Women's basketball reaches a crossroad

"At the crossroads" is how DePaul women's basketball coach Doug Bruno describes the state of his team. The Blue Demons, who have been plagued by injuries all season, find themselves "on crutches" moving into the middle of the Big East season.

"Anna Martin, Katherine Harry, Jasmine Penny, Brittany Hrynko, Deanna Ortiz, Megan Rogowski and Kelsey Reynolds are all doing a fabulous job stepping up," said Bruno.

The Blue Demons captured an epic win at No. 15 Georgetown that snapped the Hoyas' 11-game winning streak. Unfortunately, they gave it right back the following game suffering a 60 -52 loss against Providence.

Bruno, who advocates the "one game at a time" mantra, feels that his players lost focus against Providence because they weren't a Big East contender.

This has been a recurring issue for the DePaul women's basketball team. Lack of focus has cost the Demons halftime leads and most recently a victory.

One could blame injuries.

The Blue Demons have been without 6-foot 2-inch forward Keisha Hampton for the last month, who has only played in one of the last six games. Prior to this Hampton had started in every DePaul game since arriving on campus her freshman year. She snapped the 114-game streak during the team's game against Arizona State.

"Keisha hasn't played in five out of the last six games, and the one she did play in, she was only on for 15 minutes" Bruno added.

Hampton who has been out with a knee injury had surgery last Thursday. She will miss the remainder of her senior season. Hampton mentioned that despite being on crutches she would still play a support role from the bench.

"I'll still be supportive. I'll be on the sideline, but I still have to support the team," Hampton said.

The Philadelphia senior is also playing the mentor role to fellow teammate Brittany Hrynko, with whom Hampton played in high school.

"Brittany played for my high school when I was a senior, so I've known her a long time," Hampton said.

Hrynko certainly seems to be in DePaul's plans for the future, having slid into the team's starting point guard position, with 14 starts, and averaging 10.7 points a game.

When asked about her own future, Hampton said that she plans on "graduating with a degree and going pro."

These aspirations should not be out of reach for the Big East preseason All American, who was averaging 16.6 points per game this season.

For now, unfortunately, the Blue Demons will be without their most prominent player.

Junior forward Anna Martin, the team's leading scorer in Hampton's absence, described her teammate's injury and its effect on the team as "huge," but that "you can't dwell on it."

Martin describes herself as a leader on this Blue Demon squad, averaging 18.6 points per game.

Martin has been able to carry the scoring load throughout the season, particularly from beyond the arc. Martin is shooting a career high 45 percent from three-point range.

To make matters worse, the DePaul Athletic Department recently confirmed that another one of the team's strongest players, Taylor Pikes, is also out for the season. Pikes had yet to make an appearance for the Blue Demons this season, but was last season's Big East Sixth Man of the Year. She was expected to make a full recovery halfway through the season. Sophomore Jasmine Penny has seen an increase in minutes to make up for Pike's absence. Penny has turned in 10 points per game as a result.

Katherine Harry has been playing through injury since returning from the disabled list, but she is a crucial member of the team due to her rebounding and defensive presence down low. DePaul's short bench requires Coach Bruno to keep his players focused.

Coach Doug Bruno realizes the toll these injuries cost his team, but still feels that his current squad can handle the long schedule ahead.

Bruno is optimistic that his leaders will step up and motivate, especially against Big East powerhouses UConn, Rutgers and Louisville, who are all coming up on DePaul's schedule. Coach Bruno believes that every day is its own and that "in the Big East, the real tough game is the next one."