DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
Georgetown
No. 24/24 DePaul Improves to 4-0 in BIG EAST Play, Tops Georgetown
1/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
CHICAGO - There was no way these Blue Demons were ready to slow their roll in the BIG EAST after returning from a highly successful road trip.
To that end, No. 24/24 DePaul won its fourth conference game in a row Friday night with a 75-53 victory over Georgetown before an appreciative McGrath-Phillips Arena crowd.
Megan Podkowa led the way for DePaul (12-5, 4-0 in the BIG EAST) with 19 points, eight rebounds, a career-high six assists and three blocks. Jessica January had 11 points, a season-high 11 rebounds and six assists for her third double-double of the season to go with her triple-double last Tuesday at Seton Hall.
Ashton Millender and Brooke Schulte each scored 11 points while Chanise Jenkins finished with 10 points, six rebounds and seven assists.
The Blue Demons went on a game-defining 14-0 run in the third quarter in which Georgetown (9-6, 2-3) went scoreless for more than six minutes.
A pretty "DePaulBall" sequence of Jenkins passing to January who immediately found Schulte open for a layup provided a 40-36 Blue Demon lead early in the third quarter. On that play, the ball traveled nearly the length of the court without ever touching the floor.
That would evolve into the 14-0 surge with Schulte scoring six of the DePaul points for a 50-36 lead midway through the quarter. Back-to-back Podkowa three-point plays upped the lead to 56-41 heading into the fourth quarter.
"Jess did a good job of staying focused and not panicking," said DePaul coach Doug Bruno. "That got the game back to our tempo. We starting executing out of our defense and it turned into a good second half."
Opening the fourth quarter with a 15-2 burst increased the margin to 71-43 with less than five minutes to go.
DePaul was back in Lincoln Park after critical wins over St. John's last Sunday and No. 25/20 Seton Hall last Tuesday on the road. Both those teams figure to be the top contenders challenging two-time BIG EAST champion DePaul.
"We came out of the halftime break knowing we had to play focused," Podkowa said. "Jess did a great job of getting her hands on everything defensively. She was all over the court tonight.
"You can never get complacent with a lead. Once you put the pedal down on a team, you can't let up."
Georgetown came out fast from the opening tip, making five of its first six shots in grabbing an 11-4 lead. Podkowa's seven quick points sparked an 11-2 run for a 15-13 DePaul lead.
It remained close the remainder of the first quarter which ended in a 20-20 tie. The Blue Demons had a 13-7 advantage on the backboards after the first 10 minutes and finished with a 48-39 edge.
A pair of Millender three-pointers launched the Blue Demons on a 10-2 run to open the second quarter. Millender was dialed in on three of her first four attempts from long distance.
"Ashton got a chance to show you she has a lot of Megan Rogowski in her," Bruno said referring to the former Blue Demon who worked her magic behind the arc. "Millender knocked down some big threes for us tonight."
DePaul led 34-28 when the Hoyas scored the last five points of the first half to close within 34-33 at halftime. But it was the third quarter run that made the difference.
"We have such good players and we wanted to show ourselves that we are capable of holding onto a good lead," January said after the Blue Demons did not maintain huge leads at St. John's and Seton Hall. "In the third quarter, we took it one stop at a time, rebounded and executed on the offensive end."
DePaul returns to McGrath-Phillips Arena on Sunday for a 3 p.m. BIG EAST showdown against Villanova (9-6, 3-2) that will be televised on the CBS Sports Network.
Notes: Jessica January recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds... marks her first back-to-back double-double... she had a triple-double at Seton Hall... five DePaul players finished in double-figures... Megan Podkowa dished out a career-high six assists... DePaul won the rebounding battle 48-39 and owned a 17-9 advantage on the offensive glass... Xavier lost tonight at Creighton 74-47 so DePaul is now the only unbeaten team in the BIG EAST... the DePaul win is Coach Doug Bruno 599th at the collegiate level... DePaul is now 14-2 all-time against Georgetown and has won the last nine series meetings.
