Wednesday, December 11
Notre Dame, Ind.
5:30 P.M. CT
DePaul University
8-1,0-0Big East
105
at
94
Notre Dame
5-7,0-0ACC
1
2
3
4
F
DePaul
24
27
30
24
105
Notre Dame
30
23
23
18
94
No. 16/16 DePaul Knocks Off Notre Dame 105-94
12/11/2019 8:24:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Morris leads five Blue Demons in double figures Wednesday
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – If there was ever a time, this was it.
If there was ever a moment, it was right now.
By staying in the moment during a frenetic evening in front of a boisterous and partisan Purcell Pavilion crowd, No. 16/16 DePaul came away with a well-earned 105-94 victory over Notre Dame on Wednesday night. It was their best 40-minute performance of the season in their most entertaining game.
Helping lead the Blue Demons (8-1) to their sixth win in a row was Sonya Morris who tied her career high with 29 points and shot 5-of-8 from three-point range while adding six assists.
Chante Stonewall and Dee Bekelja scored 20 points apiece with Bekelja making all four of her shots from behind the arc. Lexi Held contributed 17 big points hitting clutch three-pointers when they counted the most.
And then there was Kelly Campbell who played her heart out all over the court finishing with 12 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. The senior point guard was one helper shy of her second career triple-double.
Morris was in a zone, much like her game against Oregon State when she scored 29 points. A pair of baskets including one on a sweet spin move and a Campbell layup after a DePaul steal provided an 87-82 lead at the fourth quarter media timeout.
The Irish came within 87-86 when a Stonewall basket and a clutch Held corner three-pointer gave DePaul a 92-88 lead with 4:33 left.
A pair of Campbell free throws followed by another big three-pointer from Held gave the Blue Demons a 97-88 advantage. The home team scored four in a row and it was 97-92 with 3:00 to go.
Campbell's layup and two Bekelja scores increased the margin to 105-94 with 1:03 left. It would lead to DePaul's first win over its archrival since 2011.
Trailing 53-51 at halftime, DePaul pulled even 68-68 at the third quarter media timeout. Stonewall scored seven points in a row. Campbell and Held also hit three-pointers as the hectic first-half pace continued unabated.
Another Stonewall score put DePaul ahead 70-68. It was 72-72 when Morris hit a three and Bekelja knocked down back-to-back threes to more than offset a pair of Notre Dame baskets. The Blue Demons took an 81-76 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Blue Demons came out hitting shots early for the first time in the last three road games. Morris and Bekelja sparked the attack for a quick 10-4 lead. Notre Dame responded with 10 unanswered points only to see Deja Church and Morris tie it at 14.
It was an action-packed opening 10 minutes as the Fighting Irish pulled out to a 25-16 lead. Three-pointers by Morris and Bekelja along with Held's basket made it 30-24, Irish after one quarter.
Church's three-pointer early in the second quarter brought her team within 32-27. The home team came back with six-straight points and a 38-27 lead.
Morris was really heating up, shooting effortlessly and with terrific self-confidence. The sophomore guard hit a pair of three-pointers followed by a Kelly Campbell long-distance connection and a Stonewall jumper. The 14-3 run tied the game 41-41.
Both teams relentlessly went on the attack the rest of the quarter as the Irish lead fluctuated between two and four points. Morris scored the final four points for DePaul and her team went to its halftime locker room down 53-51.
Morris already had 20 points after the first 20 minutes on 8-of-16 shooting and 4-of-7 from deep. Bekelja had 10 points as the Blue Demons hit 47 percent of their three-pointers.
Postgame Notes
If there was ever a moment, it was right now.
By staying in the moment during a frenetic evening in front of a boisterous and partisan Purcell Pavilion crowd, No. 16/16 DePaul came away with a well-earned 105-94 victory over Notre Dame on Wednesday night. It was their best 40-minute performance of the season in their most entertaining game.
Helping lead the Blue Demons (8-1) to their sixth win in a row was Sonya Morris who tied her career high with 29 points and shot 5-of-8 from three-point range while adding six assists.
Chante Stonewall and Dee Bekelja scored 20 points apiece with Bekelja making all four of her shots from behind the arc. Lexi Held contributed 17 big points hitting clutch three-pointers when they counted the most.
And then there was Kelly Campbell who played her heart out all over the court finishing with 12 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. The senior point guard was one helper shy of her second career triple-double.
Morris was in a zone, much like her game against Oregon State when she scored 29 points. A pair of baskets including one on a sweet spin move and a Campbell layup after a DePaul steal provided an 87-82 lead at the fourth quarter media timeout.
The Irish came within 87-86 when a Stonewall basket and a clutch Held corner three-pointer gave DePaul a 92-88 lead with 4:33 left.
A pair of Campbell free throws followed by another big three-pointer from Held gave the Blue Demons a 97-88 advantage. The home team scored four in a row and it was 97-92 with 3:00 to go.
Campbell's layup and two Bekelja scores increased the margin to 105-94 with 1:03 left. It would lead to DePaul's first win over its archrival since 2011.
Trailing 53-51 at halftime, DePaul pulled even 68-68 at the third quarter media timeout. Stonewall scored seven points in a row. Campbell and Held also hit three-pointers as the hectic first-half pace continued unabated.
Another Stonewall score put DePaul ahead 70-68. It was 72-72 when Morris hit a three and Bekelja knocked down back-to-back threes to more than offset a pair of Notre Dame baskets. The Blue Demons took an 81-76 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Blue Demons came out hitting shots early for the first time in the last three road games. Morris and Bekelja sparked the attack for a quick 10-4 lead. Notre Dame responded with 10 unanswered points only to see Deja Church and Morris tie it at 14.
It was an action-packed opening 10 minutes as the Fighting Irish pulled out to a 25-16 lead. Three-pointers by Morris and Bekelja along with Held's basket made it 30-24, Irish after one quarter.
Church's three-pointer early in the second quarter brought her team within 32-27. The home team came back with six-straight points and a 38-27 lead.
Morris was really heating up, shooting effortlessly and with terrific self-confidence. The sophomore guard hit a pair of three-pointers followed by a Kelly Campbell long-distance connection and a Stonewall jumper. The 14-3 run tied the game 41-41.
Both teams relentlessly went on the attack the rest of the quarter as the Irish lead fluctuated between two and four points. Morris scored the final four points for DePaul and her team went to its halftime locker room down 53-51.
Morris already had 20 points after the first 20 minutes on 8-of-16 shooting and 4-of-7 from deep. Bekelja had 10 points as the Blue Demons hit 47 percent of their three-pointers.
Postgame Notes
- The last time DePaul beat the Fighting Irish was Feb. 28, 2011 by a score of 70-69 at McGrath Arena
- The time DePaul beat Notre Dame on the Irish's home court was Jan. 22, 2008 by a score of 81-80.
- This was the second-highest point total of the season behind the 109 points against Arkansas State.
- Bekelja set career highs with 20 points, eight field goals and four 3-pointers.
- Morris set career highs with 12 field goals, 25 FG attempts and five 3-pointers.
- The Blue Demons went 16-of-29 from three-point range for 55.2 percent and scored 30 points in the third quarter.
- DePaul forced 27 Irish turnovers resulting in 33 points.
- In the first NCAA RPI reveal on Monday, DePaul was ranked No. 7.
- Stonewall has 159 points and 33 steals in her nine games.
- The Blue Demons need four more wins to reach 900 in program history.
- Campbell needs 71 points to reach the 1,000-point career milestone.
- Campbell is No. 5 in career assists with 531 and Jessica January is fourth with 554.
- Campbell has passed WNBA Draft pick Felicia Chester and Beth Hasenmiller for eighth in all-time rebounds with 785. Megan Podkowa is No. 7 at 835.
- Stonewall is tied with Janine Douglas for No. 27 all-time in career scoring with 1,206 points. On Wednesday she passed former teammate Brooke Schulte, Deirdre Naughton, Caprice Smith and Kim Williams.
Team Stats
DePaul
ND
FG%
.512
.574
3FG%
.552
.500
FT%
.500
.571
RB
36
42
TO
19
27
STL
15
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
29
FGM
12
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
20
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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