The Blue Demons were down 10 points, 57-47 and the clock was only four minutes and 30 ticks from hitting 0:00. They had trailed Duke almost the entire game, save for a few minutes early in the first half. And here they were, in a familiar position: losing late in the second half, for the third game in a row. The two previous matches resulted in comeback victories-first over Navy, then Penn State two days later.

The Blue Demons were hoping for a little magic once again, and Deirdre Naughton did her best to conjure up another win.

In those final four and a half minutes, Naughton scored 12 of DePaul’s final 16 points, including a 3-pointer with 50 seconds remaining that brought the Blue Demons within three, 63-60. Then after three Duke free throws, Naughton hit another long one to make it 66-63.

At that point she wasn’t just fighting to win the game. She was fighting to continue her team’s season and her career. But the Duke Blue Devils hit their free throws and lifted their score to 68. A turnover by Sam Quigley on the next possession was followed quickly by a foul, two more free points for Duke, and the final buzzer.

70-63, Duke wins. DePaul goes home.

Naughton stood outside the locker room, sniffling between words as she reacted to the season-ending loss.

“We were just all in there, everyone was in tears because we’re not happy with the way it ended,” she said. “But it’s been an unbelievable season and career. In a couple days I’ll look back and be happy, but right now it’s still a little hard.”

It may have hurt after the game, and it probably hurt for the next few days. Heck, the thought of it could still sting weeks from now.

But eventually, hopefully every player on the team will get to a point where they can look back and see the season for what it really was: a heck of a run by a team that put in hard work to get through adversity and injuries, culminating in the program’s pinnacle season.

Towards the end of the season the women often came out and had a poor first half-that includes all three NCAA tournament games.

But give Head Coach Doug Bruno, the rest of the coaching staff and the players credit for having the resiliency to fight back almost every time.

Keeping players motivated when the scoreboard is lopsided in the other team’s favor requires a finger on the motivational pulse of each individual and the team as a whole.

Bruno’s handling throughout the season was absolutely professional.

This team certainly had its moments of weakness. Streaky shooting, hints of complacency while playing with a big lead, some self-dug holes that had them playing catch-up in the second half.

But ultimately, the team reached heights the program has never seen before. A record 29-wins, good for second in the Big East. The highest AP ranking ever when they were voted No. 7 in February. A victory over No. 3/2 ranked Stanford, the highest-ranked opponent a Blue Demons team has ever beaten.

Then there was the ninth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance-one of only 12 teams to currently reach that mark. An undefeated record at home. A 19th season with 20 or more victories, and that’s out of 37 total years in existence.

“I’m really proud of our team,” Felicia Chester said after the season ended. “I mean we beat so many teams that people didn’t expect us to beat, and we were projected to finish sixth in the Big East and we finished second. We were undefeated at home and off the court our team’s so close. This is the best year since I’ve been here.”

And that’s not even mentioning the personal struggles some of the players fought through.

China Threatt, who in the last four years experienced the high of winning Big East sixth man of the year in 2008 and successfully came back from injury.

But she also had to fight through the ensuing rehab and cope with the death of her brother.

She got a tattoo just a few days after surgery, while still on crutches and painkillers, in his memory.

Going into the tournament, the team was already handcuffed by a short bench.

Injuries to senior Jennifer Juergens and junior Deanna Ortiz spread the reserves thin for the latter portion of the year.

Naughton came back for a sixth year of eligibility after tearing her ACL early last season, but did not play until the game against Illinois State on Dec. 1.

Then Taylor Pikes was injured in the NCAA tournament second-round victory over Penn State, squeezing the rotation down to seven for the Sweet 16 matchup against Duke.

In that final game and DePaul trailing 55-46, the team lost its go-to scorer, Keisha Hampton, who had been a key cog in the previous round victory over Penn State.

But against Duke she fouled out with 6:36 remaining, essentially cutting the available players down to six. But as they showed, that didn’t mean they were done.

“I think when Keisha got her fifth foul [and fouled out] we all really came together,” Naughton said. “It was a time we could have folded but we all decided that each of us needed to step up, offensively especially. That’s what Keisha does at the end of every game. She’s the one we’re giving the ball to.”

But the rest of the team, Naughton especially, stepped up and worked their hardest to overcome that-just like they had done all year. And that comes directly from their head coach, who made it a point to put the loss in perspective, both for the players and himself.

“It’s been a blessing and honor to coach them and you never want to leave the season on a loss ever,” Bruno said just minutes after the season ended in Philadelphia. “Sixty-three teams do and one doesn’t. You want to not experience the crash and burn of this beautiful tournament.

“I just sit here and thank God for the blessing that was these group of people, to be able to coach for this.