No. 22 DePaul's speed Demon - Jessica January - overwhelms Bonnies

Chicago, IL -- Coming into this evening's game with a 44-point win under their belt, the No. 22 DePaul Blue Demons face what the basketball faithful hoped to be their first worthy foe of the 2015-2016 season.

The Bonnies also came into today's game with a first-round Preseason WNIT win under their belt, beating Siena University 57-40, Friday night. On paper, this was a great matchup as both teams play fast paced, small ball.

Head Coach Doug Bruno on the pace of todays game, "I like the tempo, I want to win the battle of the tempo, but at the end of the day, we want to win the game."

As to be expected, from the tip each team took to the race track. The Blue Demons signature full-court press helped them control the momentum for the majority of the first quarter. However, the Bonnies maintained their composure and remained in striking distance the whole of the first 10 minutes.

"St. Bonaventure did what St. Bonaventure does, that is turn the game into a grinder game. As much as we worked to make it a DePaul ball game and a free flowing game, it turned into a grinder game," said Coach Doug Bruno in his post game press conference.

The open of the second quarter brought a wave of scoring from the Demons lead by junior, Jessica January. The resulting points kept the Blue Demons ahead by at least 10 points the whole second quarter. As the Demons pulled away, the Bonnies discipline began to unravel.

They strayed from their game plan, stopped forcing the ball into the paint, and their outside shooting ran cold. Ultimately, the first half closed with a 34-19 Blue Demons lead. Jessica January bucketed 14 points in the first 20 minutes.

"I think it is different every game, but I am working as hard as I can and doing whatever I can each game. Whether I am scoring or assisting, I am taking the game as it comes to me," said Jessica January on her stellar play the last few games.

Much like the first half, the second half started with the Bonnies keeping up with the Blue Demons. The question became, had St. Bonaventure dug themselves too deep a hole to make a run at DePaul?

As the clock ran out, the answer was obvious. The Blue Demons had no interest in watching the Bonnies mount a comeback. St. Bonaventure had simply dug themselves a hole that was insurmountable.

The final tally favored DePaul 77-54. Jessica January was the player of the game tallying 19 points and remaining the spark for her team on both ends of the court. The Blue Demons advance to the semifinals November 19th, and the Bonnies take on University of Detroit, November 24th.