Greencastle, Indiana – The Wittenberg University women's basketball team gave top-seeded and No. 19 DePauw all it could handle in the semifinals of the 2019 NCAC Women's Basketball Tournament, but ultimately the Indiana Tigers came away with a 57-48 victory over Wittenberg on Friday night inside the Neal Fieldhouse.

The Tigers, who finished in a tie for third-place in the NCAC regular season with an 11-5 mark against conference foes, closed out the 2018-19 campaign with an overall record of 18-9. All told, the Wittenberg senior class of Hannah Weaver, Amanda Raber, Alex Kiess, Sydney Mayle and Abigal Crum finished their four-year careers in the Red & White with an overall record of 51-54, which included making a trip to the NCAC Tournament Championship game in the 2017-18 season.

How It Happened

Wittenberg was in control of the action early on, building a six-point lead, 16-10, after the first 10 minutes of play, capped off by a three-pointer from sophomore Kristie Kalis in the final seconds of the opening frame. After building a 10-point edge, 20-10, early in the second quarter after a layup from Mayle, the DePauw Tigers embarked on a 9-0 run to cut into the Wittenberg lead. The two squads battled back-and-fourth over the final four minutes of the second quarter, eventually culminating in a 24-23 lead for DePauw at intermission.

Wittenberg held a brief 28-27 lead early in the third, but DePauw regained the lead for good just minutes later. The Ohio Tigers did draw within one, 39-38, late in the third after a pair of free throws from Mayle, but DePauw scored four points in the final eight seconds of the third to go back up by five, 43-38.

Wittenberg again pulled within three, 45-42, early in the third on a pair of free throws from Mayle, but DePauw stretched its lead out to 10, 54-44, at the 2:30 mark and maintained its edge over the final two-plus minutes of action to capture the nine-point lead.

By The Numbers

Offensively, sophomore guard Delaney Williams led the way for Wittenberg with 19 points after shooting 7-for-17 from the field, while junior center Riley Culver also finished in double-figures with exactly 10 points. Kalis paced the Tigers on the glass with 10 rebounds, while Mayle closed out the game with eight points, five rebounds and two assists.