No. 16 DePaul women turn back No. 12 Northwestern 77-64

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) - Megan Podkowa scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds with four blocks and No. 16 DePaul handed No. 12 Northwestern its first loss of the season 77-64 Saturday night.

The Blue Demons (8-4) needed three surges to take a 17-16 lead in the cross-town rivalry.

Northwestern (10-1), trailing 24-8 in the opening moments of the second quarter after a 12-1 DePaul run, used a 12-2 spurt to cut the deficit to six.

With the first basket of the second half, the Blue Demons pushed the lead back to 15 but the Wildcats cut it to 55-52 entering the fourth quarter. But Jessica January had all 10 of her points in the fourth quarter to pull away for the last time.

Jacqui Grant and Chanise Jenkins had 13 points apiece for DePaul with Jenkins and January contributing eight rebounds and eight assists each.

Christen Inman had 17 points for Northwestern and Nia Coffee 13 with 13 rebounds, although the Wildcats were outrebounded 51-37.