DePaul Blue Demons
Big East (22-10, 9-7)
Despite a rash of injuries, DePaul has played relatively well and beaten some very good teams. This may not be a group that can compete with the top teams in the Big East, but they did knock off teams like Georgetown, St. John’s and Louisville. But then they will go and lose to South Florida and Providence. It has been that extremely inconsistent play that has made DePaul a tough team to figure out during the 2011-2012 campaign. However, that has been due to injuries, most notably to star forward Keisha Hampton, and the young players are talented, but inexperienced.
Big Wins: 12/7 St. John’s (69-52), 1/3 at Georgetown (59-50), 1/31 Louisville (86-61)
Bad Losses: 11/18 vs San Diego State (74-82), 1/7 at Providence (52-60), 1/17 at South Florida (63-66)
Coach: Doug Bruno (26 seasons at DePaul)
Why They Can Surprise:
The offense is not the same without Hampton, but this is a group that can put up a lot of points. Junior guard Anna Martin is a dynamic scorer who shoots the ball very well and is not afraid to attack the basket either. When Martin is having a good day, this is a DePaul team that can outscore just about anybody. Fellow guard Brittany Hrynko has stepped up her game as well. The freshman is mostly a shooter at this point in her career, but she is getting more aggressive on offense and that has paid off. With Hampton out, the interior scoring has fallen to forwards Jasmine Penny and Katherine Harry. Penny is the more consistent scorer, but Harry a 6-3 junior, is the player making a big name for herself right now. Harry is one of the best rebounders in the nation and her offense pretty much comes from her rebounding, but she is a great asset to have under the basket.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Unfortunately for DePaul, Harry is really the only rebounder on the team. The Blue Demons consistently get outrebounded on both ends of the floor. That is one reason why the opposition shoots so well against DePaul. Many of those buckets are easy put backs off of offensive rebounds. DePaul’s offense can make up for their porous defense most of the time, but that is not going to work as well in March and this is a team that needs to tough it out on the glass as much as possible and hustle continuously on defense. That is easier said than done for a team that has not had many healthy bodies for most of the season.
Probable Starters:
Deanna Ortiz, Senior, Guard, 4.5 ppg, 2.0 apg
Brittany Hyrnko, Freshman, Guard, 10.7 ppg, 3.9 apg, 4.2 rpg
Anna Martin, Junior, Guard, 19.1 ppg, 3.4 apg
Jasmine Penny, Sophomore, Forward, 11.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg
Katherine Harry, Junior, Forward, 9.2 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 1.4 bpg
Key Roleplayers:
Kelsey Reynolds, Sophomore, Guard, 3.7 ppg, 1.2 apg
Megan Rogowski, Freshman, Guard, 6.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 73.7 (19th in nation, 3rd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 66.2 (258, 15)
Field-Goal Percentage: 43.6 (25, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 40.0 (230, 14)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.9 (8, 2)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.4 (36, 2)
Free-Throw Percentage: 73.3 (52, 5)
Rebound Margin: -1.4 (216, 12)
Assists Per Game: 16.3 (19, 3)
Turnovers Per Game: 16.5 (120, 10)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
DePaul 2011 NCAA Round of 64 win over Navy
DePaul 2011 NCAA Round of 32 win over Penn State
DePaul 2011 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Duke
DePaul 2010 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Vanderbilt
DePaul 2009 NCAA Round of 64 loss to San Diego State
DePaul 2008 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Marist
DePaul 2007 NCAA Round o 64 loss to Georgia Tech
*all team stats through 3/1
See All Women’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
