DePaul Rolls Over George Washington to Move on To Second Round

Charlene Smith scored 24 points and Khara Smith added 16 Saturday, and DePaul found its shooting touch in the second half to beat George Washington 83-46 in the opening round of the Midwest Regional.

The Blue Demons (23-6) shot 66 percent in the second half, repeatedly driving past defenders to outscore the Colonials 44-28 in the paint.

Charlene Smith and Khara Smith combined for the first 10 points of the second half, helping ninth-seeded DePaul pull away.

Jenni Dant added 16 points and Khara Smith had 12 rebounds for DePaul, which will meet Tennessee in Monday's second-round game.

Ugo Oha scored 15 points for eighth-seeded George Washington (22-8), which trailed 32-26 at the half. The Colonials turned the ball over five times in the first seven minutes of the second half as the Blue Demons opened a 20-point lead. George Washington turned the ball over 24 times.

DePaul won 18 of its first 19 games to start the season, the only defeat a 96-89 overtime loss at home to Tennessee on December 17. The Blue Demons were 22-2, but a four-game losing streak entering the NCAA tournament hurt their seeding.

The Blue Demons and Vols square off on Monday night at 9 p.m. EST at the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center. The winner moves on to the Midwest Regional in Norman, Okla. next weekend.