Greencastle, Ind. - Alina Prusko hit two free throws with 11.9 seconds left, the Tigers' defense got a stop and DePauw came away with a thrilling 56-53 win in the North Coast Athletic Conference Women's Basketball Tournament championship game. DePauw improved to 21-7 and earned the NCAC's automatic qualification into the NCAA Division III Championship. The Tigers will be making their 23rd postseason appearance and the Division III bracket will be unveiled on NCAA.com at 2:30 p.m. on Monday. Ohio Wesleyan dropped to 22-6.

Ohio Wesleyan held an 11-9 lead after the first period and stretched the margin to six points early in the second, but a 9-2 DePauw run put the Tigers in front, 18-17. The lead went back-and-forth before the hosts put together an 8-2 stretch capped by Moira McGinley's three which gave the Tigers their largest margin of the half at 30-25. DePauw held a 30-27 lead at the intermission.

The Tigers held the lead for much of the third and were up by as many as six on three occasions. The Battling Bishops' press created a couple of DePauw turnovers late in the third and Ohio Wesleyan knotted the score at 45-45 with a pair of buckets in a 17-second stretch. Olivia Hart put the Tigers back in front with a layup off Riley Mont's assist with 45 seconds left in the period.

Hart and Ainsley Boras scored to open the fourth and give DePauw a six-point lead again. DePauw went scoreless over a nearly five-minute span with six turnovers, but the Battling Bishops only scored four points to trim the deficit to 51-49 at the 4:41 mark. Mont's free throw with 3:28 remaining made it 52-49. 

Kasey Schipfer and Prusko exchanged buckets before Schipfer's basket with 1:28 left trimmed the Tigers' lead to 54-53. Each team missed on their next offensive possession with Prusko securing a rebound on a loose ball before DePauw called a timeout. Ohio Wesleyan committed a couple of fouls to send the Tigers to the line and Prusko knocked both in with 11.9 seconds left. Following an advancement timeout and a DePauw foul, OWU got the ball to Schipfer for a potential game-tying three but it was off the mark as was Macy Miller's putback as time expired.

Ava Hassel, the Nan Nichols Award winner as the tournament MVP, led DePauw with 11 points, while all-tourney selection Mont scored 10, grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds and dished out a career-best seven assists. 

Schipfer paced OWU with 18 points and eight rebounds with Alyssa Griner adding 17 points and Elizabeth Homan dishing out five assists. Schipfer and Griner each were named to the all-tourney team as was Ada Taute of Denison.

DePauw shot 41.1 percent from the field to OWU's 32.3 percent and the Tigers held a 42-29 rebounding edge. DePauw committed 22 turnovers to the Battling Bishops' 10.