On senior night at McGrath-Phillips Arena, DePaul women’s head coach Doug Bruno switched up the usual starting line up by giving seniors Kelsey Reynolds and Kelsey Smith the start in place of Megan Rogowski and Megan Podkowa.
By all accounts, they were the same old Blue Demons. It was another excellent performance.
No. 25 ranked DePaul cruised to a 91-74 victory over Georgetown Tuesday in the final game of the season. Rogowski scored 21 points and senior Jasmine Penny added 17 to lead DePaul.
“This was a tough game on the players because it’s hard to play a game when you know you have clinched (the Big East),” Bruno said. “I give them a little bit of slack, but we did some really good things tonight.”
DePaul (24-6, 14-3) raced out to a 7-0 lead in the first seven minutes, which set the tempo of the game. The Blue Demons’ defense forced nine early turnovers and 24 on the night.
Georgetown (10-20, 4-14) fought back, however, and kept it close throughout the first half. The closest the Hoyas got was within two, trailing 22-20 with 10 minutes left in the first. Natalie Butler led the Hoyas with 15 points and 13 rebounds.
DePaul went into halftime with a 47-36 lead. The Blue Demons made a series of 3-pointers to expand the team’s lead. They finished the half shooting 33 percent (8-24) from downtown.
In the second half, DePaul broke the game open. Penny scored 12 of her 17 points in the second half. She exited to a standing ovation with two minutes left in the game.
“I can’t believe it was my last game here,” Penny said. “I’m glad we got the win and I was able to play with these amazing players.”
Brittany Hrynko, who was voted ESPN W’s player of the week last week, had another strong game with 10 assists and a season-high seven steals.
Afterwards, the Blue Demons cut down the nets to celebrate their regular season Big East title. They clinched the award on Saturday with a win over St. John’s and with Creighton losing to Marquette.
DePaul will now get ready to compete in the Big East tournament on Sunday in Rosemont, Ill. at Allstate Arena. They will play the winner between Xavier and Georgetown at 6 p.m.
“We have to understand that this is the beginning,” Bruno said. “This is the floor, not the ceiling.”
