A first half 14-2 run and solid second half play was all that was needed to propel DePaul to a 91-65 win over the Villanova Wildcats.
The Blue Demons took the game to the Wildcats hard early on in the first half and continued to extend their lead throughout the game.
“I’m proud of us getting a good, solid Big East win against a good, solid Big East team,” Head Coach Doug Bruno said after the game.
Before the game, freshman Maddie Crowell took the Oath of Enlistment for the United States Army as she earned an ROTC scholarship for DePaul. She received a large ovation from the crowd as she officially enlisted to serve her country.
At the start of the game neither team had many problems getting shots off inside the paint, shooting a collective 13 shots inside in the first four minutes of the half. Villanova lead 6-4 at the timeout but following the break the Blue Demons went on a 7-2 run and lead 11-8 at the next media timeout with 11:59 to go in the half.
The run didn’t stop there as the Demons added a 7-0 run after the timeout to take their lead to 18-8. The Wildcats were forced to take their first timeout as the Demons earned a comfortable early lead with ten minutes to go in the half.
The Wildcats calmed down after the media timeout and started to chip away at the DePaul lead, bringing it down to 28-22 with five minutes to go. However, after a three-pointer from Chanise Jenkins and a three-point play from Megan Rogowski, the Demons’ lead was back to ten.
DePaul continued to extend their lead as the half wore down, bringing it to 40-26 as the buzzer sounded. Brittany Hrynko led the Demons with nine points and Wildcat senior Devon Kane put in 12 points and four rebounds.
Despite the 14 point lead, the Demons came out with fire and tried to extend the lead as much as possible.
“At halftime, coach always talks about how it’s a 0-0 game,” Brittany Hrynko said. “It’s just us starting from the beginning.”
Hrynko ended up scoring 11 of her game leading 20 points in the second half.
The Demons continued to score well in the second half after a sloppy start from both teams. A three from Rogowski and an excellent layup from Jessica January were two of the plays that brought the Demons’ lead to 56-37 with 13:30 to go in the game.
Momentum kept swinging the Demons’ way as the game wore down. Brittany Hrynko and Megan Rogowski kept switching back and forth over the leading scorer position. When Head Coach Doug Bruno took his starters out late in the second half Hrynko had the advantage with 20 points, finishing as the game’s leading scorer.
The rout was on for the rest of the game with the Demons never allowing the lead to shrink below 18 points. When the clock finally ran out, the Demons had extended their lead to 26 points, finishing with a final score of 91-65.
DePaul improved to 4-2 in Big East play and 13-5 overall. The win also pushed them up to third place in the Big East standings, leapfrogging the Wildcats who were previously in third place. Villanova fell to 3-3 in the Big East and 13-4 overall.