DePaul stifles St. John’s to advance to BIG EAST Final
By Julia Pagliarulo
DePaul Quotes | St. John's Quotes
MILWAUKEE—After returning recently from injury, Jessica January dropped 20 points and top-seeded and nationally ranked No. 17/17 DePaul rolled over five-seed St. John’s 59-41.
All-BIG EAST First Team Player and Co-Defensive Player of the Year Jacqui Grant grabbed eight rebounds and recorded two blocks for the Blue Demons. BIG EAST Player of the Year Brooke Schulte got into early foul trouble and never found her rhythm, ending with just four points in 22 minutes of action.
For the Red Storm, Akina Wellere was the only player in double figures, notching 11 points. BIG EAST Honorable Mention Aaliyah Lewis added nine points and four assists and member of the All-Freshmen Team Alisha Kebbe also scored nine to go with her nine boards.
The game opened up as a defensive struggle as both teams shot under 30 percent in the first quarter. January led all scorers with five points and Grant swatted two shots over the first ten.
The second quarter proved to be the difference as DePaul outscored St. John’s 17 to 4 in the frame and took a 29-13 lead into halftime. January led a balanced scoring attack for the Blue Demons with seven points and Grant secured six rebounds. Schulte was forced to sit for all of the second after picking up two quick fouls in the first. St. John’s shot below 20 percent in the first half and Wellere led the Red Storm with five points.
The Blue Demons maintained their lead throughout the third even as both teams still struggled to find an offensive groove and were up 41-27 heading into the last frame. DePaul’s shots started to fall in the fourth as they pulled away from St. John’s for good.
With the win, the Blue Demons avenge last year’s semifinal loss to the St. John’s and advance to the tournament final for the third time in the past four years. DePaul won the title in their previous two title appearances in 2014 and 2015. The Blue Demons have now won four games in a row and nine of their last ten, with the lone loss coming against Marquette on Feb. 19.
DePaul will take on third-seed Marquette tomorrow at 8 p.m. Central for the BIG EAST Tournament Title in the Al McGuire Center. The Blue Demons dropped both games against the Golden Eagles this season but are 4-0 all-time against Marquette in the BIG EAST Tournament.