The DePaul women’s basketball team faced off against the Marquette Golden Eagles and were defeated 59-78. Marquette came into this game with a 8-3 record and they had not played a Big East opponent yet. 

The Blue Demons had a slow start in the first half, only scoring 27 points. They were 3 of 23 in the first quarter and scored eight points. 

This is the sixth time this season where the Blue Demons have scored 30 points or less in the first half. All six of those games ended in losses. 

“It’s hard on players, when you shoot the ball and it’s not going in,” interim head coach Jill Pizzotti said. “We shot the ball incredibly well this morning in shoot around. I’m sure it was very frustrating for them to not have their shot go in, and you gotta be able to overcome that mentally.”

DePaul graduate forward Jorie Allen committed four fouls in the game, two within the first few minutes of the game. She sat out for most of the first half due to those fouls and only played 23 total minutes, compared to her average of 31 minutes.

Even though Allen was the highest scorer in today’s game with 24 points, she scored all of those points in the second half. 

“I knew I was going to come out in the second half and just be really aggressive,” Allen said. “Bring a lot of energy, bring a lot of hustle. I was proud of our effort in the second half, my girls always go to war for me, even if it’s not pretty at times.”

Alongside Allen, redshirt junior Meg Newman scored 10 points and 8 rebounds. Junior Taylor Johnson-Matthews got her first double-double of the season, scoring 19 points and 10 rebounds.

Allen, Newman and Johnson-Matthews scored a combined 53 points, while the rest of the team only scored six points. 

Marquette made 50.8% of their field goals, the fifth game this season they have made 50% or more of their field goals. All of those games ended with a win. 

Another contributor to DePaul’s loss was their 20 turnovers, which led to 22 Marquette points off of those turnovers. The Golden Eagles had 16 turnovers, but the Blue Demons only made 11 points off of those turnovers. 

“We’ve had a tendency to be careless, especially after getting a steal,” Pizzotti said. “We just move too quickly. We want to be quick, but we don’t want to be in a hurry. Being in a hurry has led to turnovers.”

Even though the game ended in a loss, Allen keeps a positive mindset.

“The effort and energy is always there, and the want is always there,” Allen said. “It’s just a matter of executing, keeping our composure and making our shots. Unfortunately, things didn’t go our way today, but there’s a lot of basketball left to play in this season.” 

The next DePaul women’s basketball game is Thursday, Jan. 2 at 6 p.m. at Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, against Xavier.

Related Stories:

• DePaul women’s basketball secures a win against Butler in Big East opener 
• DePaul women’s basketball enters Big East play trying to find their shot 
• DePaul receives $2.5 million donation for new basketball facility

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