CHICAGO, Ill. -- The Western Michigan women's basketball team dropped its season opener to DePaul Monday evening. During the contest, Hannah Spitzley and Kaiden Glenn combined for 16 points, Kaitlyn Zarycki, in her Bronco debut, grabbed a team-high six rebounds, and Gabi Saxman recorded a game-high four steals in the loss. 

In the first quarter, the Brown and Gold were able to hold DePaul to 16 points and trailed by only five after one. Down 14-7 midway through the quarter, the Broncos exploded on the offensive front by going on a 15-4 run over a quarter and a half. During the scoring barrage, Spitzley knocked down two crucial three-pointers in less than a minute to pull the Broncos within one at 18-17 with 8:29 remaining in the second quarter. The Broncos, led by Saxman on the defensive end, were able to capitalize on Depaul's miscues. To cap off the run, Saxman secured one of her four steals on the evening  and ended with a layup in transition on the opposite side of the court to put the Broncos up ahead 22-18 with five and a half remaining in the second quarter. 

During the contest, Spitzley and Kaiden Glenn led the Broncos from distance, combining for a scorching 4-6 from beyond the arch Monday evening. As a team, the Brown and Gold were able to knock down eight three-pointers against DePaul. Additionally, Spitzley and Glenn led all Broncos in the scoring department off the bench, combining for a total of 16 points.

Tonight, Saxman followed up on last year's stellar performance on the defensive end of the court with her game-best four steals Monday. During the 2022-23 campaign, the guard from Schoolcraft, Michigan found herself among the top 25 in program history for the most steals recorded in a single season with 59. As a team, Western Michigan forced DePaul into committing 21 turnovers. Overall, the Brown and Gold corralled 23 rebounds on the glass and swiped nine steals Monday.  

Up Next: The Brown and Gold will travel to Atlanta, Georgia, to take on Georgia State on Friday, November 10, at 6:30PM.