Granville, Ohio - Fourth-seed DePauw scored the game's first six points and never trailed on the way to a 75-59 win over sixth-ranked and top-seed Denison in the first semifinal game of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. The Tigers improved to 18-9 with their seventh straight win, while Denison dropped to 24-2.

DePauw will take on third-seed John Carroll in Saturday's 3 p.m. championship game after the Blue Streaks defeated Ohio Wesleyan, 61-49. The Tigers will be appearing in their 10th tournament title tilt and will be going after an NCAC-record 10th tourney championship.

Taking a 12-8 lead after the first period, the Tigers expanded it to 28-15 at halftime as DePauw held the Big Red to just 19.4 percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes including 2-of-19 from 3-point range.

The Tigers expanded the lead to as many as 20 in the third and took a 49-32 advantage into the final period. 

DePauw pushed the margin to as many as 22 at 57-35 with 6:01 left, but the Big Red fought back with a quick 10-0 run over a span of just 1:32 to close the gap to 57-45 with 4:12 remaining.

The Tigers were able to handle the Big Red's press and then knocked down 18-of-20 free throws over the final 3:39 to keep the margin in double digits.

Riley Mont led all scorers with 24 points including 15 in the fourth quarter. Mont grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and set the program single-game records for free throws made (18) and attempted (23). Olivia Hart followed with 20 points, while Lily Huntzinger and Tori Allen each dished out three assists and Huntzinger totaled four steals.

Abby Cooch paced Ohio Wesleyan with 18 points and three assists with Ada Taute totaling 17. Anelly Mad-toingué grabbed 10 rebounds and, along with Adelyn Moore, totaled three steals.

DePauw shot 39.6 percent from the field to Denison's 32.4 percent and the Tigers hit 2-of-9 from beyond the three-point arc, while the Big Red converted on 8-of-33. The big difference came at the line where the Tigers nailed 31-of-37 free throws to Denison's 7-of-11.

The Tigers also held a 44-39 rebounding edge for a 14-3 lead in second-chance points.