Greencastle, Ind. - DePauw used a 14-1 run in the fourth period and pulled away from Hiram for a 71-54 quarterfinal win in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. Hiram finished its season at 9-17, while DePauw collected its 12th straight victory and improved to 19-7. With the win, the Tigers advance to the NCAC semifinal round on Friday evening where they will host Ohio Wesleyan at 7 p.m. Wittenberg and Oberlin will battle in the other semifinal game at 5 p.m.

The Terriers led by as many as five in the first period and took a 14-13 lead into the second period. DePauw held a 28-27 lead and then scored the final eight points of the half with Mya Shannon hitting two free throws and a three before Ava Hassel buried a trey to make it 36-27. After shooting 30.8 percent in the opening quarter, the Tigers shot just over 57 percent in the second.

Hiram closed to within six with just over five minutes left in the third but another 8-0 run stretched the lead to 14 at 51-37. The Terriers closed the quarter with four straight to cut the deficit to 51-41 after three.

Early in the fourth, DePauw pushed the margin to 11 three times but each time Hiram brought it back to single digits. The Terriers trailed 57-49 after Jocelyn Janda's 3-pointer with 6:25 left. Diana Burgher countered with a three and then a second-chance layup following a DePauw defensive stop. Hiram knocked in a free throw with 4:16 left to cut the gap to 62-50, but Hassel and Burgher made buckets before Shannon hit a trey and Hassel a driving layup to make it 71-50 with 1:33 remaining.

Hassel scored a career-high 27 points with Shannon adding 23 and Burgher 11 along with a team-high eight boards. Shannon and Maura Fitzgerald each dished out four assists and Lydia Stullken blocked four shots.

Brooke Hickman paced Hiram with 12 points and shared rebounding honors with Ava Mory as each had nine. Haley Thompson finished with four assists.

DePauw shot 44.6 percent from the field to Hiram's 32.1 percent and the Tigers nailed 9-of-17 from beyond the arc and 12-of-13 at the free throw line. The Terriers outrebounded DePauw, 35-31, but DePauw committed just six turnovers.


NOTES

• With the win, DePauw improved its overall record in the NCAC Tournament to 25-3 and its quarterfinal mark to 11-0.
• DePauw will host the semifinal and championship rounds of the tournament for the sixth straight time and the 10th time in the 11 possible tournaments since beginning NCAC play in 2011-12.