The DePaul women’s basketball team has had a lot of adjusting to do this season. They are juggling a fairly new team, a hard schedule and their head coach, Doug Bruno, is out due to an undisclosed medical incident. Despite the challenges, interim head coach Jill Pizzotti said how they are learning from these games. Pizzotti also said they hope Bruno will come back by Big East play. 

The Blue Demons finished their last non-conference game with a win against Southern University and A&M College on Dec. 17. They have played 13 regular season games so far, starting their season with a record of 5-8. 

This upcoming weekend, the DePaul women’s basketball team will be playing their first Big East opponent, the Butler Bulldogs, who are 10-3. 

DePaul’s schedule has been jam packed and difficult — their strength of schedule ranks 12 in the nation. They have played against AP-ranked teams No. 6 Texas, No. 10 Oklahoma and No. 13 Kansas State. They also played Big Ten schools like Michigan State and Northwestern. This was DePaul’s first loss to Northwestern since the 2014-15 season. 

A missing puzzle piece to DePaul’s team is Bruno. It has been more than two months since the announcement of Bruno’s undisclosed medical incident and Pizzotti said they keep in contact with him. 

“(Coach Bruno) came to practice this past Wednesday,” Pizzotti said after a win against UIC on Dec. 15. “I think that it was obviously really great for Coach, but it was really great for our players to be able to see him and talk with him. It was pretty special.”

The Blue Demons have averaged around 65 points per game, with graduate forward Jorie Allen leading the team. She has been averaging 19.3 points per game and she scored a career-high 27 points against UIC on Dec. 13.

Allen also hit a milestone of 1,000 career points against University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) on Dec. 15. 

“It feels really good, it took me a long time,” Allen said, laughing. “I’ve been so fortunate to have great coaches and teammates around me all six years I’ve been in college. It feels really good to hit that milestone and we’re just going to keep going.”

While Allen has started every game, there have been some changes to the lineup throughout the season and some shifts in minutes for different players. 

“We’re just trying to find baskets,” Pizzotti said. “We have three or four players struggling to find a basket. They’re not bad shots, they’re good shots that aren’t falling in. So then you try to find someone who’s going to make a basket.”

In the five games DePaul has won, they have shot 40% or better. In their losses by 20 points or more, they have shot 33% or worse. 

DePaul has also struggled making their three-point shots. They have made 29.3% of their three-point attempts this season. Junior guard Kate Clarke made 36.8% of her three-pointers last season, but she is currently out with a leg injury and there is no time table for her return. 

DePaul is a young team, with six freshmen and five sophomores. They also have two transfers, junior Taylor Johnson-Matthews and redshirt junior Meg Newman. 

Newman is leading the team in rebounds, averaging 7.7 rebounds per game. Johnson-Matthews is the second highest scorer, averaging 12.6 points per game. 

Johnson-Matthews has slowly been finding her groove in her shot making. She made five out of six of her three-pointers against Southern University and A&M College. She is also making 31.6% of her three-pointers.

“I just want to be the player my team needs me to be,” Johnson-Matthews said. “Get rebounds, shoot the ball, just be who they need me to be.”

Even though some games have not turned out how DePaul has wanted them to, Allen said how they always play as if it’s a 0-0 game. 

“We just try to stay positive and uplift each other,” Allen said. “We make sure we refocus on areas we need to get better at. We talk about moving the ball and really looking for each other.”

With a difficult schedule and competitive play, Pizzotti said that the Blue Demons have used this schedule to their advantage to improve their game.

“Playing against bigger, stronger, faster players is going to just make you better,” Pizzotti said. “As long as you learn from it and utilize it in your upcoming game.”

The Blue Demons will host the Bulldogs Saturday, Dec. 21 at 2 p.m. at Wintrust Arena.

Related Stories:

• Embracing the challenge and taking advantage of the opportunity: DePaul women’s basketball preview
• Jorie Allen’s journey back to DePaul
• Peyton’s Power Hour: DePaul women’s basketball — and Coach Bruno — deserve more recognition

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