Despite holding on to a sizable lead throughout the first half, the DePaul Blue Demons were ultimately unable to stick around through the final 35 minutes of game time, falling to the Providence Friars in the first round of the Big East tournament by a score of 69-55.

Guard Kate Novik, who was the Blue Demons’ leading scorer, assister and rebounder throughout the regular season, led the charge with 13 points. Forward Michelle Ojo served as the only other DePaul player to reach double-digit points with 10, but Devin Hagemann and Natiah Nelson were close behind with nine apiece.

Forward Meg Newman finished the game with the most rebounds by a Blue Demon with six, three of which were on the offensive end. Novik, Hagemann and Ally Timm all tied for a team high of three assists.

Nonetheless, Providence proved to be the more efficient team on offense, averaging 48% from the field and 45% from deep, a stark contrast compared to DePaul’s 33% and 28% rates, respectively. While the Blue Demons were able to come down with five more offensive rebounds, the Friars still won the rebound differential by three boards while also scoring just one fewer second chance point.

Despite the rebounding battle being fairly even, the Friars were able to score much easier down low, thanks in large part to forward Teneisia Brown, who recorded a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds en route to helping her squad put up 48 points in the paint to DePaul’s 32. Providence’s leading scorer throughout the season Sabou Gueye led the way against DePaul with 31 points, good for her best single-game performance of the season. In fact, it marked the first time that a Friar eclipsed the 30 point total all season.

The majority of the damage from the Friars came between the second and third quarters, where Providence answered DePaul’s 7-0 run with a 20-3 run of their own, ultimately proving to be more than enough to push them to their 14-point victory.

Notably, Providence head coach Erin Batth was unable to coach against DePaul due to an illness, which forced assistant coach Valerie Nainima to take the reigns on the Friars’ sideline.

In their third look at the Friars this season, DePaul was unable to avenge either of their two regular season losses against the team, allowing the same 69 points that Providence put up in their first meeting back on Jan. 4. DePaul’s 55 points today marked the lowest total they scored against the Friars in any of their matchups this season, and the Blue Demons’ lowest total since an 86-40 loss to Connecticut on Feb. 4.

The loss marks the end of DePaul’s season and the third consecutive season that the Blue Demons have been unable to get out of the first round of the Big East tournament.

Playing with a 22-point deficit, the Blue Demons got back-to-back blocks down low to set up a transition possession, which Alayna West ultimately converted for a made layup. After forcing a shot clock violation on their next defensive look, the Blue Demons came up empty on the other end before allowing a transition layup of their own. West’s made three-pointer on the next possession fell, cutting the Friars’ lead to 19, but it was short lived as Providence converted a pick-and-roll layup to give themselves a 65-44 lead with five and a half minutes remaining in the game.

The Blue Demons were able to cut into Providence’s 15-point lead thanks to Natiah Nelson’s offensive rebound, which resulted in a foul on her ensuing shot attempt. Converting one of her two attempts, Nelson upped her game total to nine points, tied with Kate Novik for the most by a Blue Demon thus far. Nelson ultimately also had a look to hit a third quarter buzzer beater, but the shot did not fall, leaving DePaul with a 55-39 deficit to work back from when the fourth quarter gets underway.

Coming out of coach Jill M. Pizzotti’s timeout, Devin Hagemann hit a shot to cut into Providence’s double-digit lead while upping her total to eight points. After committing a foul on the defensive end, DePaul allowed a layup, letting Providence re-extend their lead to 10 before Natiah Nelson came down with a short range bucket of her own. After another timeout, Kate Novik made one of her two free throw attempts off of a shooting foul. Providence was able to answer after a lengthy possession that featured a made put-back attempt. Following DePaul’s miss on the other end, the Friars were the beneficiary of a wide-open paint look in transition, which was following up quickly by a made layup in transition after a steal. With two minutes left in the third quarter, Providence is surging with a 53-38 lead.

After not finishing the first half on the court, Michelle Ojo has returned to her normal starting role, where she knocked down the Blue Demons’ first, and so far only, make of the second half. The Blue Demons were able to force several missed shots from the previously red-hot Providence offense. Still, a made second-chance three-pointer by the Friars gave Providence a 43-33 lead with six and a half minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Despite carrying a seven point lead in the second quarter, the Blue Demons head to the locker room down five points after not scoring a field goal for the final six minutes of the first half. Kate Novik currently leads the effort with eight points, with Devin Hagemann, Ally Timm and Natiah Nelson close behind with six points each. Hagemann and Timm have each hit two shots from deep, with Timm’s coming on back-to-back attempts, but while both teams have hit four shots from beyond the arc, Providence has done so on six attempts compared to DePaul’s 10 attempts.

Offensively, the Blue Demons have struggled to play clean, resulting in 10 total turnovers, which have netted nine points on the other end for Providence. The rebounding was nearly even throughout the first half, although DePaul was able to gain six more second chance points than the Friars.

Notable in the rebounding effort is the absence of Michelle Ojo, the Blue Demons’ regular starting forward. With Meg Newman playing the majority of the first half and reserve forward Justis Odom earning playing time to end the second quarter, it will be important to see if Ojo is able to return to the court out of the break.

After allowing allowing an 11-0 run out of timeout, the Blue Demons faced a four-point deficit with about two minutes remaining in the first half. A pick and roll between Kate Novik and Meg Newman eventually stopped the bleeding, as Newman was fouled down low to earn a trip to the line. Shooting into the Providence student section, Newman hit the first of her two shots to cut Providence’s lead and quiet their momentum. It did not last long, however, as Providence converted a second-chance possession to extend their lead. The Friars were unable to hit a shot on their first-half-expiring possession, but still go to the locker room with a 36-31 edge through 20 minutes.

An offensive rebound by Kate Novik kept DePaul’s opening possession of the second quarter alive, and Novik herself eventually finished the possession with a bucket to give her team a two point edge. Providence was able to convert a tough layup on the other end to earn both the basket and a trip to the line, which eventually proved fruitless. Natiah Nelson answered with a low block bank-shot for her second make of the night. On defense, Alayna West came up with a big block, but after turning the ball over in transition, the Blue Demons allowed a three-pointer to let Providence retake the lead. Nelson scored another layup and then came up with the defensive rebound to set up Ally Timm from deep. Timm converted despite getting fouled. She missed the shot from the stripe, but Novik’s offensive rebound set the Blue Demons up with a fresh shot clock, where Timm again hit an open shot from deep to give her team a 30-23 lead with six minutes remaining in the second quarter.

Coming out of timeout, the Blue Demons could not get a good look at the bucket, and ultimately had a shot-clock violation after Kate Novik was forced to throw up a shot, but after a good defensive stop, Meg Newman’s offensive rebound set up Devin Hagemann from deep, where she buried her second three of the day to give her team a two point edge. On the final possession of the first quarter, Providence’s layup attempt bounced around the rim before eventually falling through the net to tie the game at 18 points apiece as time expired in the opening frame.

Consecutive buckets by Natiah Nelson and Kate Novik brought the Blue Demons’ lead back up to three-points following a run of Providence made shots, but the Friars eventually converted their first three-pointer of the game to earn their first lead of the game. Novik answered quickly down low to tie the game back up at 13 apiece, but the Friars drained another shot from deep on their next trip down the court to stay hot from long range. A full-court pass on DePaul’s inbound went to Meg Newman, who converted a tough layup to cut Providence’s lead to 16-15 with two and a half minutes remaining in the first quarter.

After winning possession of the opening tip, the Blue Demons strike first thanks to a turn-around jumper from Michelle Ojo. Providence couldn’t respond on any of their first four shots, which featured a DePaul turnover and a missed attempt in between, before Kate Novik found the bottom of the bucket with a stop and go layup attempt. Providence eventually hit back-to-back attempts to tie the game at four before Devin Hagemann made the first three-pointer of the game to put the Blue Demons up 7-4 four minutes into the game.

The Blue Demons are moments away from tipping off their Big East tournament run, with the following group set to start the game for DePaul:

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

The Providence Friars will begin the game with the following lineup:

• G Sabou Gueye (Gr.)
• G Orlagh Gormley (So.)
• G Payton Dunbar (So.)
• F Nalani Kaysia (Gr.)
• F Teneisia Brown (Gr.)

The game starts NOW!

Lean on Kate Novik’s Offensive Prowess

Junior guard Kate Novik has been one of the main cogs in DePaul’s offensive game plan, and that cannot stop heading into post-season play.

After leading her team in points, assists and rebounds throughout the regular season, Novik was named an All-Big East second team honoree after serving as her team’s leading scorer in eight of their 20 conference games, including in four of their five Big East victories. In the Blue Demons’ second matchup versus the Friars, Novik dropped a season-high 23 points which, despite the loss, serves as the single-game season-high for a DePaul player within Big East play. 

The Blue Demons have moved Novik up and down their lineup, and she has comfortably landed in a guard-forward combo spot that allows her to produce inside and outside of the three-point line. To beat Providence for the first time this year, DePaul may need another high scoring performance from their offensive leader in her first trip to the Big East tournament. 

Limit Sabou Gueye’s Impact

Like Novik, Providence guard Sabou Gueye is the heavy-hitter for the Friars’ offense. The 5’9” Senegal native currently leads her team with 15 points and six rebounds per game, all while shooting just under 49% from the field. 

Gueye led her squad in scoring in 14 of the Friars’ 20 Big East games, including a 17-point showing in their first of two wins versus the Blue Demons. In Providence’s four-game win streak from Feb. 8 through their Feb. 18 win versus DePaul, Gueye recorded a team-high point total all but once. Included in that stretch was a 29-point performance in Providence’s win over Xavier, the most by a Friar this season.

DePaul’s 72.4 points allowed per game are the most in the Big East, so the conditions may be right for Gueye to have another strong showing versus the Blue Demons. To be victorious, DePaul may have to try to cap Gueye’s production to a more reasonable total. 

Be Efficient from Deep

With their one-forward lineup, the Blue Demons look to space the floor and play fast in transition, but they will have to capitalize from deep to make up for the size differential. 

Across their five Big East victories, the Blue Demons have converted less than 30% of their shots from deep once, coming in their 72-68 win over St. John’s on Feb. 2, where they shot 20%. Over their last seven conference losses, however, they have surpassed 33% efficiency from three once, coming in a 73-67 loss to Butler on Jan. 21, where they shot 41% from deep.

On the season, the Blue Demons have been the third-least efficient team from deep with a team-wide 29% average while hitting six three-pointers per game. If they can increase their efficiency against a Providence defense that ranks in the middle of the Big East in points per game, DePaul could get over the hump against a team that has beaten them twice already by a combined 16 points. 

Win the Battle of the Boards

The Blue Demons have out-rebounded their opponent in all five of their conference victories this season, and that trend may have to continue to advance to the second round of the tournament today. 

Throughout the regular season, DePaul was one of four teams in the conference to average less 35 rebounds per game, but their 14.1 offensive rebounds per game rank first ahead of Georgetown’s 13.5 and Providence’s 12.1. They still hold onto the second-worst rebound differential in the conference, but that margin has been nearly even over their 10 most-recent outings.

The offensive rebounding has been an asset for the team over the back-half of the season as the Blue Demons have earned second and even third chances to score on their opponents’ end of the court. Extending possessions on the glass and stopping Providence from getting more looks could be another way for a high-tempo offense like DePaul’s to maintain control of the game speed in today’s showdown.