OWU to face DePauw in NCAC semifinal

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The Ohio Wesleyan University women’s basketball team will face DePauw in a semifinal matchup of the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. tonight in Greencastle, Ind.

Ticket prices for the game are $7 for adults — $5 with an NCAC guest pass — and $5 for children and students without an ID from an NCAC institution. Students with ID from an NCAC institution will be admitted free of charge.

Ohio Wesleyan (16-10) is the No. 3 seed in the tournament. The Battling Bishops finished third in the NCAC with a 10-4 record. Ohio Wesleyan advanced in the NCAC tournament with a 79-51 win over Kenyon on Tuesday.

DePauw (19-7) is the No. 2 seed in the tournament. The Tigers shared the NCAC championship with a 13-1 record, won a coin flip and elected to host the semifinals and final and enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed. DePauw advanced in the tournament with a 71-54 win over Hiram on Tuesday.

Tonight’s game will be the third meeting between DePauw and Ohio Wesleyan in the NCAC tournament, with each team having won one of the previous meetings. Both previous meetings have been in tournament semifinal contests at DePauw. Ohio Wesleyan won a 72-65 decision on Feb. 27, 2015, and DePauw won a 62-38 matchup on Feb. 28, 2020.

DePauw swept this year’s regular-season meetings. The Tigers won by a score of 73-63 on Jan. 21 at Branch Rickey Arena, rallying from a deficit midway through the fourth quarter. Junior guard Kasey Schipfer led Ohio Wesleyan with 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists, and sophomore post Alyssa Griner added 17 points.

On Feb. 15 in Greencastle, Schipfer worked for a lay-in to tie the game at 55 with :22 remaining in regulation time, and junior guard Lauren Denison and Griner hit baskets that gave Ohio Wesleyan the lead early in the overtime period, but DePauw rallied for a 69-61 win. Griner led the Bishops with 16 points and shared the team lead with 7 rebounds. Schipfer finished with 14 points and shared the team lead with 7 boards.

The winner of tonight’s game will advance to the NCAC tournament championship game, scheduled to be played at 4 p.m. on Saturday on the DePauw campus.

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