DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
St. John's (Semifinals)
No. 18 DePaul Falls to St. John's in BIG EAST Semifinals
3/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
CHICAGO - A long-standing rivalry with overtones of Chicago versus New York and Windy City vs. Big Apple was all rolled into one riveting BIG EAST Conference tournament semifinal showdown Monday night at McGrath-Phillips Arena.
Unfortunately, No. 18/18 DePaul fell 75-66 to St. John's which advances to the title game that tips off at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
No. 4 seed St. John's (22-9) will face No. 7-seed Creighton (17-16) which has beaten Providence, No. 2 Villanova and No. 3 Seton Hall in the last three days.
Ashton Millender led DePaul (25-8) with 15 points while Chanise Jenkins scored 14. Megan Podkowa had 13 points and nine rebounds and Jacqui Grant finished with 13 points and seven boards. Millender's 15 points tied a career high.
St. John's was powered by its dynamic duo of Aliyyah Handford (23 points) and Danaejah Grant (22 points, 10 rebounds).
What a battle in the fourth quarter. Jacqui Grant hit two quick baskets for a 49-41 lead, but Handford and Danaejah Grant cut the lead to three. A Podkowa score and Millender three-pointer made it 54-49 until Danaejah Grant and Handford combined to score five in a row.
That turned into an 11-0 Red Storm surge for a 60-54 lead with less than four minutes left. St. John's built its lead to 70-59 on a Handford drive with just over a minute to go. The Blue Demons came within 71-64 on a Jenkins layup with 48 seconds on the clock.
"St. John's plays really good defense," said DePaul coach Doug Bruno about his team being ahead by 10 points (45-35) in the third quarter and falling behind by 11 near the end of the fourth quarter. "When you're being defended that well, you have to be patient to wait out the possession. We constantly tried to jam it in there.
"We have a system that knows how to slice and dice good defensive teams. But you have to keep the ball moving and be patient. St. John's is really good and very deserving to be in the NCAA tournament."
After the Red Storm opened the third quarter with a three-pointer, the home team went on a 9-2 run with a Jacqui Grant three and baskets by January, Jenkins and Brooke Schulte for a 43-33 lead. At that point, it seemed like the Blue Demons were beginning to get things under control midway through the period.
It was 45-35 when St. John's narrowed the margin to six on consecutive baskets. At that point, DePaul had made one of its last 10 shots.
Danaejah Grant's layup cut the Blue Demon lead to four. Schulte intercepted a pass just before the buzzer and launched a half-court shot that hit off the rim. The scoreboard read 45-41 heading into the fourth quarter.
"St. John's learned from their two losses to us, and kudos to them for figuring it out," Jenkins said. "A difference tonight from those first two games is that we had more mental lapses. I'll take the blame for that. It was a lack of senior leadership. I should have demanded the ball more and set up the offense.
"Congratulations to the teams in the title game. It shows how tough the BIG EAST is, and that anyone can on any given night. That was proven tonight.
"We can't hang our heads. This will light a fire and get us ready for the next chapter. We will be even more focused now."
Jenkins and her teammates will find out where the NCAA will place them when the tournament pairings are announced on next Monday's selection show.
Both teams seemed a little overhyped at the outset, perhaps feeling some of tournament pressure in a tense semifinal matchup. The Blue Demons led 12-6 after a Jessica January three-point play and led 14-9 on a Millender basket.
But the Red Storm scored the last five points of the stanza, and it was tied 14-14 after one quarter. St. John's extended the run to 9-0 early in the second quarter for an 18-14 lead.
Back came DePaul with seven unanswered points highlighted by a Millender three-pointer for a 21-18 advantage. Danaejah Grant tied it with a three and the lead went back and forth.
Jenkins connected on back-to-back threes wrapped around a St. John's basket and DePaul led 31-28. Millender hit her second from beyond the arc to provide a 34-28 halftime lead.
"Our offense went dysfunctional after we had a 10-point lead," Bruno said. "We're one of the smartest teams in America with some of the smartest human beings I've had the pleasure to coach. We did some unintelligent things.
"Again, St. John's is a very good team. This league got really good really fast."
