As a 5-foot-9-inch guard, DePaul senior Candis Blankson finds that “sometimes teams don’t box me out under the offensive boards.”
This was the case Tuesday night when DePaul beat crosstown rival Loyola 83-67 in a game that was close in almost every area except one.
The Ramblers (8-7) had seven offensive rebounds. DePaul (10-6) had 24, five of them by Blankson, who converted them into four of her eight baskets.
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“That’s the key stat,” Loyola coach Mary Helen Walker said. “We closed it to within one point (53-52 with 13:10 to play), but we couldn’t keep them from getting back the ball after they missed shots.”
Offensive rebounding was a team project for the home team Blue Demons. Sylvia Blakeslee had six of them. Briana Fitzgerald and Sarah Kustok had four apiece. DePaul scored 23 points directly off offensive rebounds.
Blankson led her team with 20 points and nine rebounds.
Despite 22 points by Loyola sophomore guard Tracy Hoffman, DePaul finished its 6-0 sweep against in-state rivals: Southern Illinois, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Illinois, Illinois-Chicago and Loyola.
“We try first to schedule national powers and next to schedule local rivals,” said DePaul coach Doug Bruno.
— Bill Jauss
Fontbonne 79, Washington, Mo. 68: UCLA’s record of 88 consecutive college basketball victories stands. Washington University’s 81-game winning streak was snapped in a home loss to Fontbonne (7-8). The Bears (13-1) had not lost a game since Feb. 15, 1998, and won three consecutive Division III titles.
John Wooden’s UCLA men’s teams put together 88 straight wins from 1971-1974.
Toledo 73, NIU 45: Courtney Risinger’s 19 points led host Toledo (10-5, 3-1 Mid-American) past NIU (6-11, 2-2), which got 13 points from Jennifer Youngblood