DePaul Blue Demons
Big East (21-11, 9-7)
Despite some injury issues, Coach Doug Bruno has yet again put out a very competitive DePaul squad. While the Blue Demons are a consistent participant in the NCAA Tournament, they have not had a whole lot of success recently. In 2011 they reached the Sweet Sixteen, but the rest of their recent trips have ended in disappointment. This is a squad that, when healthy, has the talent to make it back to the Sweet Sixteen, but they could make a much earlier exit as well.
Big Wins: 12/21 Princeton (86-75), 1/5 Louisville (86-80), 1/12 South Florida (91-75)
Bad Losses: 1/15 at Syracuse (80-84), 2/2 at Marquette (66-70), 3/4 at St. John’s (54-67)
Coach: Doug Bruno
Why They Can Surprise:
DePaul is full of scoring options. Anna Martin was averaging 16.2 points per game before she suffered a knee injury. Now back, Martin has again taken over the lead scoring role for the Blue Demons. Brittany Hrynko is more of a shooter and knocks down an impressive 2.5 three-pointers per contest. Chanise Jenkins is just a freshman, but she can get hot from beyond the arc too. The bench can keep the ball going in the basket with Megan Podkowa and Megan Rogowski usually leading the charge. However, Rogowski broke her hand in early January and just how effective she can be remains to be seen. Some of the tough losses suffered by DePaul came during Martin’s absence. They needed her to outscore the opposition, so the loss at Marquette and the absolute blowouts suffered at the hands of Connecticut and Louisville are somewhat understandable.
Why They Can Disappoint:
The scoring continues in the frontcourt with Jasmine Penny and Katherine Harry. Both are traditional interior players, which works out very nicely with all of the outside shooting threats on the perimeter. If the opposition has to collapse in to stop Penny and Harry, the shooters will get open looks. If the defense spends too much time trying to stop the shooters, Penny and Harry can certainly make them pay. However, Penny is not a particularly effective rebounder and there is very, very little experienced depth behind the starters in the frontcourt. A little bit of foul trouble against a team that has multiple post scoring options could be big trouble for the Blue Demons. The defense gives up a lot of points as it is and the more time the Blue Demons spend without Penny and Harry on the floor together, the more points they will give up. And then it all comes down to just how many points can this DePaul team score.
Probable Starters:
Chanise Jenkins, Freshman, Guard, 8.1 ppg, 4.1 apg, 4.9 rpg
Anna Martin, Senior, Guard, 15.7 ppg, 3.4 apg
Brittany Hrynko, Sophomore, Guard, 14.8 ppg, 5.0 apg, 4.6 rpg, 2.1 spg
Jasmine Penny, Junior, Forward, 13.1 ppg, 5.0 rpg
Katherine Harry, Senior, Forward, 8.8 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 1.6 bpg
Key Roleplayers:
Megan Podkowa, Freshman, Forward, 6.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg
Kelsey Reynolds, Junior, Guard, 3.0 ppg, 1.7 rpg
Megan Rogowski, Sophomore, Guard, 8.3 ppg, 1.3 apg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 71.4 (24th in nation, 5th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 68.7 (307, 14)
Field-Goal Percentage: 41.9 (64, 4)
Field-Goal Defense: 40.7 (266, 11)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.9 (34, 3)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 30.5 (143, 7)
Free-Throw Percentage: 68.0 (202, 12)
Rebound Margin: -1.7 (223, 12)
Assists Per Game: 17.2 (9, 3)
Turnovers Per Game: 16.4 (129, 7)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2012 NCAA Round of 64 win over BYU
2012 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Tennessee
2011 NCAA Round of 64 win over Navy
2011 NCAA Round of 32 win over Penn State
2011 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Duke
2010 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Vanderbilt
2009 NCAA Round of 64 loss to San Diego State
2008 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Marist
*all team stats through 3/7
See All Women’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
