Sunday, January 12
McGrath-Phillips Arena
12:00 p.m. CT
DePaul University
15-2,5-0Big East
74
vs
69
St. John's
10-7,3-3Big East
1
2
3
4
F
St. John's (NY)
15
19
16
19
69
DePaul
26
14
7
27
74
No. 15/17 DePaul Wins Sixth in a Row
1/12/2020 3:52:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Morris, Church, Stonewall lead Blue Demons past St. John's 74-69 on Sunday
CHICAGO – It was a Sunday showdown in Chi-town as the two BIG EAST preseason favorites went head-to-head before an FS1 national TV audience.
And when the smoke had cleared, No. 15/17 DePaul had won its sixth in a row, this time by a 74-69 margin over BIG EAST contender St. John's at McGrath-Phillips Arena.
Helping to turn around a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter into remaining undefeated in the BIG EAST was Sonya Morris with 17 points, 11 rebounds and four assists---her first career double-double. Deja Church had her best game as a Blue Demon with 15 points and 10 rebounds (first DePaul double-double) while stalwart Chante Stonewall scored 15 points.
Lexi Held finished with 10 points and all-purpose standout Kelly Campbell contributed eight points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Dee Bekelja chipped in with nine valuable points off the bench.
What the Blue Demons (15-2, 5-0) overcame on Sunday was their lowest-scoring quarter of the season when a 10-minute shooting slump saw the nation's third-highest scoring team put up just seven points in the third quarter.
But in true DePaul fashion, coach Doug Bruno's players came roaring back with 27 points in the fourth quarter as Bruno made a critical offensive adjustment for the final 10 minutes.
Trailing by three entering the final 10 minutes, DePaul saw the Red Storm take its largest lead at 53-47. Church finally ended a 7:22 span without a field goal. A pair of Held free throws and a huge Campbell three-pointer brought the Blue Demons within 55-54 with 7:22 to go.
A combined six free throws from Held, Church and Morris provided a 65-61 lead with 2:22 left. Qadashah Hoppie (20 points) hit a three for St. John's and Morris countered with a tough layup and drew a charging foul that resulted in Church converting a clutch driving layup.
After a Red Storm foul shot, Church swished a pair from the line for a 71-65 lead with 38.4 seconds to go. A Held foul shot followed by two from Campbell staved off the Johnnies.
After the Red Storm increased the lead to 59-54 early in the fourth quarter, Held hit her first three-pointer of the game and Stonewall converted two foul shots to tie it 59-59. A St. John's score made it 61-59 at the fourth quarter media timeout.
Stonewall opened the third quarter with a basket increasing DePaul's six-point halftime lead. A Held jumper made it 44-38 and the Red Storm came within 44-40 at the third quarter media timeout. At this point, the Blue Demons had 15 assists on their 18 baskets.
Held's basket was the last one of the quarter as DePaul went 6:44 without a field goal. That opened the door for St. John's who went on a 9-1 run to close out the third quarter with a 50-47 lead.
DePaul knocked down its first four shots after the opening tip including threes by Morris and Campbell for an early 10-6 lead. Another long-distance connection by Morris had the home team up 15-13 at the first quarter media timeout.
You could practically sense the increased level of intensity and focus as these two conference heavyweights went at it. St. John's was within 17-15 when the Blue Demons closed out the quarter on a 9-0 run. Stonewall's nine points in the first 10 minutes staked her team to a 26-15 lead.
Stonewall opened the second quarter with a turnaround jumper extended the run to 11. The Red Storm responded with six in a row and DePaul coach Doug Bruno called timeout with his team ahead 28-21.
Leading by four, Morris hit her third from behind the arc and Church converted a tough rebound basket for a 33-24 lead. St. John's again closed the margin to two when Dee Bekelja made a big contribution off the bench with a three-pointer followed by a nice reverse-dribble move and layup. Morris' pair of foul shots gave DePaul a 40-34 halftime lead.
Morris was filling the stat sheet with 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the first 20 minutes. Stonewall had 11 points and Bekelja seven.
DePaul will shoot for its seventh win in a row Friday at Xavier.
Postgame Notes
And when the smoke had cleared, No. 15/17 DePaul had won its sixth in a row, this time by a 74-69 margin over BIG EAST contender St. John's at McGrath-Phillips Arena.
Helping to turn around a six-point deficit in the fourth quarter into remaining undefeated in the BIG EAST was Sonya Morris with 17 points, 11 rebounds and four assists---her first career double-double. Deja Church had her best game as a Blue Demon with 15 points and 10 rebounds (first DePaul double-double) while stalwart Chante Stonewall scored 15 points.
Lexi Held finished with 10 points and all-purpose standout Kelly Campbell contributed eight points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Dee Bekelja chipped in with nine valuable points off the bench.
What the Blue Demons (15-2, 5-0) overcame on Sunday was their lowest-scoring quarter of the season when a 10-minute shooting slump saw the nation's third-highest scoring team put up just seven points in the third quarter.
But in true DePaul fashion, coach Doug Bruno's players came roaring back with 27 points in the fourth quarter as Bruno made a critical offensive adjustment for the final 10 minutes.
Trailing by three entering the final 10 minutes, DePaul saw the Red Storm take its largest lead at 53-47. Church finally ended a 7:22 span without a field goal. A pair of Held free throws and a huge Campbell three-pointer brought the Blue Demons within 55-54 with 7:22 to go.
A combined six free throws from Held, Church and Morris provided a 65-61 lead with 2:22 left. Qadashah Hoppie (20 points) hit a three for St. John's and Morris countered with a tough layup and drew a charging foul that resulted in Church converting a clutch driving layup.
After a Red Storm foul shot, Church swished a pair from the line for a 71-65 lead with 38.4 seconds to go. A Held foul shot followed by two from Campbell staved off the Johnnies.
After the Red Storm increased the lead to 59-54 early in the fourth quarter, Held hit her first three-pointer of the game and Stonewall converted two foul shots to tie it 59-59. A St. John's score made it 61-59 at the fourth quarter media timeout.
Stonewall opened the third quarter with a basket increasing DePaul's six-point halftime lead. A Held jumper made it 44-38 and the Red Storm came within 44-40 at the third quarter media timeout. At this point, the Blue Demons had 15 assists on their 18 baskets.
Held's basket was the last one of the quarter as DePaul went 6:44 without a field goal. That opened the door for St. John's who went on a 9-1 run to close out the third quarter with a 50-47 lead.
DePaul knocked down its first four shots after the opening tip including threes by Morris and Campbell for an early 10-6 lead. Another long-distance connection by Morris had the home team up 15-13 at the first quarter media timeout.
You could practically sense the increased level of intensity and focus as these two conference heavyweights went at it. St. John's was within 17-15 when the Blue Demons closed out the quarter on a 9-0 run. Stonewall's nine points in the first 10 minutes staked her team to a 26-15 lead.
Stonewall opened the second quarter with a turnaround jumper extended the run to 11. The Red Storm responded with six in a row and DePaul coach Doug Bruno called timeout with his team ahead 28-21.
Leading by four, Morris hit her third from behind the arc and Church converted a tough rebound basket for a 33-24 lead. St. John's again closed the margin to two when Dee Bekelja made a big contribution off the bench with a three-pointer followed by a nice reverse-dribble move and layup. Morris' pair of foul shots gave DePaul a 40-34 halftime lead.
Morris was filling the stat sheet with 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the first 20 minutes. Stonewall had 11 points and Bekelja seven.
DePaul will shoot for its seventh win in a row Friday at Xavier.
Postgame Notes
- Morris notched the first double-double of her career and Church recorded her first double-double as a Blue Demon.
- DePaul outrebounded the Red Storm 48-37.
- The Blue Demons have forced 20 or more turnovers in all but two games this season. St. John's has the lowest count with 10 and Creighton had 16
- DePaul went into the game leading the nation in assists, ranked second in three-pointers and third in scoring.
- In the latest NCAA RPI, DePaul is ranked No. 10.
- This was the 903rd win in program history.
- Campbell needs 16 points to reach the 1,000-point career milestone.
- Campbell is No. 4 in career assists with 565. Chanise Jenkins is No. 3 with 670.
- Campbell has passed WNBA Draft pick Felicia Chester, Beth Hasenmiller and Megan Podkowa for seventh in all-time rebounds with 842. JoAnn Feiereisel is No. 6 at 984.
- Stonewall is No. 23 with in career scoring with 1,355. Stonewall's 2018-19 teammate Martè Grays is No. 22 with 1,375.
Team Stats
SJU
DePaul
FG%
.359
.348
3FG%
.346
.333
FT%
.875
.833
RB
37
48
TO
10
10
STL
3
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
Guard
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