NORMAL, Ill. – No. 25 DePaul turned defense into offense, scoring 45 points off of 35 turnovers en route to a 99-62 win over Illinois State Sunday afternoon on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
Taylor Stewart earned a double-double with 16 points and a career-best 10 rebounds, including a perfect 7-for-7 effort at the free throw line. She was joined in double-figures by Katy Winge, who scored 14 points, and Stekara Hall, who netted 11. Five Blue Demons tallied 10 or more points.
The Redbirds (9-4) went 23-for-23 at the free throw line before missing, and ISU (0-11) finished 25-for-27 at the charity stripe. DePaul shot 46.4 percent from the field, and Illinois State shot 32.7 percent.
After DePaul jumped out to a 2-0 lead, the Redbirds answered with 3-pointers by Hall and Winge which lifted ISU ahead, 6-4, at the 17:24 mark. The Redbirds again led, 8-6, following a pair of Mackenzie Freeman free throws, and 12-10 after two Zenobia Bess foul shots.
Later in the half, after making two free throws, Winge buried a 3-pointer from the left corner to increase ISU's lead to 17-13 at the 12:39 mark, proving to be the Redbirds' largest advantage of the game. However, DePaul answered with four-straight to tie the game, before Winge netted a layup which regained a two-point Redbird advantage. With ISU leading, 19-17, at the 11:40 mark, DePaul responded by scoring 23-straight points to pull ahead, 40-19.
Illinois State stopped DePaul's streak thanks to two more Hall free throws with 6:35 remaining. ISU then outscored the Blue Demons, 4-1, to pull within 44-25 at the 5:26 mark. A layup in the final seconds of the opening stanza by Stewart cut Illinois State's halftime deficit to 54-33.
DePaul started the second half on an 25-4 run to take a 79-37 lead before Stewart netted a pair of free throws to stop the streak and spark a 6-1 Redbird run which included a Winge jumper. The Redbirds later manufactured a 6-0 run, trimming the Blue Demon advantage to 92-53 with 4:22 left to play. ISU ended the game on a 9-0 run, as DePaul secured the 99-62 victory.
With the non-conference season complete, Illinois State remains at home to host Southern Illinois in the Missouri Valley Conference opener, Sunday, Jan. 4, at 2 p.m. on Doug Collins Court at Redbird Arena.
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