For the second game in a row, the Blue Demons had to define themselves in the second half to pull out a victory.

It took a collective effort from Anna Martin, Katherine Harry and Jasmine Penny to run away with an 87-69 victory over Loyola-Chicago in Rogers Park, Tuesday. 

Harry finished with a career high 22 rebounds, including 15 in the first half.  It was the second time in her DePaul career that the senior finished with 20-plus rebounds. The senior’s rebound tally was only one shy of the record at Loyola’s Gentile Center.

“[Harry] had a really special game,”said head coach Doug Bruno about the center’s performance. “I was really impressed by the little things she did,”said Bruno, who noted her jaw-dropping  putback in the second half as being one of her most notable rebounds.

“[Harry] put the ball back up while it was six inches off the ground,”said Bruno.

Martin finished with 28 points and Penny had 13 in a contest that didn’t go DePaul’s way until the second half.

The first half featured poor shooting from both sides as the Blue Demon only hit 35 percent of their shots. Loyola was just barely better, shooting 38 percent.

The Ramblers opened up the first catching DePaul off guard on a 9-2 run. The Blue Demons answered back with an 18 -2 run of their own, but  Loyola climbed back to tie the game at 22, after a fastbreak layup by Ramblers freshman Taylor Johnson with 5:15 left in the half. Loyola’s two big scorers in Johnson and senior Patrice King combined for 17 of the Ramblers’ 33 points in the first, giving them a one-point advantage over DePaul headed into halftime.

After the break, the Blue Demons took charge.

DePaul outrebounded Loyola 26-12 in the second, which didn’t leave the Ramblers much chance of pulling ahead.

The Blue Demons, who shot poorly in the first, immediately got everything they wanted in the second, scoring a season-high 55 points in the half, and finishing off Loyola with a  25-9 run.

“In the second half we were a solid, stable force,”said Bruno. “Instead of forcing shots, we had a little more patience.”

Notes:

Kelsey Smith left the game halfway through with an undisclosed injury.

The DePaul trio of Brittany Hrynko, Chanise Jenkins and Megan Rogowski combined for six threes in the second, raising the team’s three-point percentage from 18 percent in the first to 46 percent in the second, one of their biggest turnarounds all season.

DePaul was plus-20 in rebounds for the game (51 -31), its biggest margin this season.