Whitewater, Wis. - Kate Palmer's 3-pointer from the left wing with 2.3 seconds left lifted Illinois Wesleyan to a 56-55 win over DePauw in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Basketball Championship. The Tigers' season came to a close with a 23-4 record, while the 20-8 Titans advanced to tomorrow's second round where they'll face host Wisconsin-Whitewater after the Warhawks topped Ripon by a 58-34 score in the evening's second game.

The fourth quarter was a period of streaks as DePauw held a 47-44 lead before Illinois Wesleyan scored eight straight which included a four-point play from Mallory Powers and Katelyn Hellers' basket to take a 52-47 lead with 4:44 left. DePauw's Campbell Montgomery scored at the 4:28 mark before both teams went on a scoring drought that ended with Maeve Summerville's drive and subsequent free throw that evened the count at 52-52 with 1:47 left.

The Titans turned the ball over on their next possession before Summerville gave the Tigers a 54-52 advantage with 1:09 remaining. Illinois Wesleyan missed on a chance to tie the game, but a DePauw turnover with 21 seconds left gave the ball back to the Titans. A DePauw foul put Catie Eck on the line with 18.4 seconds remaining and she hit the second of two to cut the Tigers' lead to 54-53. 

After a DePauw timeout, Illinois Wesleyan fouled twice to put the Tigers into the bonus and send them to the line. Eva Hassel knocked in the first of two from the line and the Titans got the rebound, pushed the ball ahead and found Palmer on the left wing and she sank the game winner. Without any timeouts remaining, the Tigers could only get off a desperation heave from just beyond midcourt as the horn sounded.

DePauw opened the game with a 7-2 lead, but the Titans scored the next 15 as the Tigers missed four shots and turned the ball over four times trying to cut through the IWU press. Illinois Wesleyan's biggest lead of the game came at 22-9 before they took a 24-12 lead into the second quarter. The Tigers chipped away in the second as they kept the Titans off the board for the first 5:32, but only managed to score four of their own points during the stretch. DePauw did trim the halftime deficit to 29-21.

The Tigers regained the lead late in the third on a three from Maeve Summerville before Hassel added a charity toss to give DePauw a 40-38 advantage as the teams headed to the fourth.

Summerville led DePauw with a career-high 19 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while Grace Kinsey added 11 points. 

Powers paced the Titans with 13 points with Lauren Huber adding 10. Kaia Bowen grabbed five rebounds and Brooke Lansford dished out six assists.

DePauw shot 40 percent from the field including 52.2 percent in the second half, while the Titans hit 33.3 from the floor and only 25 percent over the final three periods.

DePauw held a 40-34 rebounding edge, but the Titans turned 12 offensive rebounds into a 17-12 edge in second-chance points. The Tigers turned the ball over 19 times to Illinois Wesleyan's 10.