DePaul women beat No. 24 Seton Hall for Big East title

ROSEMONT - Megan Podkowa scored 19 points and DePaul beat No. 24 Seton Hall 78-68 on Tuesday night for its second consecutive Big East tournament title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Chanise Jenkins added 16 points and Centrese McGee had a season-high 14 points for the second-seeded Blue Demons (26-7), who lost twice to the Pirates during the regular season.

Ka-Deidre Simmons had 23 points, Tiffany Jones had 14 and Daisha Simmons added 12 for top-seeded Seton Hall (28-5), which fell to 0-4 in Big East championship games.

Big East Player of the Year Brittany Hrynko added 12 points and nine assists for the Blue Demons (26-7), who have won seven straight. Podkowa was named the tournament's most outstanding player.

DePaul, one of the nation's top 3-point shooting teams, went 9 for 23 beyond the arc and shot 55 percent from the field. Seton Hall shot just 42 percent from the field and went 3 for 14 on 3-pointers.

The teams were co-conference champions in the regular season. Seton Hall won the regular-season games against DePaul, 107-87 and 81-80, to claim the top seed.

The Blue Demons scored the first eight points of the second half and went on a 16-4 run for a 51-33 lead to match their biggest advantage. Seton Hall got no closer than 10.

DePaul scored the game's first seven points and led 18-5 with 14:21 left before halftime. Seton Hall went on a 10-2 run to cut the lead to four with 1:16 remaining. After a Pirates turnover, Schulte's layup extended the Blue Demons' lead to six.

DePaul shot 54 percent from the field and went 5 for 13 from beyond the arc to lead 35-29 at halftime. Seton Hall shot just 36 percent and was 2 for 9 on 3-pointers.

In the semifinals, DePaul edged Villanova 58-55 and Seton Hall beat St. John's 72-60.

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TIP-INS

DePaul: The Blue Demons entered the game ranked second in Division I in scoring average (87.1 ppg) and 3-pointers per game (10.5). They had made a school-record 337 3-pointers this season. ... Hrynko was leading the conference in scoring at 19.9 points per game. ... DePaul had won its sixth conference tournament title, including its second in the Big East. ... The Blue Demons now lead the all-time series against Seton Hall 11-3 entering the game.

Seton Hall: The Pirates reached the final for the first time since 1995. ... Richardson-Smith (18.2), Ka-Deidre Simmons (17.2) and Daisha Simmons (17.1) each were averaging more than 17 points per game for Seton Hall, which was second in the conference in scoring at 76.1 points per game. .The Pirates entered the AP Top 25 poll on Dec. 29 at No. 23 for its first national ranking since 1995.

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DePaul: NCAA Tournament

Seton Hall: NCAA Tournament