Early three-point barrage helps DePaul bury Butler 76-49
DePaul Quotes Butler Quotes
By Jack McCarthy
Special to
BigEast.com
CHICAGO — Top seed DePaul started fast and never looked back on the way to a 76-49 Big East quarterfinals victory over Butler on Sunday at McGrath-Phillips Arena.
Forward Megan Podkowa scored 14 points and guard Jessica January added 10 as the two-time defending conference tournament champions (25-7) reached Monday’s semifinals and a date with either St. John’s or Georgetown.
Tori Schickel scored 14 points while Sydney Buck added 10 for the No. 9 seed Bulldogs (10-21).
DePaul opened with a flurry of 3-pointers as four different players hit from beyond the arc en route to a 12-2 lead. The Blue Demons extended the advantage to 23-11 by the quarter’s end after hitting 5-of-11 on 3-pointers.
Eight players had already scored as DePaul pushed the lead to 20 points at 31-11 with 5:47 left in the half. By halftime is was 39-19 with Podkowa’s 11 leading the way.
With several starters on the bench the Bulldogs trimmed the deficit to 15 points by late in the third quarter. But the Blue Demons pushed it back to 20 at 55-35 by late in the period with a Jenkins layup and Podkowa’s second 3-pointer of the night.
Head coach Doug Bruno substituted liberally as all 12 Blue Demons got in and 11 scored.
DePaul entered the game with a collection of post-season honors. January, a junior guard, and Podkowa, a senior guard, were both second team all-Big East. Podkowa also captured the league’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year award.
Senior guard Chanise Jenkins was named conference Player of the Year while Bruno was honored as the league’s top coach for the second time in three years.
DePaul swept two regular season meetings from Butler, including a 102-63 decision at home on Feb. 14.