Sunday, December 13
Wintrust Arena
3:00 P.M. CT
DePaul University
2-2,0-0Big East
76
vs
67
Loyola
1-1,0-0MVC
1
2
3
4
F
Loyola Chicago
17
17
19
14
67
DePaul
19
16
12
29
76
Late Rally LIfts No. 24/23 DePaul Past Loyola on Sunday
12/13/2020 5:52:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Morris and Held ignite 15-0 run to fuel 76-67 victory in the South Loop
CHICAGO – It took quite a while on Sunday, but finally No. 24/23 DePaul put together one of its patented sustained runs that is a critical component of the program's DNA.
Sparked by Sonya Morris and Lexi Held, the Blue Demons went on a 15-0 burst beginning at the five- minute mark of the fourth quarter for a 76-67 victory over Loyola at Wintrust Arena.
Morris finished with a game-high 26 points including 11 in those final 10 minutes. Held came through with 17 points---an even dozen in the money quarter. Deja Church added 15 points, Dee Bekelja had eight and Darrione Rogers seven.
That crucial run in the fourth quarter enabled coach Doug Bruno's program to overcome shooting just 18.9 percent from three-point range and 36 percent overall.
Bruno pointed out in the postgame media conference that good teams find a way to win when the shots are not falling.
The inability to maintain a sustained run plagued the Blue Demons in the first three quarters as they trailed 53-47 going into the fourth quarter. Shooting just 16 percent from deep to that point was a big factor.
A Church bucket followed by a Morris reverse layup was a promising start to the final period, drawing DePaul within 53-51 and forcing Loyola's coach to call timeout.
This one was going the distance as the game was tied multiple times throughout the fourth quarter. A Church score tied it at 57-57 only to see a pair of Rambler foul shots put them up 59-57 at the media timeout.
That's when Morris opened the floodgates with a pair of free throws followed by another on the next possession. Held hit a jumper, Morris converted a turnover into two more points and then Held scored eight in a row with back-to-back threes and a pair of foul shots.
That provided an insurmountable 72-59 lead and evened DePaul's record at 2-2.
Leading 35-34 at halftime, DePaul rode a six-point Morris surge to a 41-38 lead early in the third quarter. The Ramblers recovered and moved in front 42-41 at the media timeout.
That was part of a 9-0 Rambler run giving the visitors a 47-41 lead until Church knocked down a pair of free throws. Rogers followed with a basket and it was a two-point game.
Closing out the third quarter on a 6-2 spurt, Loyola led 53-47 heading into the final 10 minutes.
The Blue Demons opened the game on the chilly side making just one of their first six shots. Church ignited a surge with a jumper and a three-point play as the home team connected on five of its next six attempts for an 11-6 lead.
Loyola (1-1) rallied with back-to-back scores, but Morris' three made it 14-10 at the first quarter media timeout.
DePaul maintained a lead until the :49 mark when an Allison Day three-pointer put the Ramblers up 17-16. Rogers quickly rectified that situation with a three of her own just before the buzzer for a 19-17 advantage after one quarter.
Bekelja opened the second quarter with a three, but the Ramblers scored the next six points in pulling out to a 23-22 lead at the media timeout. The Blue Demons' passing and offensive flow lacked cohesion, and Bruno let them know during the respite.
That deficit grew to 28-22 until Held halted Loyola's 11-0 run with a score inside. Held followed up with a three-pointer and an assist on Morris' score to tie it at 30-30. Bekelja knotted it back up at 32 in the waning moments of the second quarter.
Just when the Ramblers appeared headed to halftime with a lead, freshman Kendall Holmes buried a buzzer-beater and DePaul led 35-34 at the break. Morris had nine points and Bekelja seven.
Resuming what may be the most challenging nonconference schedule in the country, DePaul is on a collision course with No. 9/9 Kentucky Wednesday with a 2 p.m. tipoff at Wintrust Arena. New Blue Demon athletics director DeWayne Peevy's former school is 6-0 and features Player of the Year candidate Rhyne Howard.
Postgame Notes
Sparked by Sonya Morris and Lexi Held, the Blue Demons went on a 15-0 burst beginning at the five- minute mark of the fourth quarter for a 76-67 victory over Loyola at Wintrust Arena.
Morris finished with a game-high 26 points including 11 in those final 10 minutes. Held came through with 17 points---an even dozen in the money quarter. Deja Church added 15 points, Dee Bekelja had eight and Darrione Rogers seven.
That crucial run in the fourth quarter enabled coach Doug Bruno's program to overcome shooting just 18.9 percent from three-point range and 36 percent overall.
Bruno pointed out in the postgame media conference that good teams find a way to win when the shots are not falling.
The inability to maintain a sustained run plagued the Blue Demons in the first three quarters as they trailed 53-47 going into the fourth quarter. Shooting just 16 percent from deep to that point was a big factor.
A Church bucket followed by a Morris reverse layup was a promising start to the final period, drawing DePaul within 53-51 and forcing Loyola's coach to call timeout.
This one was going the distance as the game was tied multiple times throughout the fourth quarter. A Church score tied it at 57-57 only to see a pair of Rambler foul shots put them up 59-57 at the media timeout.
That's when Morris opened the floodgates with a pair of free throws followed by another on the next possession. Held hit a jumper, Morris converted a turnover into two more points and then Held scored eight in a row with back-to-back threes and a pair of foul shots.
That provided an insurmountable 72-59 lead and evened DePaul's record at 2-2.
Leading 35-34 at halftime, DePaul rode a six-point Morris surge to a 41-38 lead early in the third quarter. The Ramblers recovered and moved in front 42-41 at the media timeout.
That was part of a 9-0 Rambler run giving the visitors a 47-41 lead until Church knocked down a pair of free throws. Rogers followed with a basket and it was a two-point game.
Closing out the third quarter on a 6-2 spurt, Loyola led 53-47 heading into the final 10 minutes.
The Blue Demons opened the game on the chilly side making just one of their first six shots. Church ignited a surge with a jumper and a three-point play as the home team connected on five of its next six attempts for an 11-6 lead.
Loyola (1-1) rallied with back-to-back scores, but Morris' three made it 14-10 at the first quarter media timeout.
DePaul maintained a lead until the :49 mark when an Allison Day three-pointer put the Ramblers up 17-16. Rogers quickly rectified that situation with a three of her own just before the buzzer for a 19-17 advantage after one quarter.
Bekelja opened the second quarter with a three, but the Ramblers scored the next six points in pulling out to a 23-22 lead at the media timeout. The Blue Demons' passing and offensive flow lacked cohesion, and Bruno let them know during the respite.
That deficit grew to 28-22 until Held halted Loyola's 11-0 run with a score inside. Held followed up with a three-pointer and an assist on Morris' score to tie it at 30-30. Bekelja knotted it back up at 32 in the waning moments of the second quarter.
Just when the Ramblers appeared headed to halftime with a lead, freshman Kendall Holmes buried a buzzer-beater and DePaul led 35-34 at the break. Morris had nine points and Bekelja seven.
Resuming what may be the most challenging nonconference schedule in the country, DePaul is on a collision course with No. 9/9 Kentucky Wednesday with a 2 p.m. tipoff at Wintrust Arena. New Blue Demon athletics director DeWayne Peevy's former school is 6-0 and features Player of the Year candidate Rhyne Howard.
Postgame Notes
- As a result of schedule adjustments, cancellations and postponements in this season of basketball in a pandemic, three of DePaul's first five games are against teams ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls (No. 2/2 Louisville, No. 9/9 Kentucky, No. 10/10 Texas A&M).
- Held (12 points) and Morris (11) combined to score 23 of the team's 29 points in the fourth quarter. Outscoring the Ramblers 29-14 in those final 10 minutes was the difference on Sunday.
- Morris, Held and Church combined for 58 of DePaul's 76 points as the Blue Demons shot 57.1 percent in the fourth quarter.
- Morris led her team with six rebounds and Held added five.
- Freshman Darrione Rogers made the first start of her collegiate career as Bruno opened with a five-guard alignment (Church, Morris, Held, Bekelja).
- Deja Church needs 100 points to reach the 1,000 mark in her career. That includes two seasons at Michigan. Lexi Held is 172 away from accomplishing the feat in just three seasons while classmate Sonya Morris is 244 shy.
- DePaul won its fifth in a row against the Ramblers in this "Red Line Rivalry" and the 26th in the last 27 games.
- The overall tally now stands at: Lincoln Park 42, Rogers Park 11.
- The Blue Demons are now 22-5 at Wintrust Arena.
Team Stats
Loyola
DePaul
FG%
.441
.360
3FG%
.200
.189
FT%
.857
.789
RB
47
36
TO
26
8
STL
4
12
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
26
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
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