By Colleen Kane
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Thomas More women's basketball team has gotten an earful about its opponent in tonight's second-round game of the NCAA Division III tournament.

DePauw is one of the hottest D-III teams in the country right now. The Tigers have won 16 straight games, including their conference tournament title, are ranked No. 5 in the nation in two different polls and blew away their first-round opponent by 44 points.

And Thomas More (20-5), which had a first-round bye, will be the team trying to slow down DePauw (26-3) tonight at 7 p.m. at home.

"All we're hearing right now is DePauw this, DePauw that...They don't have a whole lot of weaknesses," Thomas More interim head coach Jeff Hetzer said. "They're good in the post and on the perimeter...And they're seven or eight deep, all solid."

The Saints do hold one advantage though: They are one of the few teams that got the better of the Tigers this season. Thomas More beat then-No. 21 DePauw 65-63 on Dec. 22.

"We're really confident because we know we can beat them," Thomas More senior Jodi Schroeder said. "We don't want people to think that was a fluke. ... We want to win the rest of our games, not just quit because some team is supposed to be better than us. Coach Hetzer has really tried to get us to thrive on that."

And the Thomas More women have been on a bit of a roll themselves. They've won 10 straight games, including the last four since Hetzer took over as head coach. Former coach Sharri Brumfield left the program in February with little explanation from her or Thomas More administration.

"(The attitude) is at the highest it's been," Hetzer said. "When I first started, it was rough the first couple days. But we said, let's get it out of our system, and then we don't want to hear it anymore...So many people thought we would go downhill, but the girls didn't. We're at an all-time high. We've moved on and then some."

The Saints also get the benefit this weekend of a rare game at home, where they are 6-0 this year. And they will be helped by the experience of seniors Schroeder, Joanna Bess and Denise Beam, who are making their third appearance in four years in the NCAA tournament.

Bess leads the team with 13.2 points and 4.2 rebounds a game.

Guard Sarah Zondor (16.2 points a game) and post player Amy Argetsinger (14.6 points a game) lead DePauw.

Schroeder, who played at Seton High School, will guard Zondor.

"I looked at the scouting report and it said, 'Never leave her.' So I guess I'm not supposed to leave her," Schroeder said.

The winner of tonight's game will move on to a Sweet Sixteen game against Franklin or Wilmington on March 12.

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E-mail ckane@enquirer.com