SUWANEE, Ga. - DePauw knocked off Hendrix 80-71 Sunday afternoon to claim it's second straight SCAC Tournament Title and sixth since its inception back in 2002-03. The DU Tigers earned the leagues only birth in the NCAA Tournament and will face off against Hope College in the first round Friday night at 7:30 PM from Holland, Michigan.
- AROUND THE SCAC -
Austin College fell in their
final game of the season 64-49 against Dallas. The ‘Roos
close out the year with a record of 7-17.
Birmingham-Southern did not play.
Centre fell 84-70 to Southwestern in the first round of
the 2011 SCAC Tournament. The Colonels, which advanced to the
championship game last year, have now qualified for four straight
conference tournaments after going four years without qualifying.
With the loss, Centre fell to 18-8 on the season, but have now
posted 18 or more wins three straight years.
Colorado College stayed with No. 10 DePauw for
about 14 minutes, but the inside strength of the SCAC Tournament
champion proved to be too much for CC to handle as DePauw
eliminated Colorado College, 67-42, in the quarterfinals of the
conference championship. CC pulled to within 19-16 when Kalli
Kemling scored two of her seven points with 6:31 to play in the
first half, but Katie Aldrich scored nine points as the
East’s top seed poured in 13 of the next 16 points to build a
32-19 lead after 20 minutes. Any hopes for a comeback were dashed
when DePauw scored the first seven points of the second half to
take a 20-point lead. Alyssa Aldaz paced Colorado College with 10
points, including a bucket that 2:43 into the game that gave the
Tigers their second and final lead at 5-4. Becky Luetjen finished
with nine points, which marked just the third time in 26 games this
season she was held below 10 points. In addition to holding
Colorado College to a .333 shooting percentage from the floor,
DePauw posted a decisive 45-28 advantage in rebounds. CC’s 42
points were the fewest it had scored since the opening week of the
season. Luetjen, who finished the year with 450 points, already
ranks No. 7 in career scoring with 1,106 points. She also is No. 5
in blocks (64), No. 9 in steals (135), No. 11 in rebounds (579) and
No. 14 in assists (153). Colorado College completed its season with
an 11-15 overall record and an 8-8 mark in the SCAC. The Tigers
could return as many as four starters and 12 veterans next season.
Luetjen joined Melanie Auguste as the only CC players to earn
first-team all-SCAC honors.
Hendrix advanced all the way to the SCAC Tourney Championship game but fell short in its title run after an 80-71 loss to No. 1 East DePauw University on Sunday. Hendrix’s road to the championship contest included an 80-57 quarterfinal win over No. 4 East Oglethorpe University on Friday and then a 77-67 semifinal win over No. 3 West Southwestern University on Saturday. Senior forward Christina Byler earned SCAC All-Tournament Team honors after combining for 52 points and 17 rebounds over the three-game stretch. She recorded a
Millsaps did not play.
Sometimes the score is not indicative of the effort. Such was the case in Rhodes 85-51 loss to Trinity University in the quarterfinal round of the SCAC Tournament, in Jackson, MS on February 25th. The Lynx jumped out to a 14-10 lead on a Sharwil Bell jump shot with 12:11 to play in the first half. However, on the ensuing possession Bell hurt her ankle and though she returned to action three minutes later, Trinity made a 10-0 run and never relinquished the lead."We got off to a great start," said Lynx Head Coach Matt Dean. "For us the game turned when Sharwil went down and later in the half Sarah Womack had to sit the last 6 minutes because of three first half fouls. However, all the credit goes to Trinity, they were outstanding tonite, " said Dean. A Jaime Maxey three point field goal on the Lynx last possession of the first half made it 36-28. Bell hit a jump shot to cut the Trinity lead to 36-30 with 19:45 to play, but the Tigers used a 8-3 run to extend the margin to 44-33 with 17:32 to play and were never threatened again. "We just ran out of gas in the 2nd half ," said Dean. " I'm really proud of this team. In my 20 years of coaching at the collegiate level, I have never had a team battle through so much unforseen adversity. For us to be a three seed in the East after starting the year 1-7 and 0-3 in the SCAC is a credit to our players." Bell led the Lynx with 14 points and 9 rebounds. Amy Handelman added 12 points and 9 rebounds and Maxey added 12 points. Rhodes finishes the season at 9-16 overall.
Sewanee did not play.
Trinity went 1-1 at the SCAC Championships Tournament this past weekend, defeating Rhodes 85-51 in the opening round, by falling 53-73 to eventual champion DePauw. Trinity is now 3-3 against DePauw in SCAC Tournament play. Senior Danielle Hubenak broke the school record for single season three-pointers after sinking three in the loss to DePauw. She scored 60 three-point field goals this season, breaking the previous mark of 57 that she recently tied. Hubenak now holds or has tied seven school records for the Tigers. She is the single game, season, and career record-holder in three-pointers. Hubenak is also fifth all-time in scoring and third all-time in steals for the Tigers. Abby Dietert also broke a 27-year-old school record by making 115 free throws this season, breaking the previous record of 110 that was set in 1983-84.
