BOX SCORE

Greencastle, Ind. - Top-seed DePauw wasted little time in putting away eighth-seed Hiram and advancing to the North Coast Athletic Conference semifinals after a 72-35 quarterfinal win at the Neal Fieldhouse.

The top-ranked Tigers improved to 26-0 with their 51st straight regular season win, while Hiram's season came to an end at 9-17. DePauw will host fifth-seed Wittenberg in Friday's 8 p.m. semifinal game, while Kenyon and Allegheny square off at 6 p.m.

DePauw struggled from the floor in the opening minutes of the game, but pounded the boards and played relentless defense in building a 14-0 lead after Ali Ross completed a three-point play with 13:31 left in the half.

Hiram's first points came on Alexis Kemper's three with 12:45 left, but DePauw would put together a 19-2 stretch later in the half to expand the lead to 27 on the way to a 39-11 halftime lead. An 18-4 run to start the second half pushed the margin to 42.

Savannah Trees (pictured) led DePauw with 14, while Alex Gasaway and Ross each scored 10. Gasaway grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds. while Kate Walker established a career mark with six steals and had four assists with no turnovers.

Danielle Day and Taylor Ratliff each scored seven to lead Hiram.

DePauw shot 41.8 percent from the floor to Hiram's 23.1 percent and the Tigers outrebounded the Terriers, 51-30. The nation's leader in fewest turnovers per game, DePauw committed just 12.

The game also marked the eighth time this season that DePauw held an opponent below 40 points and the 21st time below 50.

For more information on the DePauw women's basketball program, follow DePauw on Twitter (@DePauwAthletics / @DePauw_WBB) or like them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/DePauwAthletics).