It was hard to believe Khara Smith played with a painful foot injury Friday night.
“The doctor told me it was my decision. It was up how much pain I could stand,” DePaul’s 6-foot-2-inch center said after she scored 24 points, hit 11 of 13 shots and had 14 rebounds in the No. 15 Blue Demons’ 78-66 victory over Houston.
The game was notable for two other reasons.
For the first time in 259 games, DePaul failed to hit a three-point basket. The Demons went 0 of 8 from behind the arc.
And for much of the game, Smith was the only Demon taller than 6 feet on the floor, while the Cougars had three players at least 6-3.
“We concentrated on mentally out-toughing them,” said 6-foot freshman Erin Carney, who had 13 points and nine rebounds. “We’re a smaller team, so we focused away from their height.”
The victory, combined with TCU’s loss at Marquette, moved DePaul (20-3, 9-1 Conference USA) into first place.
All five DePaul starters scored in double figures. Jenni Dant had 12 points and five steals, freshman Allie Quigley scored 16 and Jenna Rubino added 11.
Houston (17-6, 7-3) was led by Sancho Lyttle’s 26 points but no other Cougar hit double figures.