Tigers to Faceoff for 2025 NCAC Women's Basketball Tourney Title

DELAWARE, OH -- The final is set for the 2025 NCAC Women's Basketball Tournament with No. 2 DePauw (19-6) and No. 5 Wittenberg (18-9) to meet for the title on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. at Ohio Wesleyan University's Branch Rickey Arena in Delaware, Ohio.
 
DePauw will be playing in the championship game for the ninth time in program history and will be looking to capture the team’s second-consecutive and ninth-overall title, while Wittenberg will be playing in the title game for the 18th time and are searching for the program’s first title since 2022 and their 10th overall crown.
 
#5 WITTENBERG (18-9) 56, #1 OHIO WESLEYAN (23-3) 54
  • Wittenberg upset Ohio Wesleyan 56-54 to earn a spot in the NCAC Women's Basketball Tournament final for the first time since winning the 2022 NCAC Tourney title.
  • The Battling Bishops came out strong, outscoring the Tigers 14-9 in the first quarter, while also taking a 34-25 advantage into the half. OWU would use a 16-point third quarter for the 50-37 advantage. However, the fourth quarter would see Wittenberg hold OWU to just four points and with 3:09 remaining in the game, Wittenberg senior forward Riane Burton (Houston, TX/ Cypress Ranch) would tie the game at 52-52. Tiger senior guard Jazmyn Gaines-Burns (Bladensburg, MD/Elizabeth Seton) then scored a fastbreak layup to give the Tigers a 54-52 lead just past the two-minute mark. Two free throw by OWU senior guard Kasey Schipfer (Mechanicsburg, OH/Mechanicsburg) would tie the game again at 54-54, before senior guard Taryn Cash (Cincinnati, OH/Princeton) hit a crucial layup to give her team the lead and eventual 56-54 win.
  • Burton and OWU sophomore Macy Miller (Marysville, OH/Milford Center Fairbanks) would lead all scorers with 18 points apiece. Burton added eight rebounds, while Miller recorded the games only double-double as she gathered a game-high 11 boards to go along with a game-high four steals and one block.
  • Schipfer was second in scoring with 16 points, to go along with five rebounds, two assists and two steals, while OWU senior point guard Elizabeth Homan (Cincinnati, OH/Anderson) dished a game-high five assists. The 16 points raised Schipfer's career total to 2,121 and made Schipfer the NCAC's all-time leading scorer, passing Ohio Wesleyan's Kelly Heil, who scored 2,112 points (2001-05). 
  • For Wittenberg, Gaines-Burns also scored in double-digits, netting 10 points, and filled the stat sheet with three assists, three steals and three rebounds, while sophomore guard Madi Barnett (Cincinnati, OH/Kings) posted a team-high four assists, to go along with seven points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals for the Tigers.
  • Wittenberg shot 45.8 percent (22-for-48) from the field and netted 5-of-6 chances from the foul line, while Ohio Wesleyan posted a 37.7 shooting percentage (20-for-53) from the field and connected on 9-of-13 free throws.
  • The Tiger bench outscored the Battling Bishops, 14-3, while the two teams each gathered 30 rebounds apiece, and Wittenberg held a 26-24 edge in points in the paint.
#2 DEPAUW (19-6) 69, #6 HIRAM (12-15) 53
  • DePauw defeated Hiram 69-53 to earn a spot in the NCAC Women's Basketball Tournament final for the second-consecutive season.
  • The Tigers outscored the Terriers 17-8 in the first quarter, while Hiram responded with a 16-point second quarter and headed into the half down 38-24. The Terriers would outscore the Tigers 17-13 in the third quarter to pull within ten, 51-41, but DePauw held on for the 16-point victory.
  • Four DePauw Tigers scored in double-digits and were led by senior forward Ainsley Boras (Orchard Park, NY/Nardin Academy) and sophomore forward Olivia Hart (Murfreesboro, TN/Central Magnet) who each tallied a game-high 14 points. Boras recorded the games only double-double with a game-high 11 rebounds, to go along with three steals, two assists and one block, while Hart added eight rebounds, two steals and one assist. Senior guard Ava Hassel (Portsmouth, OH/Notre Dame) posted a game-high seven assists and five steals, to go along with 12 points and two rebounds, while junior guard Riley Mont (Aurora, IL/West Aurora) contributed 11 points, five rebounds and two steals for the Tigers.
  • Three Hiram Terriers posted double-digit scoring, led by senior guard Jo Janda (Chardon, OH/Chardon) with 13 points, to go along with three rebounds, one block and one assist. First-year point guard Isabella Caceres (Cypress, CA/Cypress) added a team-high five assists, to go along with 11 points, two steals, one rebound and one block, while graduate student guard Anastasia Lawler (Hudson, OH/Hudson) posted 10 points, three rebounds, three steals and one assist. Hiram senior center Brooke Hickman (Mentor, OH/Mentor) recorded a game-high 12 rebounds and two blocks, to go along with seven points, one steal and one assist.
  • From the floor, DePauw shot 38.1 percent (24-for-63) and netted 15-of-20 chances from the foul line, while Hiram posted a 42.0 shooting percentage (21-for-50) from the field and connected on 8-of-13 three-pointers.
  • The Tigers outscored the Terriers in the paint, 26-22, while Hiram’s bench outscored the DePauw substitutions, 21-11. On the glass, DePauw slightly out rebounded Hiram 37-34 and held a 17-8 advantage in second-chance points.

Related Stories

Related Videos

Now Playing: