Greencastle, Ind. - DePauw held a 16-point lead late in the third period before Wooster battled back to within four in the closing minutes, but the Tigers held on for a 79-73 North Coast Athletic Conference victory over the Fighting Scots. DePauw improved to 11-7 overall and 4-3 in the NCAC, while Wooster dropped to 9-9 overall and 1-6 in conference play.
DePauw used an 18-2 run that bridged the first and second periods to take its largest lead of the game at 29-11. Wooster scored eight straight later in the second to trim the Tigers' lead to 35-30 and DePauw went to the intermission leading, 39-34.
Wooster opened the second half with a pair of free throws to close the gap to three before
Olivia Hart hit a jumper and two free throws and
Tori Allen knocked in a three to make it 46-36 with 8:07 left in the third. The Tigers later used a 9-0 stretch to extend the lead to 59-43 with 3:49 remaining in the quarter before taking a 63-53 advantage into the final stanza.
DePauw still held a double-digit lead at 72-62 after
Campbell Schrank's layup with 3:32 left. Mackenzie Riccitelli's three-point play closed the gap to seven before Ace Sturdivant knocked in a three and Hailey Burgosh nailed two free throws to close the Tigers' lead to 74-70.
Riley Mont's jumper and
Alina Prusko's free throw pushed DePauw's lead back to seven, but Riccitelli's trey with 39 seconds left cut the Tigers' lead back to four. Mont buried two free throws with 33 seconds remaining and Wooster was unable to convert on the offensive end. DePauw then missed a pair of free throws and the Fighting Scots missed a layup which DePauw rebounded and then ran out the clock.
Mont led DePauw with 22 points followed by Hart with 21 and Allen with 10. Hart and Mont each grabbed six rebounds and Allen matched a career high with seven assists and had four steals.
Riccitelli led Wooster with 31 points with Sturdivant adding 11 along with six assists. Abby Henegar hauled down four rebounds.
DePauw shot 50 percent from the floor to Wooster's 52.2 percent and the Tigers held a 29-20 rebounding edge. The Tigers committed 14 turnovers to Wooster's 20 and held a 27-13 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Tigers return to action on Saturday, Jan. 31, with a 1 p.m. NCAC game at John Carroll.
