Washington University’s women’s basketball team surged back from a big second-half deficit before falling a little short to DePauw University, 55-52, Saturday in the NCAA Division III national championship game in Springfield, Mass. The Bears end their season with a 25-6 overall record.
The Red and Green trimmed a 17-point second-half deficit to one point a couple times before DePauw prevailed.
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“We tried to make a run, but they controlled the tempo for most of the game,” said WU head coach Nancy Fahey. “You hope the shots start falling, but you have to give credit to DePauw’s defense.”
The Tigers led 7-3 with 11:00 left in the first half, as both teams traded defensive stops in the early going. After a timeout, DePauw extended to a 13-7 lead when senior Liz Bondi found a seam in the Bears’ defense for a lay-up and hit a 15-foot jumper. Bondi, who scored a team-high six points in the first half, connected again from 15 feet to keep DePauw’s lead at six points (15-9) when WU sophomore Jaimie McFarlin found her shooting touch. She scored in the post and converted a turnaround jumper along the right baseline.
DePauw (31-3) maintained its lead at six points, though, as freshman Emily Marshall scored back-to-back buckets in the post. The Tigers took a 24-20 lead into halftime, as they shot just 30 percent from the floor. They also took 14 more shots than the Red and Green. WU shot just 35 percent from the field. McFarlin paced the Bears with six points and eight rebounds in the half.
The Bears continued to struggle early in the second frame. Two WU turnovers resulted in four straight DePauw points, a 28-20 lead, and a WU timeout at the 17:10 mark. The Tigers added four more points for an 8-0 run to open the half.
Senior Sarah Schell drove baseline for a pull-up jumper to end the Bears’ field goal drought. DePauw stretched its lead to 15 points when Bondi hit an 18-footer from the top of the key with 12:06 left on the clock.
Senior Rebecca Parker corralled an offensive rebound for a put-back, and Schell found sophomore Halsey Ward in the right corner for a three-pointer to cut DePauw’s lead to 10 (37-27).
Trailing 42-32 with 7:55 left, the Bears ran a set play for Ward in the corner for another trey; she knocked down four second-half threes. McFarlin followed with a 17-footer and blocked Bondi at the defensive end.
“I just had confidence shooting the ball because I knew that’s what my team needed,” Ward said. “The last shot just didn’t go in. I didn’t get a good look and tried to draw contact and that was it.”
Then, Schell found McFarlin at the free-throw line; McFarlin pump faked, took a dribble and pulled up for another jumper to draw WU within 52-49.
“When we cut it (the deficit) to single digits, we felt a surge,” McFarlin added. “Our defensive intensity turned up and we felt pretty good.”
Junior Kalei Lowes hit a three-pointer and sophomore Cassie Pruzin followed with a 28-footer with the shot clock winding down to keep DePauw up four points (48-44) with 3:27 left in regulation. Senior Suzy Doughty drove the lane for two following a timeout for a 50-44 Tigers lead.
Schell countered for the Red and Green, pulling up along the baseline for two. Senior Jenny Southworth ripped away an offensive rebound for a put-back with 59 seconds remaining, cutting the Tigers’ lead to two (52-50). Pruzin hit two free throws for a four-point lead again for DePauw before Schell drove for a lay-up to trim the Bears’ deficit back to two (54-52) with 21.6 seconds left, but WU would get no closer.
McFarlin finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Ward added a game-high 16 points. Pruzin paced the Tigers with 12 points and Bondi added nine points and nine rebounds.