No. 12 Northwestern Falls to No. 16 DePaul, 77-64

12/19/2015 6:42:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

EVANSTON, Ill. - In a hard-fought battle of local top-16 teams, No. 16 DePaul topped No. 12 Northwestern, 77-64, on Saturday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Wildcats put forth a strong second half effort, twice cutting the Blue Demon lead to three, but DePaul was able to stretch outs its lead in the final minutes to hang on for the win.

Christian Inman scored a team-high 17 points and led a trio of Wildcats in double figures. Nia Coffey added 13 and Ashley Deary chipped in 11, along with six rebounds and five assists. Coffey added 13 rebounds in the 'Cats effort, good for her Big Ten-leading seventh double-double of the year.

"We struggled defensively and broke down at the wrong time," said head coach Joe McKeown. "We made a great run and got it down to two or three a couple of times, but we did not make the plays we needed to make. We have not lost yet, so this can be good for us. It gives us the opportunity to look at things we need to work on and things we need to get better at before we head into Big Ten play."

DePaul led for nearly the entire game, but Northwestern cut the deficit down to three with 9:03 to go in the fourth quarter before the Blue Demons went on an 8-0 run to seal the win.

The loss was the first for Northwestern this season.

The Wildcats were outrebounded by 14, which translated into a 10-point advantage for the visitors on second chance points.

Chicago's Big Ten Team had the crowd on its feet during the third quarter when a big comeback seemed to be in the works. Northwestern outscored DePaul 26-16 in the frame, highlighted by a 10-0 run that erased a 13-point deficit.

The game marked Northwestern's seventh-annual Autism Awareness Day. The Northwestern's women's basketball team has a special connection with autism and since head coach Joe McKeown took over in 2008, the Wildcats have worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the developmental disorder. One way to increase the knowledge of those in the Chicagoland area is to partner with Autism Speaks to host the annual Autism Awareness Game at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

"I want to thank DePaul and Coach Bruno for participating Autism Awareness Day," McKeown said. "It is a special thing to our program and it was really important to us. It means a lot that we can give some kids in the Chicago area the chance to come watch a basketball game and just have fun."

Northwestern will look to rebound on Tuesday, Dec. 22, when it takes on Missouri-Kansas City at Welsh-Ryan Arena for its non-conference finale. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.