Women's Basketball Sweet Sixteen Bound after Beating DePauw
-- Story provided by Hope College Athletics --
The Hope College women's basketball team is feeling sweet after moving on to the second weekend of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
The nationally-ranked Flying Dutch won at DePauw University (Ind.), 70-55, on Saturday to earn their 14th Sweet Sixteen appearance in program history.
Hope (No. 10 WBCA/No. 12 D3hoops) will play at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (No. 9 D3hoops/No. 16 WBCA) on Friday, March 8, at 7:30 p.m. Central.
It is a rematch of the 2022 national title game that the Flying Dutch won, 75-58, in Pittsburgh. The other matchup, at 5 p.m. Central, will feature the University of Wisconsin-Stout (No. 23 D3hoops) against defending national champion Transylvania University (No. 2 D3hoops and WBCA).
At DePauw, Hope (26-3) overcame the host school and an energized crowd. The Orange and Blue took the lead, 2-1, on a Raven Jemison layup and never looked back.
"Just a great win on the road in a great environment, against a hall-of-fame coach," head coach Brian Morehouse said of Kris Huffman, who has 721 career wins in 31 seasons "We just had to hang with them, as tough as they are and as physical as they are on the glass."
It was Hope's first game at DePauw since a 76-60 victory in the second round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament. The Flying Dutch won six road games that postseason en route to the program's second of three national titles.
On Saturday, the Flying Dutch built a 40-24 halftime lead before the Tigers roared back with a 19-point third quarter. DePauw (22-8) trailed, 53-43, heading into the final 10 minutes.
Hope reasserted control by opening the first two minutes of the fourth quarter on a 9-2 run
"Our defensive consistency after that [10-point score margin] got a lot better," Morehouse said. "I thought we tightened things up on the defensive end, made a couple of adjustments heading into the fourth quarter to try and keep them out of certain parts of the floor more, and it really made a big difference."
Sophomore Sydney Vis (Byron Center, Michigan / South Christian HS) led the attack for Hope with a game-high 22 points. Vis also nabbed a game-high five steals.
Junior Olivia Bellows (Lake City, Michigan / Lake City) brought the spark from the bench with 14 points.
Jemison (Grand Rapids, Michigan / East Kentwood) reeled in eight rebounds, and junior Jada Garner (Midland, Michigan / H.H. Dow) totaled four assists.
DePauw had two in double figures with Ava Hassel picking up 13 points, and Riley Mont adding in 10 points.
Titans End Tournament Run for Women's Basketball
-- Story provided by Trine University Athletics --
OSHKOSH, Wisc. – The 2023-24 Trine University women's basketball season came to a close on Saturday night after the Thunder lost at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh by a score of 74-48. The host Titans shot 55.6% (25-for-45) from the field in the game and 63.2% (12-for-19) from deep to secure the win.
Trine will end the year with a record of 22-8, but it is the third consecutive season and sixth season in the last seven where the Thunder accumulated 20 or more wins. Oshkosh advances to the Sectional Semifinal Round with the victory at 24-5.
"I've been doing this a long time, and I've never seen a team shoot like that," Head Coach Andy Rang said postgame. "All the credit goes to them. I could not be more proud of my kids and how they represent Trine with hard work and dedication on the floor and in the classroom. I could not be more proud of them."
Katie Tate and Abby Sanner gave the team a 4-0 lead via makes on their first two trips down the floor. Ten consecutive points for the Titans gave them the lead and they would not relinquish it for the rest of the night. Allison Capouch knocked down a three-point try to close the period, but the Thunder trailed 15-11.
The lead remained in single digits throughout the second quarter, but Trine was not able to get over the hump to tie or take the lead. At halftime, the score read 32-24 in favor of the home team.
Oshkosh extended their lead in the third quarter behind a 9-for-12 shooting effort and six makes out of seven from deep. The Titans outscored the Thunder 26-14 in the frame to claim a 58-38 advantage going into the final quarter. Sidney Wagner paced the team with four points in the third.
Needing a miracle to come from behind in the fourth, Trine would fall behind by as many as 25 near the halfway point in the fourth, resulting in the team looking to the bench unit for production. Erin Sherwood, Alexis Snodgrass and Addison Hutson made field goals in the fourth in a 74-48 loss and the team's lone senior in Chelsi Giesige fought through injury to take the floor.
In total, Wagner led the team in scoring with 12 points and Tate added 11. Sierra Hinds brought down a team-high three rebounds, distributed two assists and recorded two steals. A 14-2 edge on second chance points gave the Titans enough of a cushion to pull away to the victory.
