DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
Villanova
No. 24/24 DePaul Falls to Villanova
1/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Box Score 
CHICAGO - No. 24/24 DePaul ran up against one of the best players in the BIG EAST Conference on Sunday at McGrath-Phillips Arena and came out on the short end.
The Blue Demons fell 64-60 to Villanova as Caroline Coyer scored a game-high 25 points. It was DePaul's first conference loss and dropped its record to 12-6, 4-1 in the league. Chanise Jenkins led the Blue Demons with 19 points while Jessica January finished with 17 points and nine rebounds.
The loss snapped DePaul's four-game conference winning streak and was the first time Villanova has beaten the Blue Demons on their home court.
Coyer was on fire in the second half, hitting one perimeter shot after another. She scored the first 10 points for Villanova (10-6, 4-2) in the fourth quarter in staking the visiting team to a 53-45 lead. By that point, Coyer had 18 points in the second half and the Wildcat attack was simply to let her go one-on-one.
Jenkins connected on a three midway through the fourth quarter in cutting the deficit to 53-48. Ashton Millender's driving layup made it a three-point game.
Four Villanova free throws and a Samantha Wilkes layup upped the advantage to 59-50. Jenkins scored in reducing the deficit to seven. After a Wilkes foul shot, January converted a three-point play with 23.5 seconds left and DePaul trailed 60-55.
A Wildcat free throw made it 61-55 until Jenkins hit a pair of foul shots. After a pair of Villanova foul shots, Jenkins' three-pointer with 8.1 seconds on the clock made it 63-60.
"We just didn't have an answer for Coyer," said DePaul coach Doug Bruno. "They kept going to her, and she did a great job. Our defensive game plan was really solid. I know it doesn't look like that when one player goes off like she did.
"We've always had a good formula against Villanova as you can tell by previous games (DePaul leads the series 11-4). "We used it today, but this turned into a possession game, and they were able to out-possession us at key times. It also came down to us needing to score the ball more."
DePaul made 22 of its 57 shots for a 38.6 percentage from the floor. The Wildcats converted at a 45.8 percent clip.
The lead went back and forth in the third quarter with DePaul getting a three-point play from Jacqui Grant and baskets from Jenkins, Megan Podkowa and Brooke Schulte. Villanova ran a series of screens for Coyer designed to isolate the quick point guard against the Blue Demons' bigger players.
Another Coyer basket and a pair of Jordan Dillard free throws gave deliberate Villanova a 43-40 lead. Jenkins narrowed the margin to 43-41 with a foul shot just before the end of the quarter.
"When we were on defense, Villanova did a good job of making us come over the top," Bruno said. "We didn't identify it well enough and they made shots over the top.
"At the other end, they did a good job of protecting the basket and closing out. When we did get the ball to our post players, we didn't get it done."
Villanova took an early 11-6 lead from the opening tip with January scoring all six DePaul points. January made her first three shots while her teammates went 0-for-7 from the floor. Both teams combined to miss their first eight shots from beyond the arc. The Blue Demons wound up 3-of-19 from three-point range while Villanova was 3-of-15.
Six DePaul unanswered points brought the home team within 16-14 on a pair of Millender free throws. The Wildcats scored to end the first quarter with an 18-14 lead. The Blue Demons did not make a three-pointer in the first 10 minutes.
Down 20-14 early in the second quarter, DePaul went on a 9-2 run that included its first three-pointer (Mart'e Grays) to move in front 23-22. Villanova responded with four in a row and assumed a 26-23 advantage.
Baskets by Schulte and January gave DePaul a 27-26 lead, but Alex Louin's score down low allowed the Wildcats to head into halftime with a 28-27 lead.
DePaul returns to action on Friday for a 6 p.m. BIG EAST showdown at Butler that will be televised on FS1.
Notes: Sixth game that DePaul has held its opponent to 20 or less percent from 3-point range - Villanova finished 3-of-15 from behind the arc... DePaul shot over 90 percent (13-of-14 - 92.9 percent) from the free throw line for the second time this season... Jessica January was one rebound shy of her third straight double-double... finished with 17 points and nine rebounds... Brooke Schulte had a season-high nine rebounds... DePaul out-rebounded Villanova 34-29... the win is Villanova's first win in Chicago... DePaul still leads the all-time series 11-4 and are 7-1 on its home court.
