Xavier University Athletics
Xavier University
11-6 (3-3)
DePaul
12-5 (4-1)
Musketeers Fall in BIG EAST Action at DePaul
01.11.15 | Women's Basketball
Box Score 
| Box Score
CHICAGO - The Xavier women’s basketball team dropped an 84-61 contest at DePaul on Sunday afternoon at McGrath-Phillips Arena. The Musketeers move to 11-6 on the year and 3-3 in BIG EAST play.
Despite nearly doubling their scoring output from the first half in the second period, the Musketeers could not overcome a season-high 29 turnovers - including 18 in the first half. XU shot 56.3 percent from the floor in the second stanza, but the Blue Demons scored 29 points off of turnovers to improve to 12-5 (4-1 BIG EAST) on the year.
The Blue Demons scored the first 12 points of the game, taking advantage of eight Xavier turnovers to lead 12-0 at the 16:32 mark. The Musketeers responded with four unanswered points to get with eight, 12-4, with 14:51 left in the period.
Xavier got within eight two more times over the next three minutes before the Blue Demons regained their double-figure lead, 20-10, at the 11:19 mark. DePaul led by double figures for the remainder of the contest and took a 37-21 advantage into the locker room.
Raeshaun Gaffney led XU with five points at the break, while Leah Schaefer and Aliyah Zantt paced the team on the glass with four rebounds each. DePaul had five more rebounds, 25-20, than the Musketeers at the half.
DePaul opened the second half on a 23-11 run to take its largest lead of the game, 60-32, with 12:32 on the clock. The Musketeers got within 17, 69-52, on a Briana Glover three pointer with 6:43 left in regulation, but the Blue Demons stayed hot from the floor, going 19-of-27 in the period, to make the final score 84-61.
Gaffney scored a team-high 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting, while Glover finished with 11. Maleeka Kynard added eight points and a team-high five assists.
DePaul won the battle on the glass, 35-34, and had five more second-chance points than Xavier, 18-13. Three XU players had six rebounds in Anniina Äijänen, Schaefer and Zantt.
Jessica January led four DePaul players in double figures with a game-high 20 points on 9-of-18 shooting. She also dished out a game-high seven assists. Brandi Harvey-Carr pulled down a game-high eight rebounds for the Blue Demons.
The Musketeers will play their next three BIG EAST games at Cintas Center, beginning with Georgetown on Friday, Jan. 16 at 7 p.m.
