The DePauw women's basketball team played its first conference game at Denison University this past weekend, and the team rallied for a resounding victory, 61-39 - DePauw's 25th-straight conference win.
"The game was closer than what the score indicated," head coach Kris Huffman said. "We had a good run to start the first half, and a good run to start the second half."
Rebound-wise, the Tigers dominated the boards with leading scorer and leading rebounder junior Alex Gasaway, totaling 17 rebounds, followed by senior Ellie Pearson's 12 rebounds. Denison (4-3, 0-1 NCAC) totaled just 24 compared to the Tigers' 53. DePauw also did a solid job defending Denison's shooters: shutting down Denison's top scorer, Nicole Coggins, to eight points.
Gasaway and Pearson also set the Tigers' pace in points with 17 and 13 respectively.
"Those are two areas of focus for us: great intensity on defense and winning the boards," Huffman said. "We're getting more active on the boards."
DePauw controlled the tempo of the game and substituted in freshmen with a stable lead: Colleen McDonagh, Jenna Stoner and Angela Hacker. But at the outset, the task was more made difficult as Denison added in new offensive motions before the game, which forced the Tigers to adjust.
"Usually, we are ready to go for the game, but they threw new plays at us," senior Kate Walker said. "We adjusted, and we were able to be okay after a while. They're never going to back down. It didn't surprise me."
Being 6-0 for the first time in DePauw women's basketball history, the team has little to complain about.
"We're pleased with where we're at," Huffman said. "They are a hard-working group, but we have so much room for improvement."
Added Walker, "We're excited that we are winning. It's quite an accomplishment, but most of us are focusing on the future games. We need to keep working hard and stay focused."
The Tigers will compete against Ohio Wesleyan University (1-5, 0-1 NCAC) next Saturday.
"We try to go day-by-day," Huffman said. "We need this second conference game, well that is our goal. We think these first two will be our biggest conference games."
