BY BRENDAN KING | STAFF REPORTER

The Butler women’s basketball team (8-11, 3-5) was defeated by the DePaul Blue Demons (15-5, 6-2) 85-64 Saturday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

DePaul came into the contest second in the Big East after a victory over Georgetown.

The Bulldogs were coming off an upset win against the top team in the conference, Creighton.

The Blue Demons quickly took control, making 54 percent of their shots in the first half. They hit nine of 10 3-point baskets in the first half to take a commanding 55-28 lead into halftime.

Despite many different combinations on the floor, the Bulldogs were never able to find the answer against the full-court press defense that DePaul ran for almost 37 minutes of the 40-minute game.

DePaul junior guard Megan Rogowski led the Blue Demons in points with 16. Every DePaul player in the starting lineup hit a three-pointer in the game.

Leading the way for Butler was sophomore guard Lexus Murray. Murray has received opportunities to start in place of injured senior Daress McClung the past two games. In those contests, Murray has set and tied a career-high in points with 12.

Murray was using junior center Liz Stratman’s screens to her advantage, as she took the ball inside the paint to the hoop on numerous occasions for layups.

That would not be enough, however, as DePaul pulled away with the victory to strengthen its chances of moving into the number one spot in the Big East.