Greencastle, Ind. - Visiting Illinois Wesleyan built an 11-point lead in the opening period and never trailed on the way to a 71-58 win over DePauw in the opening game of the Midwest Challenge. The Tigers dropped to 2-3, while the Titans improved to 4-2. DePauw will face Rose-Hulman in Sunday's 2 p.m. third-place game, while Illinois Wesleyan battles WashU in the 4 p.m. championship game. WashU defeated Rose-Hulman, 61-44, in today's second game.

The Titans used a 9-2 run in the first to push a 4-point lead to 11 at 17-6 before the Tigers scored the final six to cut the lead to 12. Illinois Wesleyan led by as many as 15 in the second and took a 37-25 advantage into the halftime. The Titans shot 47.2 percent in the opening half to the Tigers' 34.4 percent, while DePauw committed 11 turnovers.

DePauw closed to within eight in the third, but the Titans pushed the margin to double digits the rest of the way.

Ava Hassel paced DePauw with 19 points, while Riley Mont added 13. Ainsley Boras grabbed a team-high seven rebounds and Maura Fitzgerald dished out four assists.

Kate Palmer paced Illinois Wesleyan with 19 points followed by Caite Knutson with 17, Lauren Huber with 16 and Katelyn Heller with 14. Huber grabbed a game-high eight rebounds as the guests held a 40-39 edge on the boards. 

DePauw shot 38.7 percent for the game  and connected on just 4-of-12 from the free throw line, while the Titans hit 46.3 percent from the field and outscored the Tigers in the pain, 50-28.