On Nov. 12, the DePauw women’s basketball team lost their season opener to defending national champions Transylvania University with 50-60. Transylvania came into the game as the top-ranked team in the country after going undefeated and winning the 2023 National Championship, making this game a great challenge for the DePauw Tigers.
The game started close, with both teams trading points in the first quarter, ending with a 16-13 Transylvania leading at the end of the quarter. DePauw scored early in the second quarter to make the game 15-16, but Transylvania pulled away after that, scoring 16 points in the second quarter to DePauw’s 4, ending the half with a 32-17 lead. Depauw came out of the half with a new fire underneath them, outscoring Transylvania in the third quarter 12-8, but the gap was simply too much for DePauw to close, ultimately falling 50-60, despite some great play late in the game. The slower second quarter for the Tigers was the deciding factor in the game, as they played Transylvania extremely close otherwise. 5’6 guard Ava Hassel ‘25 led the way for the Tigers, scoring 13 points, with 6’0 forward Diana Burgher ‘26 close behind with 11 points. Dasia Thornton was the leading scorer for the pioneers, scoring 15 points.
DePauw Women’s Basketball had a great performance against the top-ranked team in the nation, and while the result did not end their way, they are hoping to build off their momentum and continue to play great competition to improve their game in hopes of putting together a great season this year!