Wednesday, December 16
Wintrust Arena
2:00 P.M. CT
DePaul University
vs
Kentucky
Next Up for No. 24/23 DePaul: No. 9/9 Kentucky on Wednesday
12/15/2020 1:44:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Blue Demons face third Top 10 team at 2 PM in the South Loop
CHICAGO – The women's basketball gauntlet continues for No. 24/23 DePaul on Wednesday when coach Doug Bruno's team takes on its third national power in the first five games.
Other than a legendary program like Connecticut, most Top 25 teams prefer to gradually prime themselves for a national showdown.
The Blue Demons' Wednesday adversary No. 9/9 Kentucky (6-0) has taken a more traditional scheduling approach, facing one Top 25 team (No. 15/15 Indiana) in its first six games.
Bruno believes the tougher the schedule, the more battle-ready his players will be for the BIG EAST Conference season and ultimately, the NCAA tournament.
The iconic Hall of Fame coach puts his players in challenging situations believing they have a legitimate shot at taking down the game's best. The victory over Loyola on Sunday gave Bruno 724 career wins at DePaul, equaling the standard set by the legendary Ray Meyer who coached Bruno when he played for the Blue Demons. Â
This South Loop showdown can be seen on the DePaul All-Access live stream that can be accessed at depaulbluedemons.com. Matt Rodewald will provide the play-by-play with Daily Herald sportswriter Trish Babcock McGraw handling the analyst duties.
In Bruno's mind, win or lose---the experience of elevating your game to a championship level can only fortify his team for the high-stakes pressure of March Madness.
Nothing in the NCAA tournament could be more daunting than playing UConn twice during the BIG EAST regular season and potentially a third time in the BIG EAST tournament.
That being said, DePaul's guard-oriented attack averaging 92.5 points a game will need to maintain a fast pace while knocking down shots to offset a Kentucky powerhouse that features 6-foot, 2-inch National Player of the Year candidate Rhyne Howard (14.3 points a game) and 6-2 Dre'Una Edwards (14.5 points and 8.7 rebounds a game).
Watch for the fast-motion foursome of Sonya Morris (19 points a game), Lexi Held (16.8 points), Dee Bekelja (16.3 points) and Deja Church (13.5 points) to quicken the pace hoping to offset a Wildcat rotation with five players standing 6-2 or taller.
The X factor could be the performance of talented Blue Demon freshman Darrione Rogers who is averaging 11.8 points a game giving Bruno five players scoring in double figures. Guards Kendall Holmes and Jolene Daninger along with 6-1 Kayla Caudle have been the main contributors off the bench.
Bruno and his staff would like nothing better than to see their players emerge from a two-game shooting slump. One of the nation's most feared three-point shooting teams, DePaul has connected 11 times from behind the arc in 64 attempts against No. 2/2 Louisville and Loyola.
The vagaries of outside shooting can flip in a moment's notice, and just like barreling up a pitch in another sport---they represent the beauty and fascination of sports.
The Blue Demons are drawing upon lessons learned in a loss to No. 2/2 Louisville last Friday and applying them to this showdown against another national power from the Bluegrass State.
Â
Other than a legendary program like Connecticut, most Top 25 teams prefer to gradually prime themselves for a national showdown.
The Blue Demons' Wednesday adversary No. 9/9 Kentucky (6-0) has taken a more traditional scheduling approach, facing one Top 25 team (No. 15/15 Indiana) in its first six games.
Bruno believes the tougher the schedule, the more battle-ready his players will be for the BIG EAST Conference season and ultimately, the NCAA tournament.
The iconic Hall of Fame coach puts his players in challenging situations believing they have a legitimate shot at taking down the game's best. The victory over Loyola on Sunday gave Bruno 724 career wins at DePaul, equaling the standard set by the legendary Ray Meyer who coached Bruno when he played for the Blue Demons. Â
This South Loop showdown can be seen on the DePaul All-Access live stream that can be accessed at depaulbluedemons.com. Matt Rodewald will provide the play-by-play with Daily Herald sportswriter Trish Babcock McGraw handling the analyst duties.
In Bruno's mind, win or lose---the experience of elevating your game to a championship level can only fortify his team for the high-stakes pressure of March Madness.
Nothing in the NCAA tournament could be more daunting than playing UConn twice during the BIG EAST regular season and potentially a third time in the BIG EAST tournament.
That being said, DePaul's guard-oriented attack averaging 92.5 points a game will need to maintain a fast pace while knocking down shots to offset a Kentucky powerhouse that features 6-foot, 2-inch National Player of the Year candidate Rhyne Howard (14.3 points a game) and 6-2 Dre'Una Edwards (14.5 points and 8.7 rebounds a game).
Watch for the fast-motion foursome of Sonya Morris (19 points a game), Lexi Held (16.8 points), Dee Bekelja (16.3 points) and Deja Church (13.5 points) to quicken the pace hoping to offset a Wildcat rotation with five players standing 6-2 or taller.
The X factor could be the performance of talented Blue Demon freshman Darrione Rogers who is averaging 11.8 points a game giving Bruno five players scoring in double figures. Guards Kendall Holmes and Jolene Daninger along with 6-1 Kayla Caudle have been the main contributors off the bench.
Bruno and his staff would like nothing better than to see their players emerge from a two-game shooting slump. One of the nation's most feared three-point shooting teams, DePaul has connected 11 times from behind the arc in 64 attempts against No. 2/2 Louisville and Loyola.
The vagaries of outside shooting can flip in a moment's notice, and just like barreling up a pitch in another sport---they represent the beauty and fascination of sports.
The Blue Demons are drawing upon lessons learned in a loss to No. 2/2 Louisville last Friday and applying them to this showdown against another national power from the Bluegrass State.
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