DePaul had no qualms dispatching a good Butler team 87-65 in their final regular-season game at Wintrust Arena, although it wasn’t a laugher the whole way.

The first quarter was absolutely brutal in terms of scoring.  Butler (11-8; 3-4 Big East) had eight turnovers and hit just 3-of-11 shots leading to seven total points.  DePaul (14-5; 6-1 Big East) wasn’t fairing much better when they were up 9-6 with two minutes left, but two late threes from Lauren Prochaska and Chante Stonewall helped the Demons out.

“I didn’t think we had a great edge in the beginning of the game, I didn’t think the defense was where it needed to be,” Bruno said. “I think we left a few layups on the table (…) and the dirty underbelly of free-throws is when you miss two, it’s worse than a turnover.”

It’s worse than a turnover, Bruno said, because you earn your right for those two points and then you not only do not score, but hand the ball to the other team. DePaul was just 3-of-8 from the free-throw line in the first half and 11-of-21 in the game.  Not great for a team that averages 73 percent from the stripe.

Things got going more in the second quarter with both teams scoring over twenty, Butler with 21 and DePaul with 23.  It wasn’t until the third quarter though, when DePaul would really begin to pull away.  DePaul outscored the Bulldogs by seen in the quarter, highlighted by two threes from Ashton Millender within 40 seconds of each other and Tanita Allen hitting a three, then a layup then an emphatic rejection of a shot from Butler’s Michelle Weaver with 30 seconds left in the quarter.  Up 17 though, Bruno said the game was not over.

“[The lead] was ten at halftime, I think they cut it to nine.  We didn’t start to pull away until it was 17 in the third quarter,” Bruno said. “Bit it’s still just 17 and this team came back from 15 against Marquette the other night…that’s something I think our team is getting better at, is maintaining leads.”

Maintain they would.  Even better, they would get the lead up to 24 with three minutes left in the game.  The Demons finished the game with six players in double figures (the seventh time they have accomplished that feat this season) led by 20 from Mart’e Grays and Millender.  Whitney Jennings and Tori Scheckel led Butler with 18 and 17 points respectively.  This game also marked the end of a stretch of four games in eight nights for DePaul.

“We knew it was going to be tough, but at the same time we just had to keep our edge on and focus on taking it one game in a row.  That’s what we did, and the outcome was great,” said Grays.

The Demons next game will be on the road against Villanova on the 19th.  Villanova is 14-3 overall and 4-3 in conference.