No. 24/23 DePaul Renews Red Line Rivalry

Sunday, December 13

Wintrust Arena

3:00 P.M. CT

DePaul University

Loyola

12/12/2020 12:17:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Live Video Live Stats De Paul Notes Loyola Notes

Blue Demons host North Side rival Loyola at 3 PM Sunday at Wintrust Arena

CHICAGO – After an eight-day break, No. 24/23 DePaul is anxious to hit the court running Sunday in the 53rd renewal of the aptly named "Red Line Rivalry."

The Blue Demons will be looking to win their fifth in a row against North Side rival Loyola and 26th of the last 27. Coach Doug Bruno's program rode a 21-game winning streak against the Ramblers that spanned three decades (1994 to 2014).

DePaul leads 41-11 in a series that began back on Feb. 23, 1976 with a 73-24 Blue Demon victory. The largest margin of victory was recorded on Feb. 4, 1978 with DePaul's 88-26 win. Loyola's last success was an 88-75 upset in 2015.

Sunday's game with a 3 p.m. tipoff at Wintrust Arena will be shown on DePaul All-Access with Matt Rodewald providing the play-by-play and Daily Herald sportswriter Trish Babcock McGraw handling the analyst duties.

Bruno & Co. are off to a 1-2 start with both setbacks coming to nationally ranked powers---No. 2/2 Louisville and No. 10/10 Texas A&M.

Bolting out of the starting gate while experiencing somewhat of a senior awakening is previously unheralded guard Dee Bekelja.

It's not uncommon in collegiate sports for something to click within a talented student-athlete during the "gun lap" of his or her four-year career. Playing through a global pandemic has moved the NCAA to allow the option of an extra year of eligibility for seniors such as Bekelja along with teammates Deja Church and Kiara Dallmann.

Bekelja leads her team averaging 19 points a game which is fifth in the BIG EAST Conference. She also tops the Blue Demons in rebounding (4.7 a game), field goal percentage (.524) and total three-pointers with seven. She is second in three-point percentage and steals.

After averaging 7.8 points last season, Bekelja has upped her scoring by more than 11 points a game. If this keeps up, she will be a prime candidate for the BIG EAST Most Improved Player Award won by teammate Sonya Morris last season.

Ohio's former Gatorade Player of the Year, Bekelja heads a balanced attack featuring five players averaging in double figures for an offense scoring 98 points a game---third-highest in the nation.

Lexi Held and Sonya Morris who were both named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team, are averaging an identical 16.7 points a game.

Reigning BIG EAST Freshman of the Week Darrione Rogers is scoring 13.3 a game and is fresh off an eye-opening 25-point performance against Louisville on ESPN where she knocked down 12-of-15 free throws.

Rounding out the double-digit Demons is Church at an even 13 points a game while being tasked with defending opponents' top inside scoring threats who are generally four-to-five inches taller than the 5-10 native of Southfield, Mich.

The early emergence of Rogers and fellow first-year guard Kendall Holmes (8.3 points a game, team-leading .545 three-point percentage) has prompted Bruno to strategically fill the court with five guards at a time, running its high-paced, shoot-it-or-share-it offense and forcing turnovers with an unrelenting full-court pressure.

Loyola (1-0) topped Chicago State in last week's season opener 70-57 behind 6-2 freshman Sitori Tanin (16 points), 5-10 guard Ellie Rice (14 points, 10 rebounds), freshman Maya Chandler (14 points) and sophomore Anna Brown who scored a dozen going 4-of-8 from three-point land.