There will be no national title for the DePauw University women's basketball this year. The Tigers season came to an end following their 88-71 loss to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks on Saturday night at Neal Fieldhouse.
The weekend began well enough for the Tigers in their Sweet Sixteen win over Carthage College, however, the Tigers did not get off to the fastest of starts. The Lady Reds began the game by converting on their first three shot attempts and jumped out to an early 7-0 lead.
"Carthage is an outstanding team," said DePauw Head Coach Kris Huffman after Friday's game. "We didn't know if we could slow them down because they can score inside and outside."
Carthage managed to stay in front for the majority of the first half, as they held 19-11 through the first ten minutes. But their lead would not last much longer. The Tigers used an 8-0 run to draw the score even at 19.
The Tigers continued to flex their muscles for the remainder of the first half. DePauw closed out the first 20 minutes on a 16-4 run that put them up by nine at halftime.
Despite the lead, DePauw still struggled in the first half. Senior Alex Gasaway was the only Tiger who scored more than six points, and Carthage outrebounded DePauw.
With Carthage still within striking distance at the beginning of the second half, the Tigers quickly stretched their lead to double digits and put the game away. DePauw kept the momentum going and with ten minutes to play held an 18-pont lead.
Junior guard Savannah Trees lead the charge for the Tigers in the second half. Following a quiet first half in which she only made two field goals, Trees exploded for 14 second half points on six for eight shooting.
With the large lead, Coach Huffman and the Tigers were able to coast to a 73-54 win.
Trees would lead the Tigers in scoring with 20 points and Gasaway added 18 more. Alison Stephens snagged a game-high 13 rebounds and finished two points shy of a double double. The win also allowed DePauw to advance to the Elite Eight for the sixth time in the last 13 seasons.
Waiting for the Tigers in the next round was the Wis.-Whitewater Warhawks. DePauw defeated Wis.-Whitewater in the national championship game last season.
The revenge factor was evident from tipoff as the Warhawks raced out to an early seven-point lead. For the second straight night, the Tigers found themselves trailing, 9-2.
On this evening, it would not be as easy to get back into the game. However, the Tigers did manage to battle and take the lead on a Lauren Abendroth three-pointer with 5:45 to play in the first half.
Wis.-Whitewater would not let the DePauw lead last very long. The Warhawks went on 7-0 run and took a two-point lead into halftime.
When the two teams returned for the final 20 minutes, the Warhawks went on a devastating 12-0 run that gave Whitewater a very comfortable lead.
Despite the Tigers' best efforts to get back in the game, the Warhawks stayed one step ahead. Every time the Tigers fought and closed the gap to ten, the Warhawks answered and boosted their lead back up.
With just over six minutes left to play, the Tigers allowed the Whitewater lead to balloon to 15 points. From there, the Warhawks kept DePauw from getting any closer than 12 points down and went on to win 88-71.
"It's not a great feeling to lose," said senior Alison Stephens. "We had an amazing season and we had some really great moments and some really great games and right now it doesn't feel like it. But reflecting later it's going to be a great season to end our careers on."
Whitewater head coach, Keri Carollo recognized the stellar performance of her team.
"We really stepped up and made plays when we needed to and that's what it takes to beat a great team like DePauw," said Carollo.
Gasaway led the Tigers in scoring with 20 points on 10 for 23 shooting. Trees dropped 18 points on only 39% shooting. Each scored many of their points at the end of the game when the Warhawks only concern keeping DePauw from making three-point shots.
Whitewater's Mary Merg and Kristen Ruchti combined to score 45 of the team's 88 points. The Warhawks reserves only scored 12 points in the game as well.
The win propels Wis.-Whitewater on to the Final Four where they will face Whitman College with a trip to the national title game on the line.
Looking forward to next season, there will be some serious adjustments made to the DePauw starting lineup as three seniors, Ali Ross, Alex Gasaway, and Alison Stephens, will be gone. The Tigers will also lose role players Erin McGinnis and Ann Sarkisian to graduation.
"This was a tough way to say goodbye to a special team and a special group of seniors," said Huffman. "It's been quite a ride."
DePauw closes out the 2013-2014 season with an overall record of 30-2 and still earned an NCAC championship.
Despite DePauw's loss, the national tournament will go on with the Final Four games scheduled for Mar. 21 and the championship game set for the following day.