DePaul women’s basketball picked up a pair of early conference road wins this past week, beating Georgetown and Marquette in lopsided wins.
DePaul (11-5, 3-1 Big East) cracked the 100-point mark in both games, beating Georgetown 105-85 on Jan. 4 and Marquette 101-67 on Friday. The Blue Demons answered back strong after being upset 76-73 in overtime at Villanova Jan. 2.
Against Marquette (4-11, 0-4), all 11 active players saw game action. Sophomore guard Jessica January led all scorers with 19 points in 20 minutes of action, but it was a solid team performance all around. Three more Blue Demons finished the night in double figures with forward Megan Podkowa logging 17 points, forward Mart’e Grays adding 14 and forward Brooke Schulte chipping in 11.
It was an impressive performance for the Blue Demons, who forced 26 turnovers and dominated their Big East rivals. Guard Chanise Jenkins accounted for 10 of DePaul’s 22 assists on 37 baskets.
At Georgetown (4-12, 2-2), it was the Brittany Hrynko show. Hrynko had a career-high 38 points, going 15-28 from the field and knocking down five 3-pointers. Hrynko’s 38 came after dropping 29 points on Villanova in the team’s upset loss to the Wildcats. She’s scored at least 20 points in her last three games.
Hrynko leads not only her team, but the whole Big East conference with 20 points per game. The senior guard was also named Big East Player of the Week last week. Rapper and former “DeGrassi” star Drake was seen on Instagram on Thursday wearing a DePaul hoodie with Hrynko’s name and jersey number stitched on the back.
The Blue Demons are in a four-way tie for first place in the Big East, tied with Seton Hall, Villanova and St. John’s. DePaul, who was previously ranked in The Associated Press’ top 25 poll, lost their No. 25 ranking when they lost to Villanova.
DePaul hadn’t played a game at home since Dec. 22, traveling since Dec. 28 at Illinois State. The Blue Demons returned to McGrath-Phillips Arena Sunday with an 84-61 win against Xavier.
Starting Friday at St. John’s, the Blue Demons return to the road for two games against two of the best teams in the conference. After the Red Storm, the Blue Demons then face a quick turnaround at Seton Hall Sunday.