CHICAGO—The scoreboard told the story following the championship game of the women’s basketball North Star Conference Tournament at DePaul University’s Alumni Hall on March 11.

But there were other numbers to look at besides the 76-61 mark that verified NIU’s loss to the Blue Demons—a loss that gave first-place honors in the NSC to DePaul.

Try a seven-player roster that NIU has, compared to 13 players on the Blue Demons list. However, the Huskies used only six players and DePaul used eight. Blue Demon coach Doug Bruno knew going into the game his team would have to take advantage of NIU’s shallow bench.

“We tried to exploit the fact that Northern only has six people. That’s what the pressure (defense) was all about,” Bruno said.

NIU coach Jane Albright chimed in on that note.

“Six players was the weakness. We just couldn’t do what we wanted, physically,” Albright said.

Bruno’s game plan was effective enough to shut down the scoring output of NIU guards Denise Dove and Kris Weis. Dove was scoreless for the game, while Weis tallied four points. Both played the entire 40 minutes of the game.

“You want to battle Hinchee and Owens, but they’re just too good of players to shut down,” Bruno said. “I really felt that we could stop Dove and Stubbs.”

Albright’s offensive plan was to get the ball to the forwards.

“We were successful underneath so we kept going there,” Albright said. “Our guards, the last couple of games, really haven’t been that effective. So Tammy (Hinchee) and Carol (Owens) had been hitting it and I thought they kept getting a lot of good shots.”

DePaul’s Diana Vines found her own way to combat the Huskies. The 5-10 All-American racked up a career-high 40 points in her final appearance at Alumni Hall. However, Bruno awarded the game ball to Beth Hassenmiller for her work under the boards. Hassenmiller had 12 rebounds—7 defensively, 5 offensively.

For the Huskies, Owens led with 22 points. The 6-3 center scored in double figures in all 30 games this season. Hinchee and Stubbs were the other major contributors, scoring 18 and 14 points, respectively.

DePaul’s win earned them a spot in the National Invitation Tournament with a 22-8 record. The Huskies (23-7) were not invited to a post-season tournament.

“I think both Northern and we deserve bids to the NCAA,” Bruno said. “And I feel Wisconsin-Green Bay could win the NIT.”

The game seemed to run smoothly and Owens and Vines shared a hug after the game. However, things turned sour. Once again a post-game skirmish erupted at midcourt between players from both teams. The situation brought Chicago Police and Alumni Hall security in to calm tempers.

The bad blood between both teams started earlier this season following a Huskie victory in DeKalb. DePaul Associate Athletic Director Jean Lenti said that adminstrations from both schools need to sit down at a later date to discuss future games between the two teams.

“I regret it,” Bruno said. “We’ve got to grow through this as a team and a league. Basketball should be played between the lines on the court.”

“I don’t see us as the aggressors,” Albright said. “I was over at the DePaul bench when I turned around and saw people going at one another.”

Once order was restored, NIU fans were ordered to leave the building immediately. However, DePaul fans remained in attendance to witness the awards ceremony. The Huskie basketball team was later escorted to its bus by police.

“I don’t think it’s a North Star Conference problem,” Lenti said. “I think its more of a problem between Northern and DePaul.”

Lenti made reference to a past rivalry between NIU and Depaul’s men’s teams when the matches had to be discontinued because of a similar situation. Lenti said that the intensity of the games and the physicalness resulted in the fighting.