Wednesday, December 16
Wintrust Arena
2:00 P.M. CT
DePaul University
3-2,0-0Big East
86
vs
82
Kentucky
6-1,0-0SEC
1
2
3
4
F
Kentucky
21
16
16
29
82
DePaul
22
13
22
29
86
No. 24/23 DePaul Takes Down No. 9/9 Kentucky 86-82 on Wednesday
12/16/2020 5:13:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
First win over a Top 10 team since beating No. 8/8 Louisville in 2016
CHICAGO – Other than coach Doug Bruno, his staff and players, the happiest person in Wintrust Arena on Wednesday might have been new DePaul athletic director DeWayne Peevy.
It's not known if the former Kentucky deputy AD had provided a little inside intel, or simply a little inspiration, but No. 24/23 DePaul came through with one of its biggest wins in recent years knocking off No. 9/9 Kentucky 86-82.
It is the first win over a Top 10 team since the Blue Demons took down No. 8/8 Louisville 73-72 on the Cardinals' home court in the NCAA Tournament Second Round on March 20, 2016.
Wednesday's success was made possible by Bruno's five-guard attack with five players in double figures accounting for 77 points. Sonya Morris led the way with 23 points followed by Deja Church with 18 points, five rebounds and three steals.
Lexi Held finished with 12 points, five assists and four steals while Dee Bekelja filled out the stat sheet with 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Freshman Darrione Rogers contributed 12 points.
For the third time in five games this season, DePaul took measure of itself against one of the finest women's basketball teams in the nation and emerged with a growing confidence after handing the Wildcats their first loss of the season. The Blue Demons improved to 3-2.
Bruno & Co. came into the fourth quarter protecting a 57-53 lead. What a finish this was shaping up to be. Both teams revved up their offenses as three-pointers were raining down on Wintrust Arena. Held, Morris and Church connected from deep while Rhyne Howard (18 points, 12 rebounds, five steals) and Chasity Patterson (22 points, eight steals) connected for Kentucky. Dre'Una Edwards finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Bekelja's basket just before the media timeout put DePaul in front 74-69. Morris' layup out of the break made it a seven-point advantage. But Kentucky (6-1) could get no closer than three in crunch time as Rogers, Morris and Church combined to convert six consecutive free throws.
Judging from the first 20 minutes of action, this one was headed for a tight finish as DePaul came out in the third quarter determined to erase a 37-35 halftime deficit.
Foul trouble had slowed up Bruno's attack in the latter part of the second quarter with the heart of his offense (Morris, Held and Church) sitting out with two fouls apiece.
Morris ignited a 9-4 run at the outset of the third quarter as a Rogers layup provided DePaul with a 44-41 lead, prompting a Kentucky timeout. That was followed by layups from Church and Kayla Caudle, extending the surge to 13-4.
Howard and Keke McKinney went back-to-back in slicing the DePaul lead to 48-45 at the third quarter media timeout. The Wildcats had crept within two when Church scored seven in a row, personally staking her team to a 55-48 lead. It was 57-53 heading into the fourth quarter.
Kentucky jumped out to an 11-4 lead from the opening tip and was up by eight until Bekelja scored back-to-back, the second off a Morris steal. At 14-10, Kentucky coach Kyra Elzy called timeout.
Morris buried a three, Held scored on her patented driving layup and Morris scored again to make it 17-17. The Wildcats led 21-17 when Bekelja's bucket and a Held three-pointer gave DePaul a 22-21 lead after one quarter.
So far, this was a different DePaul team from the one that suited up in the last two games. Instead of relying so heavily on shots behind the arc, these Blue Demons were driving the lane and also connecting on two-point shots.
The lead see-sawed back and forth the first five minutes of the second quarter until a Kayla Caudle free throw, another Held score and Nadège Jean's layup off a nice feed from Darrione Rogers gave the home team a 31-27 lead at the media timeout.
An 8-2 Wildcat strike put the visitor up 35-33, but Caudle knotted it up with a basket down low. Rhyne Howard's steal and score left the Blue Demons trailing 37-35 at halftime. Bekelja had 10 points at the break followed by Morris with nine and Held with seven.
DePaul is back in the South Loop at 2 p.m. on Saturday for its BIG EAST season opener against Georgetown that will be shown on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
Postgame Notes
It's not known if the former Kentucky deputy AD had provided a little inside intel, or simply a little inspiration, but No. 24/23 DePaul came through with one of its biggest wins in recent years knocking off No. 9/9 Kentucky 86-82.
It is the first win over a Top 10 team since the Blue Demons took down No. 8/8 Louisville 73-72 on the Cardinals' home court in the NCAA Tournament Second Round on March 20, 2016.
Wednesday's success was made possible by Bruno's five-guard attack with five players in double figures accounting for 77 points. Sonya Morris led the way with 23 points followed by Deja Church with 18 points, five rebounds and three steals.
Lexi Held finished with 12 points, five assists and four steals while Dee Bekelja filled out the stat sheet with 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Freshman Darrione Rogers contributed 12 points.
For the third time in five games this season, DePaul took measure of itself against one of the finest women's basketball teams in the nation and emerged with a growing confidence after handing the Wildcats their first loss of the season. The Blue Demons improved to 3-2.
Bruno & Co. came into the fourth quarter protecting a 57-53 lead. What a finish this was shaping up to be. Both teams revved up their offenses as three-pointers were raining down on Wintrust Arena. Held, Morris and Church connected from deep while Rhyne Howard (18 points, 12 rebounds, five steals) and Chasity Patterson (22 points, eight steals) connected for Kentucky. Dre'Una Edwards finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Bekelja's basket just before the media timeout put DePaul in front 74-69. Morris' layup out of the break made it a seven-point advantage. But Kentucky (6-1) could get no closer than three in crunch time as Rogers, Morris and Church combined to convert six consecutive free throws.
Judging from the first 20 minutes of action, this one was headed for a tight finish as DePaul came out in the third quarter determined to erase a 37-35 halftime deficit.
Foul trouble had slowed up Bruno's attack in the latter part of the second quarter with the heart of his offense (Morris, Held and Church) sitting out with two fouls apiece.
Morris ignited a 9-4 run at the outset of the third quarter as a Rogers layup provided DePaul with a 44-41 lead, prompting a Kentucky timeout. That was followed by layups from Church and Kayla Caudle, extending the surge to 13-4.
Howard and Keke McKinney went back-to-back in slicing the DePaul lead to 48-45 at the third quarter media timeout. The Wildcats had crept within two when Church scored seven in a row, personally staking her team to a 55-48 lead. It was 57-53 heading into the fourth quarter.
Kentucky jumped out to an 11-4 lead from the opening tip and was up by eight until Bekelja scored back-to-back, the second off a Morris steal. At 14-10, Kentucky coach Kyra Elzy called timeout.
Morris buried a three, Held scored on her patented driving layup and Morris scored again to make it 17-17. The Wildcats led 21-17 when Bekelja's bucket and a Held three-pointer gave DePaul a 22-21 lead after one quarter.
So far, this was a different DePaul team from the one that suited up in the last two games. Instead of relying so heavily on shots behind the arc, these Blue Demons were driving the lane and also connecting on two-point shots.
The lead see-sawed back and forth the first five minutes of the second quarter until a Kayla Caudle free throw, another Held score and Nadège Jean's layup off a nice feed from Darrione Rogers gave the home team a 31-27 lead at the media timeout.
An 8-2 Wildcat strike put the visitor up 35-33, but Caudle knotted it up with a basket down low. Rhyne Howard's steal and score left the Blue Demons trailing 37-35 at halftime. Bekelja had 10 points at the break followed by Morris with nine and Held with seven.
DePaul is back in the South Loop at 2 p.m. on Saturday for its BIG EAST season opener against Georgetown that will be shown on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
Postgame Notes
- The Blue Demons broke out festive red home uniforms on Wednesday---the first time they have ever worn red. It's not likely to be the last.
- Former players voiced their unabashed approval on Twitter, asking where were those sharp-looking uniforms when they played.
- Bruno reached a memorable milestone and one that resonates with him deeply after winning the 725th game of his illustrious career---surpassing legendary DePaul men's coach Ray Meyer whom Bruno played for as a Blue Demon guard.
- DePaul had its best shooting performance in the last three games going 34-of-68 (50 percent) from the field.
- The Blue Demons shot a respectable 39 percent from three-point range and forced 23 Kentucky turnovers.
- As a team, DePaul only missed once in 12 free throw attempts.
- As a result of schedule adjustments, cancellations and postponements in this season of basketball in a pandemic, three of DePaul's first five games were against teams ranked in the top 10 of the current Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls (No. 2/2 Louisville, No. 9/9 Kentucky, No. 10/10 Texas A&M). It's doubtful any other team in the country has faced such elite competition in its first handful of games.
- Deja Church needs 82 points to reach the 1,000 mark in her career. That includes two seasons at Michigan. Lexi Held is 160 away from accomplishing the feat in just three seasons while classmate Sonya Morris is 221 shy.
- The Blue Demons are now 23-5 at Wintrust Arena and now have their first win over a Top 10 team in the South Loop.
- New DePaul Athletics Director DeWayne Peevy, his wife Allison, daughter Kaitlyn and son Braden were on hand to greet old friends and acquaintances from the Bluegrass State and were joined in this reunion by new DePaul Senior Associate Athletics Director Taylor Stapleton. Peevy was an integral part of the Wildcat leadership team for 12 years, ascending to deputy athletics director before coming to Lincoln Park. For nearly eight years, Stapleton was a moving force in Kentucky's revenue generating leadership team.
Team Stats
UK
DePaul
FG%
.458
.500
3FG%
.250
.389
FT%
.667
.917
RB
46
31
TO
23
18
STL
16
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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