After hitting a layup to give her team a one-point lead, forward Meg Newman hauled in the defensive rebound and found Kate Novik on the outlet pass to drain clock. Georgetown committed a pair of fouls to try to get the ball back with some time remaining, but DePaul has been surgical in their late game execution, refusing to turn the ball over or put it in harms way.

With seven seconds remaining, Kate Novik inbounded the ball to Aizhanique Mayo, who was quickly fouled and sent to the free throw line, where she converted both of her two attempts to give her team a three point edge with under five seconds remaining. That difference proved to be enough, as Georgetown’s final effort goes scoreless, giving DePaul a 80-77 win, their first of the season in the Big East.

With 30 seconds left, Georgetown’s trip to the free-throw turned a one-point advantage for the Blue Demons into a one-point deficient. Coach Jill M. Pizzotti called a timeout to help her team regroup in the game’s final moments, and on the subsequent possession, forward Meg Newman found open space down low to put up a go-ahead layup with the Hoyas calling a timeout in response. The Blue Demons still have two team fouls to give should they choose to use them, but right now, they are 22 seconds away from their first conference win of the season.

Coming out of their timeout, Aizhanique Mayo nailed her three-point attempt from the corner to give her team a one-point lead. The Hoyas responded with a make of their, reclaiming their own one-point lead, but with 38 seconds remaining, DePaul has the opportunity to reclaim their advantage.

Down two points with less than a minute to play, Natiah Nelson forces yet another turnover to give her team life. The Blue Demons were unable to convert despite a pair of offensive rebounds from Meg Newman, but DePaul retains possession following a quick break with 53.6 seconds remaining down 73-71

Aizhanique Mayo, playing in her first game in nearly two months, drilled a corner three-pointer to bring DePaul within three points halfway through the fourth quarter. After a quick Georgetown bucket, Natiah Nelson answered with a jumper of her own before snagging a defensive rebound that shut down the Hoyas’ scoring effort.

Nelson’s tough defense is infectious for her squad, with Alayna West forcing a turnover on the team’s subsequent defensive possession, ultimately leading to a Devin Hagemann game-tying three-pointer with three minutes remaining. Hagemann remains productive from deep, knocking in three of her four attempts.

DePaul’s 6-2 run early in the fourth quarter has them down by four points just a little over two minutes into the game’s final quarter, capped off by a Natiah Nelson steal and layup in transition before a Georgetown timeout. Meg Newman made jumper from the elbow and a pair of Kate Novik free throws rounds out the Blue Demons’ scoring in the period as the team quickly finds themselves right back in the game after trailing by ten points near the end of the third quarter.

Nelson’s 12 points trail only Novik’s 17 for the Blue Demons, but the former guard now leads the team with three total steals, a third of her team’s total.

Georgetown’s offense got hot to end the third quarter, and while the Hoyas were eventually able to take a 10-point lead, a Natiah Nelson put back layup in the frame’s final seconds cut the game to a 61-53 score heading into the fourth quarter.

Through three quarters, both teams carry fairly similar statistics, with some of the outliers including turnovers (DePaul’s 16 to Georgetown’s 12) and points in the paint (DePaul’s 18 to Georgetown’s 28).

The Blue Demons will need a run or two to close the eight point gap, but the team is playing with the energy necessary — both on the court and from the bench — to tighten the score down the stretch.

A trio of made free throw attempts has given Georgetown a 50-47 lead, and both teams have deployed full-court presses, with coach Jill M. Pizzotti calling a timeout in order to avoid a turnover or a jump-ball down three points. Out of the break, Meg Newman’s made layup in transition put the Blue Demons a point away from evening the score at 50, but Georgetown continues to be rewarded with trips to the line, most recently converting the first of two attempts before getting the ball back thanks to an offensive rebound on the missed shot from the line. A made three-pointer on the subsequent extended possession gave the Hoyas a 54-49 lead near the end of the third quarter.

Trailing by one point, Natiah Nelson manipulated the Hoyas’ defense in transition, pump-faking her defender to set up an easy attempt in the paint which she converted to give her team a 43-42 lead with just over six minutes remaining in the third quarter.

DePaul is on a 7-3 run to start the second half, fueled in large part by their energy on the defensive end where they have forced two turnovers. A pair of offensive rebounds led to a second-chance bucket, and as play continues, the Blue Demons have rolled out the same full-court press that Georgetown started the game with.

It did not take long for the Blue Demons to score their first points of the second half as Kate Novik knocked in two of her three free throw attempts after getting fouled on her shot attempt from the corner. The attempt was made possible by Natiah Nelson’s offensive rebound, her first of the day.

In similar fashion, the Hoyas earned a trip to the line following their own offensive rebound, converting one of two attempts, but a made three-pointer by Gina Davorija on the Blue Demons’ subsequent possession gave the team a 41-40 lead, marking the first time they have been in front since the seven minute mark in the first quarter

DePaul could not get points on their final possession of the first half, but sticky defense in the frame’s final seconds kept the Hoyas from getting a good look at the basket before the clock expired. The Blue Demons trail 39-36 with 15 minutes to regroup before taking the court again.

Kate Novik’s 13 points are responsible for over a third of DePaul’s scoring total, and she is the only player to score in double digits, with Devin Hagemann’s six points, which came on a pair of made three-pointers, serving as the team’s next-highest total. Natiah Nelson is leading the way on the defensive end with a block and a steal in just eight minutes of action, and Meg Newman’s three total rebounds account for a third of her team’s totals.

As a team, DePaul has scored 13 points off the bench, 12 points in the paint and 15 points off of eight forced turnovers. The Blue Demons have been energetic and efficient on both ends of the court, highlighted by a 56% shooting average from the floor and a 66.7% average from deep, but they must continue to convert in the second half to keep this game close down the stretch.

After intercepting an errant pass attempt, Kate Novik went coast to coast, finishing a tough layup attempt and converting the subsequent and-one free-throw at the line. Her three-point play capped off a 7-0 run that tied the game at 34 apiece, aided in part by a lengthy defensive possession in which the Blue Demons allowed zero points despite forfeiting two offensive rebounds by the Hoyas.

The run did not last long as Georgetown scored on back-to-back possessions, but a Justis Odom basket down low following Aizhanique Mayo’s first shot of the game cuts the Hoyas’ lead to 38-36.

At the halfway point of quarter number two, the Blue Demons trail 34-27, their largest deficit of the game thus far. DePaul has played with palpable energy on both ends of the court, and their shooting from deep has been more efficient (80%) early in the game.

Kate Novik and Devin Hagemann both have six points to their names, the most for the Blue Demons, and guard Aizhanique Mayo, who is playing in her first game since a Nov. 26 matchup against Loyola-Chicago, leads the team with a +3 on-court point differential.

DePaul successfully forced traveling violations on each of their first two defensive possessions of the second quarter before Georgetown’s Brianna Scott drilled a three-pointer to give her team a seven-point lead.

The Blue Demons’ scoring in the quarter started thanks to an athletic finish down low from Kate Novik and was followed up by a made Devin Hagemann three-point attempt, her second of the game. Her made shots account for half of the team’s points from long-range.

Less than four minutes into the second frame, DePaul trails 27-23

DePaul trails by four points heading into the second quarter, but a made open three point attempt by Aizhanique Mayo sends the Blue Demons into the break with a bit of momentum.

Seven players have scored for DePaul, with Kate Novik’s four points leading the way. Gina Davorija leads the team with two rebounds, both of which came on the defensive end of the court. As a team, the Blue Demons have made seven of their 13 attempts from the floor, including all three of their shots from deep. They will have to be more careful with the ball, having committed five turnovers already, but they have kept the Hoyas to just five points off of those possessions, the same total they have scored from their own created turnovers.

Ally Timm followed up her first made shot of the night, a three-pointer from the left elbow, with a rebound on the defensive end to bring here team within one-point of the Hoyas. A shooting foul called against Sumer Lee put Georgetown’s Khadee Hession at the line, where she converted one of her two attempts.

Georgetown then scored a layup after forcing a turnover in the paint, but Kate Novik provided a rebuttal with a made layup of her own. Timm, Novik and Natiah Nelson have been crucial to the team’s success on both ends of the court.

DePaul trails 17-12 with two minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Georgetown won the opening tip-off and quickly scored the first basket of the game, but the Blue Demons have been efficient offensively despite facing a full-court press. Devin Hagemann’s made three-pointer started the scoring for DePaul, with Natiah Nelson following the shot up with a make in the paint of her own.

Gina Davoriija is responsible for a pair of defensive rebounds, with Nelson rejecting a Georgetown shot attempt from down low.

DePaul trails 6-5 nearly halfway through the first quarter.

The DePaul Blue Demons are set to take the court against the visiting Georgetown Hoyas, with their starting lineup listed below:

• Freshman guard Gina Davorija
• Sophomore guard Devin Hagemann
• Sophomore guard Natiah Nelson
• Junior guard Kate Novik
• Graduate forward Meg Newman

Novik currently leads the team in points (11.8), rebounds (6.6) and assists (3.1) per game. Novik, Davorija, Hagemann and Newman have started all seven of the Blue Demons’ Big East matches this season.

The team is lead by head coach Jill M. Pizzotti, who has ditched her normal game day attire and is today donning a Walter Payton Chicago Bears jersey in anticipation of the team’s wild-card game later tonight.

The Hoyas’ starting lineup is as follows:

• Graduate guard Laila Jewett
• Sophomore guard Destiny Agubata
• Junior guard Khia Miller
• Graduate forward Briana Scott
• Graduate forward Chetanna Nweke