Sophomore post Elea Karras (Bellbrook/Miami Valley) converted a 3-point play to bring Ohio Wesleyan within 12-10 late in the first quarter, but 13th-ranked DePauw answered with a 12-0 run and went on to defeat the Bishops 84-51 in North Coast Athletic Conference action on Tuesday at Branch Rickey Arena.
Maya Howard opened the game with a pair of hoops for DePauw, but Karras drove for a lay-in and then buried a 3-pointer to bring the Bishops with 6-5. After DePauw’s Kylie Morris and junior guard Erin Delaney (Toledo/Notre Dame Academy) traded buckets, the Tigers moved to a 12-7 lead with baskets by Imani Graham and Melinda Franke.
Karras’ 3-point play brought the Bishops within 12-10 with 1:58 left in the first period.
Emily Budde and Sydney Kopp each sank a pair of free throws and hit a jumper as DePauw scored the final 8 points of the quarter, and Claire Keefe scored consecutive buckets to open the second quarter and extend the margin to 24-10.
Sophomore guard Claire Sterling (West Jefferson) and sophomore guard Meghann Dunning (Mentor/Lake Catholic) to narrow the gap to 24-14, and the Bishops would remain within striking distance as a lay-in by freshman guard Morgan King (Xenia/Dayton Carroll) brought Ohio Wesleyan within a dozen midway through the third period, but DePauw countered with an 8-0 run to pull away for the win.
Karras led the Bishops with 14 points and Sterling grabbed a team-high 8 rebounds.
Kopp finished with a game-high 22 points for DePauw.
The Bishops, who fell to 1-11 overall and 0-3 in league play, return to action today against visiting Denison. Tip is set for 6 p.m. with the men’s game to follow.
