DePaul 92-59 Illinois Wesleyan: Women's basketball opens exhibition play strong

There was something old and something new as the DePaul Blue Demons women's basketball made their exhibition debut on Tuesday night with a 92-59 victory over Division III Illinois Wesleyan at McGrath-Phillips Arena.

DePaul, coming off of their record setting 2010-11 season that culminated in a Sweet 16 appearance, looked noticeably different on the floor. Even though three of five starters returned from last season, the two that are gone were key contributors.

Even with the easy win, head coach Doug Bruno acknowledged that there is still plenty of work to be done.

"We have some obvious questions to answer," Bruno admitted when talking about replacing point guard Sam Quigley and post presence Felicia Chester. "We have to an establish an inside game. I thought there were some moments of pretty good meshing tonight, but it's still very early."

Freshman guard Brittany Hrynko came off the bench and led the Blue Demons in scoring with 18 points. Hrynko, once a teammate of senior forward Keisha Hampton at Engineering & Science High School in Philadelphia, also had two assists and two steals in 12 minutes of action.

"I was nervous at first," Hrynko said when asked about her first on-court experience against other competition. "But I got the flow of the game and I tried to get my teammates involved and just let the game come to me."

Hampton, junior forward Katherine Harry and freshman guard Chanise Jenkins also chipped in double-digit point totals with 15, 10, and 11 points respectively. Harry also led the team on the night with eight rebounds.

The game was a long time coming for Bruno and the Blue Demons, who have spent the better part of the past three weeks practicing against each other as well as male scout teamers in order to get a feel for the physicality of the regular season.

"We had a rough and tumble first 18 practices," Bruno said. "I had been suspicious about sustaining our intensity and our energy. I thought once the lights and jerseys came on that we sustained the energy and that's what I was most excited about."

The team collectively shot 47 percent from the field and 34 percent from three-point range. Although Illinois Wesleyan didn't have a bad shooting performance (45 percent from the field, 50 percent from behind the arc), their 30 turnovers that led to 41 Blue Demon points is just one of many things that blew this game wide open.

While some schools choose to forego the exhibition game for closed-door scrimmages with other Division I teams, Bruno scoffed at that notion, saying that he wanted the players, particularly the new ones, to get used to the game day rituals (shootaround, pregame meals, etc).

"That's why I believe in playing a game versus closing the door and scrimmaging." Bruno said.

Hampton was her usual self in the game, making plays as is normal for the Honorable Mention All-America and preseason Wooden Award candidate.

"It always feels good to play games, it feels like we've been practicing for a long time, so just to get back out on the court in front of the people is a good feeling" Hampton said.

She also had kind words for the freshmen as the top veteran and most experience player on the team.

"It's definitely different because I've been on the court with a veteran team for the last three years," she said. "I think they [the freshmen] did pretty well tonight.

The DePaul women will be back in action on Saturday evening against St. Xavier in their final exhibition game.