Following wins over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Transylvania University last weekend, DePauw's women's basketball team will move on to face Carthage College in the sweet sixteen of the NCAA tournament this Friday night.
The Lady Reds of Carthage finished the 2014 regular season with an overall record of 24-3. With a conference record of 13-1, the Lady Reds claimed the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championship and earned an automatic bid to the national tournament.
Carthage entered the NCAA tournament as the ninth ranked team in the nation. In the first round, the Lady Reds defeated St. Norbert College by a score of 60-51. Carthage senior Stephanie Kuzmanic led all scores with 25 points and added seven assists in the victory.
The Lady Reds then faced a tough matchup with second ranked and undefeated Hope College in the next round. However, Carthage pulled the upset over Hope with a 72-69 win. This time, it was junior Michelle Wenzel who led the way for Carthage. Wenzel recorded a double double with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
Forwards Wenzel and junior Kristi Schmidt lead the Lady Reds' front court. Each averages over 12 points and over five rebounds per game.
"Carthage has a very strong post game with a great guard court to go along with it," said DePauw senior Alex Gasaway. "They have a couple very strong three-point shooters that we will have to make sure we locate at all times. Their offensive capabilities will require our defense to be at its best on Friday."
DePauw has made it clear that in order to win, they will have to be able to shut down the Carthage offense.
"When we start stringing together defensive stops, our offense will come," senior Ann Sarkisian said. "I think our defensive possessions will determine the outcome of the game."
The Carthage defense is quite strong as well. Eleven times this season, the Lady Reds have allowed less than 55 points. This was highlighted by a 36-point defensive effort against Clarke University and a 33-point effort against Elmhurst College earlier this season.
Carthage also plays exceptionally well away from their home floor. The Lady Reds are 9-1 when playing away from their home court. However, it has been almost a month since the Lady Reds played a game away from Tarble Arena, as they hosted CCIW tournament and the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament at home.
The Tigers will come into Friday night's tilt with veteran leadership and tournament experience, however. The seniors from last season's national championship team have had a great influence on this group of Tigers.
"[Last year's seniors] played with extreme confidence and that confidence led our team to have the success we had last year," said Gasaway. "Every single day at practice was a battle, and the seniors from last year instilled that type of work ethic and competitive mentality in all of us returners."
The tournament experience on this year's team will also play a large role as DePauw advances deeper into the tournament.
"I think last year we were able to see how tough the teams are as we got in the NCAA tournament," said senior guard, Ali Ross. "What's important is that we've been playing our conference teams for what seems like months now and we know them so well now. Going into the tournament, we have to realize that these are different teams that we don't know as well."
Gasaway will most likely be called upon to lead DePauw on Friday night. The senior has averaged 18 points per game so far in the tournament. She scored 20 points, the game-high, in DePauw's first round win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and pulled in double double with 16 points and 10 rebounds against Transylvania.
These two teams do have a history in the tournament as well. Prior to this season's loss to Ohio Wesleyan University, Carthage was the last team to beat DePauw before the Tigers went on their historic 58-game winning streak.
The Lady Reds ended DePauw's season in the second round of the 2012 NCAA tournament with a 53-48 win at Neal Fieldhouse.
"Carthage is a team full of experienced players," said Sarkisian. "Last time we played them, the game was determined by a few possessions."
Tip off for this sweet sixteen matchup is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Friday night following another sectional matchup between the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.