CHICAGO – Deirdre Naughton and Allie Quigley combined for 44 points to lead No. 23/24 (AP/Coaches) DePaul past Villanova, 78-55, at McGrath Arena on Saturday. Quigley finished with a game-high 23 points and five three’s while Naughton scored 21 on four three-pointers to lead the Blue Demons.

Coming into the game as the NCAA’s top three-point shooting team, Villanova used the three-point basket early and often to open up a 12-6 lead. DePaul answered with a 21-6 run to build a nine-point advantage with 8:29 left in the half. Naughton led the way with 11 points during the flurry and gave DePaul a 27-18 lead with her second three-pointer of the game.

DePaul (16-5, 5-3 BIG EAST) knocked down nine three-pointers in the first 20 minutes and took a 44-28 lead at halftime. Naughton and Quigley combined for 32 first-half points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field. Quigley drilled five-of-six three-point attempts while going 6-for-6 from the free throw line and Naughton was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field.

Two Quigley free throws gave the Blue Demons their first 20-point lead at 60-40 with just under 11 minutes left in the game. Villanova came back over the next five minutes and cut the deficit to 13 on a three-pointer by Lisa Karcic and two three’s from Stacie Witman. Witman’s second three-pointer made the score 66-53 and forced DePaul’s Doug Bruno to call a timeout with 6:26 left.

Coming out of the break, Naughton ended the nine-point run with a driving lay-up before Quigley found Ciara Johnson under the basket for an uncontested basket to make the score 70-55 at the five-minute mark.

Quigley added a game-high seven rebounds with four assists while Naughton grabbed four boards for DePaul. Natasha Williams scored 12 points with four rebounds and two blocked shots and Johnson came off the bench for seven points and six rebounds.

Villanova (12-10, 2-7 BIG EAST) was led by Karcic’s 17 points and 14 from Maria Getty. The Wildcats knocked down 11 three-pointers in the game while the Blue Demons totaled a dozen buckets from behind the arc.

DePaul hits the road for three of the next four games starting on Tuesday night at USF. The Blue Demons return to McGrath Arena on Sunday, Feb. 10 against Louisville followed by road games at West Virginia on Feb. 16 and Georgetown on Feb. 20. The Louisville game has been declared "Think Pink Day" for DePaul as 3,000 pink t-shirts will be given out to fans. Additionally, fans will have multiple chances to contribute to the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.

Game Notes: The victory was win No. 410 for Doug Bruno... it was also his 645th game on the DePaul sidelines... since the start of the 2003-04 season (148 games), DePaul is 85-11 when holding opponents to less than 70 points... the Blue Demons have made a three-pointer in 95 consecutive games... DePaul’s 12 three-pointers mark the fifth game this season with at least 10 three-pointers... Allie Quigley notched her fifth game this season with at least three three-pointers... Natasha Williams took sole possession of ninth on the season chart with her 37th and 38th blocked shots... Williams has blocked two shots in six of the last seven games... DePaul has won all four meetings between the two programs.