Hendrix women lose battle of offensive boards, game
It was a game on blocks on Garrison Court on Friday.
The DePauw women got off them and on them in a 70-52 victory over the Hendrix women in a first-round game of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament.
The Warriors, who had a four-game win streak halted by the perennial SCAC women's power, committed eight turnovers in the first nine minutes in falling behind 17-5. With an uphill climb against a top-25 NCAA Division III team, the Warriors (14-12) fought hard but never got over the hump.
DePauw advances to play Trinity at 1 o'clock this afternoon.
One reason was the Tigers (22-4) had a 22-14 edge on the offensive board and a 36-11 advantage in bench points. "That's the stat," said Hendrix coach Chris Hitchcock referring to the 22 offensive rebounds. "When you play DePauw, you got to keep them off the offensive board. Too many second-chance points."
"Offensive rebounding is big part of who we are," said DePauw coach Kris Huffman. "We're a lot younger this year, don't have good size, so we have to get after it on the boards.
"We knew Hendrix was an explosive team. We knew how important it was to come out with confidence and play hard. Thankfully, that lead held up to the end."
The contest was much closer than the final margin.
The Warriors, trailing by 15 with 10:12 left, drew with 56-51 with 4:12 left on a putback by Christina Byler after a steal.
After a missed shot, Samantha Clark broke what seemed to be a layup attempt but had her shot blocked by Emily Marshall. Marshall then stuck in an missed shot, then Brooke Osborne, who came off the bench to nail a 3-pointer that gave the Tigers a 35-27 lad at the half, hit a running jump to put DePauw up by nine. The Tigers pulled away with some inside baskets and free throws.
At another juncture early in the first half, Chelsey White had a shot go in and out, then two point-back putbacks rolled out. Marshall broke free for an inside basket to put the Tigers up by 10.
"There were a couple of junctures we had good chances and just didn't stop them," Hitchcock said.
Marshall led DePauw with seven points and 15 rebounds, 10 of them on the offensive board. Andrea Travelstead had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Kati Aldrich had 12 points and Osborne 10.
Guard Cassie Pruzin, one of the leading scorers in DePauw history, did not score until 1:45 remaining and was 0 of 8 from the field.
"We did a lot of things right; we just didn't make enough shots and needed a few more blockouts," said Hitchcock, whose team was 18 of 57 (31.6 percent) from the field.
Byler, 8-of-15 from the field, led Hendrix with 21 points, and Samantha Clark added 12.
WOMEN
TRINITY 81, RHODES 60
Rhodes entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed from the East but also upset Trinity, 64-58 at Memphis.
The Lynx (13-13) came out scrapping against the No. 1 seed from the West, lingering within five-to-seven points most of the first half. They pulled within 27-22 with 2:20 left before a block and two inside baskets by Krista Prato-Matthews and a rebound shot by Abby Dietert helped the Tigers to a 33-24 halftime lead.
Trinity (19-7) continued to assert itself inside the second half, extending its lead to 46-30 in the first six minutes of the second half. Three-point shots by Ali Marzella and Danielle Hubenak helped the Tigers build the lead to 18 points.
Hubenak led Trinity with 22 points and Prato-Matthews add 19 and 14 rebounds. Dietert had 12 points.
Jenilee Pate scored 12 for Rhodes and Cameron Whitaker added 10.
OGLETHORPE 70,
MILLSAPS 56
The Stormy Petrels (23-3) had no trouble with the Majors, who finished 10-16.
Oglethorpe took a 45-24 lead at the half and substituted freely the second half.
Tina Grace led the Petrels with 21 points, Katie Kulavic added 14 and Jamis Osmansom 10.
Tiffany Whitmore had 12 for Millsaps. Ronda Webb, Crystal Dickerson and Jessica Bowie all had 11.