CHICAGO – The DePaul Blue Demons rallied past Butler on Saturday afternoon to record a 92-76 win in the 2014-15 BIG EAST opener. The Bulldogs held a 47-41 lead at the break in a contest that looked more like a track meet at times than a basketball game.

Butler was able to get out in front in the fast-paced first half by shooting 60 percent from the field. The Butler coaching staff was able to come up with the blueprint on how to break DePaul's full court trapping press which resulted in a six-point halftime lead.

The Blue Demons backed off defensively in the second half which also caused the Butler offense to slow down, causing the turning point in the game. DePaul's Brittany Hrynko scored 22 of her game-high 28 points in the second half with a majority of her looks coming from 3-point range.

DePaul hit 14 3-point field goals against Butler, finishing the game shooting 42 percent from distance. Hrynko was hot from behind the arc as she drilled seven of her eight 3-point field goal attempts. The highly talented combo guard finished the game with 28 points, eight rebounds, six assists and four steals to lead DePaul to victory.

Butler also shot well from 3-point land to stay in the game as Sydney Buck and Blaire Langlois combined to knock down eight triples. Buck did most of her damage in the opening 20 minutes while Langlois came alive in the second half. Butler shot 9-for-20 from distance as a team as Loryn Goodwin also contributed with a trey.

All five BU starters finished the game in double figures with Belle Obert leading all Bulldogs with a team-high 16 points. Obert was 7-for-10 from the field and was also in the scorebook with two blocked shots. Helping Obert compete in the post was senior forward Ijeoma Uchendu who scored 15 points and hauled down nine rebounds in 35 minutes of action.

DePaul clearly controlled the tempo in the first half, but Butler was prepared for the fast-pace which led to the halftime lead. The Bulldogs got off to a slow start to open the second half and by the first media timeout DePaul had tied the contest at 53-53. Hrynko broke the tie with back-to-back 3-point field goals, two of her five in the second half and seven for the game.

DePaul's scoring run continued as the Blue Demons outscored Butler 21-7 by the second media timeout in the second half with 11:36 to play. The game was still in reach with 7:58 to go as the 'Dawgs trailed by just six points, but the BU deficit quickly grew to double digits at the 5:06 mark and to 20 points with 2:21 remaining.

Each team shot over 50 percent from the floor on Wednesday afternoon, but the ultimate difference came from the 3-point line. The Bulldogs owned the points in the paint category 34-18, but the Blue Demons dominated points off turnovers (27-11) and second chance points (26-8). DePaul crashed the boards when they did miss, ending the contest with 16 offensive rebounds. They defeated Butler on the glass 40-26.

Butler's next BIG EAST contest won't come until the end of the month as they travel to Seton Hall to face the Pirates on Dec. 30. The team will return to action with a string of non-conference matchups until then, beginning with a home game against Wright State on Friday, Dec. 5. Tip-off between the 'Dawgs and Raiders is slated for 7 p.m.