On a snowy Sunday afternoon at Wintrust Arena, the only heat — outside of the pre-game pyrotechnics — came from the DePaul Blue Demons’ offense, which finished with 75 or more points for the third time in five games, a stretch that features both of their two wins within Big East play.

Much of the offensive output came from the hands of sophomore guard Devin Hagemann and junior guard Kate Novik, who combined for 33 total points. Novik’s 17 and 10 rebounds helped her record her fourth double-double of the season, while Hagemann’s 16, a new season-high, was heavily aided by her four for five shooting performance from deep.

“My coaches been telling me to shoot when I’m open, and my teammates trust me,” Hagemann said on her productive night from beyond the arc. “My coaches know what I can do, and I feel like I wasn’t doing that at the beginning of the season. Now I’m playing better.”

The win marks the fourth time in five games that Hagemann has recorded at least three made three-pointers, and she now leads her team with 20 made threes on the year.

Novik’s similarly productive offensive night was well complimented by her team-high five steals and a defensive presence that she also attributes to her coaches.

“I want to give credit to coach Jill,” Novik said postgame. “She’s really hard on us on every practice. We work really hard on our pressure to let us get a lot of steals, and we put a lot of ball pressure because we know they want to shoot threes, they don’t like pressure, and it just helps that they get tired.”

Novik’s steal total matched her season-high against Marquette on Dec. 4, and while the Blue Demons will get another crack at the Golden Eagles later this week, the win against Creighton not only served as revenge from a Dec. 20 loss in Omaha, Neb., but it also goes to show how far the team has come over the past month.

“It shows that we’re better than our record, we’re building every game at a time, every possession at a time,” Hagemann said of her team’s progress. “Now that we’re in the second round of the Big East, we have a feel for everybody, and we’re about to play our best basketball.”

Coach Pizzotti was similarly pleased with the growth that her team has shown, especially when it came to their “energy, effort and execution.”

“It’s a great win for our ladies,” Pizzotti said. “To watch our ladies really get after it on the defensive end of the floor, that was key. Rebounding was key. … I just loved the fight in our girls today.”

It was a meaningful game for the Blue Demons, not only because they were able to double their Big East wins on the season, but also because both teams took part in remembering and honoring former women’s college basketball coach and breast cancer survivor Kay Yow. Yow, who served as the head coach of North Carolina State from 1975 until her passing in 2009, enjoyed a storied coaching career in the collegiate and Olympic ranks, and is the inspiration behind the Kay Yow Cancer Fund, a benefit for those with breast cancer. To honor her memory, both teams wore pink shirts that featured some of her sayings, with DePaul wearing special uniforms and shoes that featured the symbolic hue now synonymous with breast cancer research and awareness.

“We spent time last night showing (the players) a video of coach Yow, and I had the privilege of getting to know coach Yow quite a bit during my time at Nike. To be able to relay to our team the importance of women taking care of themselves, taking care of their health, how much breast cancer is still a challenge, we talked about, given the staff and the players in the room yesterday, five or six of us are going to have cancer based on the numbers,” Pizzotti said.

“Coach Yow was an unbelievable woman, an unbelievable woman of faith. She battled breast cancer three times, and in her final battle, she wanted to unite the coaches all across the country to come together and fight women’s cancers. The Kay Yow Cancer Fund was created through the help with Nike and the women’s basketball coach association, and coach Yow didn’t even want to put her name it on, we had to convince her to put her name on it,” Pizzottii said, noting that the fund aids in providing mammograms and other resources to those who would otherwise be unable to afford the expensive medical care necessary to battle women’s cancers.

Graduate forward Michelle Ojo, who recorded four points and a pair of rebounds in the win, was named a Kay Yow Servant Leader for her contributions to her community earlier this season.

“Michelle certainly deserves to be a servant leader,” Pizzotti said. “She’s a young woman who gives up her time quite a bit in the Lincoln Park community and doesn’t tell anyone about it. She just goes and helps, so she was certainly deserving of that and coach Yow would be proud of Michelle Ojo.”

DePaul’s next outing comes Wednesday at Marquette. The Golden Eagles beat the Blue Demons 85-54 earlier this season, and like they did versus Creighton today, DePaul will be looking to avenge that earlier loss in the back half of their conference schedule. The Blue Demons’ next home game comes on Wednesday, Feb. 4 against the number one ranked UConn Huskies.

After starting 1-9 in Big East play, the DePaul Blue Demons have earned their second conference win of the season thanks to a 15-point takedown against the Creighton Blue Jays, the same team who beat DePaul by 20 points a little over a month ago.

The Blue Demons were led offensively by Kate Novik and Devin Hagemann, who picked up 17 and 16 points, respectively. Novik also totaled 10 rebounds and five steals, both team highs, en route to earning her fourth double-double of the season. Hagemann’s 16 points, a new season high, came in large part from her play from beyond the arc. Going four for five from deep, Hagemann joined Aizhanique Mayo as the only players to make a three-pointer, as the team went 6-18 from downtown.

Forwards Michelle Ojo and Meg Newman combined for 12 points and 12 total rebounds, with Newman herself bringing down 10 boards, tied with Novik for the most on the team.

As a team, the Blue Demons were able to out-rebounds (42 to 35) and out-assist (19 to 15) their opponent in the 15-point win, their largest margin of victory in the conference since a 66-43 win against Butler last season.

With just under four minutes remaining, DePaul’s full-court defense was trouble enough to force a shot clock violation from the visitors, which ultimately led to a sky-hook make from Ally Timm with time expiring on the possession. After forcing a missed shot from deep, the Blue Demons got the ball with a 15-point lead. Despite a Meg Newman offensive rebound, the possession proved fruitless, but on their next trip down the court, the offense slowed down, leading to an Alayna West-made layup off of Newman’s assist. With about 100 seconds remaining, the Blue Demons’ have widened their lead at 76-59, and seem to be on the brink of picking up their second conference win of the season.

Coming out of a timeout, Kate Novik was able to get under the basket and put up an athletic layup attempt for her seventh basket of the game. Novik’s defensive rebound on the Blue Jays’ subsequent possession ultimately made its way to Aizhanique Mayo, who knocked down a three-pointer from the corner, her second of the day on as many attempts.

Another defensive stop on the next possession resulted in a third attempt from deep from Mayo, and while the shot did not land, DePaul was able to step up defensively and prevent Creighton from capitalizing. Still, after stopping the Blue Demons on offense, Creighton made a corner three of their own to cut the Blue Demons’ lead to single digits with just under five minutes to play.

After the Blue Demons and Blue Jays traded missed shots on both ends of the court, Devin Hagemann stopped the scoring draught with her fourth made three-pointer on as many attempts, upping her point total to a game-high 16. Hagemann, who also came down a defensive rebound on the previous possession, has already eclipsed her season-high total of 13 against Seton Hall a week ago, and is proving to be one of the team’s most dangerous players from behind the three-point line. DePaul leads 63-54 with seven and a half minutes left in the game.

After exiting halftime with a 44-31 lead, the game is currently much closer heading into the fourth quarter with DePaul holding onto a four point lead. Kate Novik is currently leading the Blue Demons with 15 points, five assists and five steals. Meg Newman’s six rebounds, five of which have come on the defensive end, are the most for the home team, who is still averaging an efficient 51% average from the floor. Thee fourth quarter is now underway, with DePaul leading 58-54.

Aizhanique Mayo’s made three-pointer gave her team an 11-point lead with about three minutes remaining in the third quarter, but the story has been DePaul’s performance on the other end of the court. Mayo’s shot was sandwiched between two straight possessions in which the Blue Demons forced an offensive foul out of Creighton, the latter of which ultimately led to a Meg Newman two pointer just outside of the paint. After finally allowing a layup down low, the Blue Demons could not convert on the other end despite Alayna West following her missed three-pointer to pick up the offensive rebound. Even with the missed shot, DePaul is still holding onto a 58-51 lead with just under a minute to play in the third quarter.

Kate Novik was able to score a mid-ranger despite a shooting foul, and while her and-one attempt was ultimately off, the ball came back to her and she was able to find Devin Hagemann beyond the arc. Hagemann knocked down the shot, her third from deep on as many attempts, to give her team a 53-43 lead with 4:20 remaining in the third quarter.

Despite being out-scored by three points in the third quarter, the Blue Demons are still holding onto an efficient 57% average from the field, including a 3-7 performance from deep, with all of the makes coming from Hagemann.

Following the Blue Jays’ trip to the free throw line, which netted two total points, Ally Timm was able to answer with a turnaround jumper which got the shooter’s touch to fall for two points of her own. Natiah Nelson was unable to protect the ball down low against sticky defense on the following possession, but she was able to force her way to the line in her next attempt, ultimately resulting in no points on two attempts. The Blue Jays were unable to convert a three-pointer on the other end, but a put-back offensive rebound got them to 40 total points and within eight of the Blue Demons. So far in the second half, the Blue Jays have been on a 9-4 run about halfway through the third quarter.

Kate Novik picked up where she left off in the first half, earning her fifth steal of the game which she took coast-to-coast to up her team-high total to 13 points. Novik’s miss on the subsequent possession ultimately resulted in a foul by Creighton on the rebound attempt, but as the Blue Demons’ took the ball out of bounds from the baseline, a moving screen violation against Novik gave the ball back to the Blue Jays with a little over seven and a half minutes to play. DePaul leads 46-35.

DePaul enjoyed a strong end to the second quarter, including a Kate Novik steal, her fourth of the night, which she tossed down court to Shakara McCline. McCline converted the easy layup, her second of the half, to give her team a 13-point lead heading into the break.

So far, the Blue Demons have been efficient on offense, highlighted by a 58% scoring average from the floor. Their defense has been on par, if not better, thanks to 10 total forced turnovers, including Novik’s four, which leads the team. The Belarusian guard also leads the team with 11 points, followed closely by Natiah Nelson’s 10.

All of the Blue Demons’ scoring from deep has come from Devin Hagemann, who has knocked down both of her attempts from beyond the arc.

DePaul has seemed to be the better team on the court against a team that beat them by 20-points just over a month ago when the Blue Demons visited Omaha, Neb.

After allowing a made three-pointer defensively, the Blue Demons got a strong effort on the subsequent possession, highlighted by Ally Timm taking a charge to eventually set up Meg Newman with a simple jumper attempt in front of the basket which she converted for her first points of the night. After Devin Hagemann came down with the defensive rebound on the other end of the court, Natiah Nelson hit a layup to lift her total on the night to 10 points, giving her team a 12-point lead. With the Blue Jays hitting a three-pointer on the other end, DePaul is up 36-27 with about three minutes remaining in the first half.

Following a Devin Hagemann-made three-pointer, her second of the night, the Blue Demons were able to extend their lead to 10 points before allowing a deep two-pointer on the other end. Hagemann refused to cool down, however, and hit a pull-up on the subsequent possession to put her team back up 32-22. Hagemann is responsible for both of her team’s makes from deep, and her eight total points are tied for the second most on the team along with Natiah Nelson, and just one behind Kate Novik’s nine.

Starting the quarter off with back-to-back makes by Natiah Nelson — who also came up with a big defensive rebound — the Blue Demons have extended their lead to seven points early in the second quarter. Their defense has remained tight early on, including forcing a shot clock violation on Creighton’s most recent possession. Through just over 12 minutes of play, they have forced six turnovers on defense. DePaul leads 27-20.

With Alayna West converting one of two free throw attempts and turning a steal into an easy transition layup, the Blue Demons set themselves up to take the final shot of the first quarter. A driving attempt by Michelle Ojo went in and gave her team a five point edge after a first quarter that featured 18 points in the paint and nine off of turnovers. DePaul is up 23-18 after one.

After allowing a three-pointer out of the timeout, the Blue Demons have had trouble with fouling, committing a traveling violation on offense and a blocking foul on the subsequent defensive possession. Not to be outdone, the Blue Jays committed a shooting foul of their own after Kate Novik took a steal to the basket, converting the opportunity for the old-fashioned three-point play. Novik picked off another pass on the following possession, but a feed out to Ally Timm ultimately proved to be fruitless. Despite allowing a three on the other end, the Blue Demons have been sound defensively, and currently carry a 16-14 lead deep into the first quarter.

After losing the opening tip, the Blue Demons have gotten the better of Creighton offensively, knocking in 13 total points, including 10 from within the paint. With three attempts from beyond the arc, Devin Hagemann’s make serves as the only conversion for the home team asa they enter a timeout with a 13-8 lead and about four and a half minutes remaining in the opening frame.

The DePaul Blue Demons are about to get their 11th Big East game started, with the team beginning with following lineup:

• G Gina Davorija (Fr.)
• G Devin Hagemann (So.)
• G. Natiah Nelson (So.)
• G Kate Novik (Jr.)
• F Michelle Ojo (Gr.)

Creighton will start the game with the following lineup:

• G Kennedy Townsend (Sr.)
• G Allison Heathcock (So.)
• G Neleigh Gessert (Fr.)
• G Ava Zediker (Fr.)
• F Grace Boffeli (Gr.)

The game starts now.