MU women 93, DePaul 87: Golden Eagles hold on to remain perfect in Big East

CHICAGO – With its perfect Big East record on the line, Marquette pulled away from DePaul in the closing minutes to remain undefeated in the conference.

Allazia Blockton scored 25 points, including a crucial three-point play as Marquette, ranked No. 9 in the USA Today poll, held off DePaul, 93-87, on Sunday for its 10th straight win.

“I’m really proud of our girls’ toughness in the fourth quarter,” Marquette coach Carolyn Kieger said. “It’s nice to know as a coach when you have a group that can look you in the eye, as they did, and say, ‘We got it.’ ”

The Golden Eagles led by 13 in the third quarter, but DePaul chipped away at the deficit and tied the game with 3:42 left in the fourth on a layup by Kelly Campbell. Blockton gave Marquette a three-point lead with her basket and the foul with 2:01 left.

Marquette (19-3, 10-0 Big East) used a 10-0 run late in the first quarter to take control, with Amani Wilborn capping the burst by powering in a put-back layup plus the foul. DePaul (15-7, 6-4) made only one basket in the final six minutes and trailed 39-27 at the break.

Ashton Millender carried DePaul back into the game midway through the third quarter with seven points in a span of 1:21.

But Marquette overcame foul trouble in the fourth quarter and Erika Davenport knocked down two free throws with 1:14 left to give Marquette an 88-83 advantage.

Danielle King had 18 points for MU and Wilborn added 17.

“I just was really proud of our players in the second half, the way they fought back and pulled this thing into position to win,” DePaul coach Doug Bruno said. “Offensively, I just think we shared (the ball), and I thought there was some positive execution there in the second half.”

Marquette entered the game shooting 37.9 percent from three-point range but never trailed after the first quarter despite shooting just 4 of 20 from deep.

Chante Stonewall led DePaul with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

“We know, DePaul, they’re gonna be ready for us, and hopefully we’ll be ready for them,” Kieger said. “It’s a rivalry, and it’s something that our girls really take serious. … I love when we can get tested and learn stuff about our program, and I thought we learned a lot in that fourth quarter.”

BOX SCORE

No. 9 MARQUETTE 93, DePAUL 87

Marquette — Davenport 5-12 5-5 15, Hiedeman 5-12 3-4 14, King 7-13 3-3 18, Lott 1-6 1-2 4, Wilborn 6-8 5-11 17, Blockton 10-14 4-4 25, Spingola 0-3 0-0 0, Van Kleunen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-68 21-29 93.

DePaul — Grays 4-7 2-2 11, Stonewall 8-12 4-5 21, Campbell 2-7 0-1 4, Millender 8-16 0-0 19, Stovall 3-9 2-2 10, Bekelja 0-1 1-2 1, Dahlman 4-14 2-2 13, Held 3-5 1-1 8, Morris 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 32-72 12-15 87.

Marquette      22  17  29  25 — 93

DePaul           17 10  37  23 — 87

Three-point goals — MU 4-20 (Davenport 0-1, Hiedeman 1-6, King 1-3, Lott 1-5, Blockton 1-2, Spingola 0-3); DU 11-30 (Grays 1-2, Stonewall 1-3, Campbell 0-3, Millender 3-8, Stovall 2-5, Bekelja 0-1, Dahlman 3-6, Held 1-1, Morris 0-1). Assists — MU 6 (Hiedeman 1); DU 20 (Stovall 9). Fouled out — King, Grays, Campbell. Rebounds — MU 43 (Davenport 12); DU 38 (Stonewall 11). Total fouls — MU 19; DU 26. A — 1,979.