of the basketball."
La Roche also plays an aggressive style of defense evident by its No. 5 spot in Division III in steals per game with 16.7.
"We can't take anyone lightly," Huffman said. "You blink and your season is over. I like how we've prepared this week. Our team is hungry to try and extend this season. We've been pretty focused, and trying to manage some injuries have been a focus this week."
DePauw's leading scorer, Alex Gasaway, will be a game-time decision today after suffering a knee injury in practice last week. The junior has participated in practice on a limited basis the past couple of days, and may come off the bench tonight
In her place, fellow-junior Alison Stephens will make her third start of her college career. Last weekend, she pulled down 20 rebounds and scored 13 points in the semifinals.
If DePauw gets past La Roche, it will face the winner of Maryville College (23-4) and Otterbein University (21-6), who play in the Neal Fieldhouse at 5 p.m.
During the week, Huffman's assistants have worked on scouting both teams in preparation for a potential matchup on Saturday in the second round.
"You don't want to leave all that prep in case we win.," Huffman said. "Initially our focus was on La Roche, and now they've branched off to look at the potential opponents."