A New Year’s Eve matinee was underway at the McGrath Phillips Arena as the DePaul’s Women’s basketball team (12- 2) hosted in state rival Northern Illinois (6-5). The game marked the 40th meeting of the teams, with DePaul leading the series 32 – 7. The last time Northern Illinois beat DePaul was all the way back in 1994, so a close game was unexpected. The Blue Demons were also coming off a strong 93 -67 win against Southern Illinois and so it seemed clear that Coach Bruno’s gang was looking to cruise through this one.

Unfortunately for the Blue Demons the cruise was delayed.

DePaul was out of sync offensively to start the game, as Anna Martin was the only Demon to sink a basket through the first few possessions. Martin, who was only 11 points shy of joining DePaul’s 1000 point club would carry her team through this one.

The first half ended with the Blue Demons shooting a mere 8 for 31, while hitting 1 of 12 from beyond the arc. Center, Katherine Harry, led DePaul with nince rebounds in the first half, but unfortunately that wouldn’t stop the eager Huskies. Their aggressive tempo caused them to win the battle of the boards in the first half. The Huskies aggressive style enabled them to get inside the paint on both ends and grab misses.

Northern Illinois was coming off a hard loss to Eastern Illinois in Charleston, and saw DePaul as an opportunity. The Huskies lacked size against a tall Demons squad, but in the first half they showed they had more heart. At halftime Northern Illinois shocked DePaul fans with a 25 – 22 lead.

Eventually skill would overcome heart as DePaul rushed out the gates in the second half, holding the Huskies scoreless for the first 5 minutes. The Blue Demons would break out on a 12 – 0 run with strong plays from Anna Martin and Katherine Harry. Martin was solely a shooting threat for DePaul as she finished the game with a season high of 30. Katherine Harry was the other key to DePaul’s dominance as she pulled down 7 more rebounds to increase her game total to 16. Harry would finish with 9 points as well. Jasmine Penny who was ineffective during the first half, came alive in the second. Penny scored 9 points in the half while playing a huge role on defense collecting 2 steals and a block.

Keisha Hampton received limited minutes this afternoon after recently coming off the injured reserve. Hampton would score 8 points in the game.

Anna Martin joined the 1,000 point club late in the first half from the charity stripe. She would finish the half leading DePaul with 12.

DePaul would win the game 65 – 46. Anna Martin noted her team’s defense in the second half saying that she liked the way her team was “collectively willing to make stops”.

This win also gains Coach Doug Bruno his 500th collegiate win. Bruno was very humble upon receiving the honor, giving credit to the institution, coaches, and players that he’s been around for over 30 years.

DePaul’s next home game is against Pitt on Jan. 14 at 7:00 p.m.