Granville, Ohio - DePauw struggled offensively at Denison, hitting just 29 percent from the floor, and the Tigers suffered a 61-49 North Coast Athletic Conference loss to the Big Red. With the defeat, the Tigers dropped to 13-6 overall and 7-3 in the NCAC, while Denison gained a two-game lead in the conference standings by moving to 16-3 overall and 9-1 in the NCAC.

It was a rough start for the Tigers as starting forward Abby Keller picked up two fouls in the opening 50 seconds of the game and went to the bench for the remainder of the half. Emily Budde hit DePauw's first shot of the contest, but the Tigers missed the next 10 and trailed by as many as nine in the opening frame before heading to the second period trailing, 13-7.

The Big Red scored the first six points of the second to take their biggest lead of the half at 19-7. Budde hit two free throws and a 3-pointer to cut the lead to seven. Denison again stretched the margin to nine before DePauw put together another 5-0 run capped by Melinda Franke's jumper with 1:59 left in the half to make it 24-20.

Denison's Jordan Holmes converted a 3-point play before Taylor Howard scored in the final minute to cut the Big Red lead to 27-22 at the intermission.

Budde hit a pair of buckets early in the third before Jenna Stoner added a layup and Budde a 3-pointer to cap a 9-4 run and knot the score at 31-31.

Denison's Valesha Province came right back with a three before Holmes hit a jumper to give the hosts a 36-31 lead. Emily Krumpe, Taylor Lindquist and Holmes each made baskets to wrap up an 11-0 run and push the lead to 42-31 with 50 seconds left in the third. The Big Red took a 45-33 lead into the final period and then kept the lead in double digits the rest of the way for the win.

Budde led all scorers with 23 points, while Maya Howard added 10. Franke grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and Claire Ryan handed our three assists along with five steals.

Holmes paced Denison with 21 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks, while Province added 13 points and Krumpe 10. Gabrielle Nottage led with five assists.

While shooting 29 percent from the floor, the Tigers connected on just 2-of-14 from 3-point range. Denison hit 47.3 percent from the floor including 57.7 percent in the second half and knocked in 4-of-11 from beyond the arc.

The Big Red held a 39-34 edge on the boards, while DePauw committed 11 turnovers to Denison's 17.

DePauw returns to action on Saturday, January 30, with a 1 p.m. game at Oberlin.