Springfield, Ohio - DePauw walked away with a 4-2 win against Wittenberg, Tuesday evening. The DePauw Tigers extend their record to 8-4 (4-1) while the Wittenberg Tigers fall to 3-9 (3-2). 

Hailey Nowak scored a hat trick in the first 31-minutes of play against Wittenberg. She's first in the NCAC with 2.33 points per game, first with five game-winning goals, second with 12 goals, third with 30 shots on goal, and third with four assists.

Wittenberg made the first attack, giving goalie Olivia Streifel her first save of the game at 3:37. Nowak counteracted with DePauw's first offensive attack, firing a shot on goal at 5:32. The Wittenberg Tigers won the first period with three shots and two penalty corners.

DePauw shifted their offensive strategy going into the second period, claiming five back-to-back penalty corners to maintain possession for the Tigers and allot Nowak another shot on goal. Tiala Ortega got a piece of the ball, tallying her first shot of the night and drawing a corner. Ella Morris put the ball into play and Nowak scored on a straight shot into the cage for the DePauw Tigers' first goal of the evening. Less than seven minutes later, Nowak netted another one for the Tigers, giving them a 2-0 lead going into halftime. 

Hitting the field with a burst of energy, Nowak scored her third straight goal at 30:57 unassisted pulling out her undefendable spin in front of the cage, allowing for no actions prior to the start of the period. 

Wittenberg fought back, tallying a goal and recording a handful of shots on goal but Tiala Ortega found the back of the net unassisted, reclaiming a two point lead for the DePauw Tigers and shooting from the stroke mark while the goalie was rebounding from a previous shot. 

In the fourth period, DePauw's offense did not let up with seniors Maggie Volpe and Tiala Ortega firing off two shots each, testing Wittenberg's goalie. DePauw edged Wittenberg 7-3 in shots during the forth period. With less than three minutes remaining in regulation, Wittenberg's Devyn Groves launched the ball into the net to shorten DePauw's lead to 4-2. 

The DePauw Tigers will return home this weekend for their final two home games of the season, taking on Oberlin, Saturday at 12 p.m. and Wooster, Sunday at 1 p.m. Four games remain in the regular season, and the Tigers are currently second in the NCAC, trailing Denison and leading Ohio Wesleyan and Kenyon.