The first game of the Jill Pizzotti-era was a blowout win for the Blue Demons, who dominated on both ends of the court, and few were more excited post-game than the new full-time head coach.
“I told the ladies that it was a great win, it was a great start to the season. It was really fun to watch them have fun,” Pizzotti said in her post-game press conference. “Tonight starts their legacy for the 2025-26 year, and I thought they did a great job getting it off to a great start.”
The scoring was led by Ally Timm’s 28 total points, which included eight made 3-pointers, tied for the second-highest single game mark in program history. Kate Novik, who finished as the Blue Demon’s second highest scoring behind a 19 point performance, made three of her six attempts from deep in her first game after transferring from Morehead State.
“Coach Jill always says ‘shoot it if you’re open’,” Timm said. “When I catch it and I’m open, I have the confidence to shoot it, and I know it’s going in.”
Natiah Nelson, the only other player with double digit points for DePaul, finished with a double-double, with seven of her 15 total rebounds coming on the offensive end. In total, DePaul forced 35 turnovers on defense and brought down 45 rebounds en route to their 38 point win in their home opener.
“Defense is kind of my thing, but as a team, we did awesome together,” Nelson said. “We pressed the whole game and we had very, very high energy the whole entire time. That’s something that coach Jill was very, very, very, very hard on us with.”
Between a high-flying offense and a stifling performance on the defensive end, DePaul outplayed their opponent for essentially the entire game, highlighted by a 44% shooting night from deep and three players who logged at least 5 points and 5 rebounds. In total, the team trailed for just 35 seconds the entire night.
The Blue Demons’ next game comes on Nov. 9 at 4 p.m., where they face UNLV on the road. Their next home game is on Nov. 17 at 11 a.m., where they will take on Northwestern.
