Georgetown could not stop Allie Quigley all night. The DePaul senior scored the first seven points of the game on her way to a season-high 36 points and missed just six of her 21 shots. But for all her offense, it was just one steal by the guard that killed the Hoyas’ comeback hopes.

DePaul (18-7, 7-5 Big East) rode Quigley and senior guard Missy Mitidiero’s 13 points in its 82-78 win Wednesday night in McDonough Gymnasium. After DePaul squandered an eight-point lead late in the second half and committed an intentional foul, Georgetown (13-12, 3-9) had a chance to steal a win.

With 13 seconds remaining and the score close at 80-78, senior forward Kieraah Marlow made a wayward inbounds pass and Quigley did the stealing, taking the turnover the length of the court to give DePaul an 82-78 lead and the win.

“I didn’t even see it,” DePaul Head Coach Doug Bruno said, “but one of my assistants said [freshman forward] Felicia Chester really made that play happen. She made the Georgetown player cut so Allie could make that play.”

While DePaul relied heavily on Quigley, Georgetown had a more balanced attack with five players cracking double figures including junior Karee Houlette (12 points) and sophomore forward Jaleesa Butler, who had 14 points in 21 minutes.

The Blue Demons led 23-8 early in the first half but a 20-4 run by Georgetown gave the Hoyas a 28-27 lead and a 40-39 halftime edge as the hot-shot Demons cooled off. The contest remained close until Quigley sealed the win. Six minutes into the first half, Quigley had 11 points, but then Butler went off for eight points in three minutes, including back-to-back three-point plays to spur Georgetown’s run.

“Once we scored we got some stops,” Head Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. “And as this team goes, we play better defense once we score. Once we scored, we gave ourselves an opportunity to be in the game.”

But Quigley often found herself open for mid-range jumpers thanks to slow rotation by the Georgetown defense when the rest of her teammates were covered. Even when Quigley was face guarded, she easily managed to evade her defenders.

“[Quigley] was very good,” Williams-Flournoy said. “Her first step is very quick. Our best defender couldn’t guard her.”

Both teams pressed extensively and while the box score shows only seven DePaul fast-break points, the Blue Demons had a significant advantage in transition.

“We were very slow in our press getting to our traps and it gave them an opportunity to create,” Williams-Flournoy said. DePaul scored several times as Georgetown was slow to set up its defense, and its pressure forced three Hoya turnovers on inbounds passes.

“A lot of it came from our defense,” Quigley said of the scoring pace. “A lot of it came in transition, pushing the ball up the court and passing it around on the perimeter.”

Georgetown was slow on switches, and Quigley often did her best Rip Hamilton impression, curling around screens for open jumpers in the elbow area.

arlow looked more like the 20-point scorer of earlier in the season, fighting through double and one triple team to score and making 11-of-12 free throws on her way to 21 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Marlow had been struggling lately, scoring 16 points combined in the team’s last three games before Wednesday’s 21-point infusion.

“She was a lot more aggressive tonight than she has been in a long, long time,” Williams-Flournoy said.

Georgetown now sits tied with Seton Hall and South Florida for 12th place in the league and the last spot in the Big East tournament. South Florida visits McDonough Saturday at 3 p.m. for the Hoyas’ next tipoff.

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