Tuesday, December 22
Omaha, Neb.
8:00 P.M. CT
DePaul University
5-2,2-0Big East
90
at
81
Creighton
2-6,1-3Big East
1
2
3
4
F
DePaul
26
15
19
30
90
Creighton
24
21
18
18
81
No. 18/20 DePaul Rallies in Fourth Quarter for 90-81 Win at Creighton
12/22/2020 10:06:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
FS1 national TV audience saw six Blue Demons score in double figures
OMAHA, Neb. – No. 18/20 DePaul's players are encouraged to embrace adversity, and Tuesday night began a demanding stretch of four consecutive BIG EAST road games.
They confronted their most difficult part of the conference schedule and came away embracing a 90-81 victory over a well-coached Creighton program that always seems to play its best against them.
Sonya Morris was practically unstoppable when it counted most and paced the Blue Demons (5-2, 2-0 in the BIG EAST) with 22 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Five of her teammates finished in double figures as Dee Bekelja had 16 points and six rebounds.
Deja Church added 15 points, Jorie Allen came through with 14 points in her DePaul debut, Lexi Held had 10 points and six assists while Darrione Rogers chipped in with 10 points.
It had all the makings of a Blue Demon turnaround after three quarters. Down three heading into the final 10 minutes, DePaul opened by holding Creighton to a five-second count for a turnover. Church, Bekelja and Morris responded with baskets and just like that, the team in red was ahead 66-63.
Creighton coach Jim Flanery called timeout to slow the Blue Demon roll. Morris, Allen, Held and Kendall Holmes hit clutch shots down the stretch and it was 85-78 with 1:32 left.
Morris hit a dagger of a three-pointer for a 10-point lead that doused any hopes of a Bluejay comeback.
The Blue Demons made adjustments and came out for the third quarter looking to erase a 45-41 deficit. Rogers hit a pair of three-pointers while Church, Morris and Bekelja scored, but DePaul had difficulty getting defensive stops. It was 56-54 at the media timeout.
Creighton scored the first five points out of the timeout, and with his team trailing 61-54 with 2:14 left in the third quarter, DePaul coach Doug Bruno called a timeout.
A held swish from deep followed by a Morris turnaround jumper and Bekelja's free throw brought the Blue Demons within 63-60 heading into the final 10 minutes.
An early 14-4 Creighton surge gave the home team a 16-12 lead at the first quarter media timeout. Jorie Allen scored her first basket as a DePaul player on a rebound put-back. The 6-1 forward made a noticeable difference inside. Morris opened the game with back-to-back threes.
Allen helped keep her team close until Bekelja erupted for consecutive three-pointers followed by another Morris connection from deep. The 9-0 burst provided a 26-24 lead after one quarter.
Church and Bekelja provided the scoring early in the second quarter, resulting in a 32-28 Blue Demon lead at the media timeout. After another Allen score made it 34-30, the Bluejays went on a 13-2 run in seizing a 43-36 advantage.
Held buried a three and Rogers scored on a drive. A Bluejay bucket just before the horn left DePaul trailing 45-41 at halftime. Morris had nine points and four assists at the break and Church scored nine. Bekelja had eight points and five rebounds while Allen had eight points and three boards.
DePaul will enjoy the Christmas holiday season before resuming its challenging BIG EAST road regimen with a Dec. 29 showdown at No. 3/5 Connecticut.
Postgame Notes
They confronted their most difficult part of the conference schedule and came away embracing a 90-81 victory over a well-coached Creighton program that always seems to play its best against them.
Sonya Morris was practically unstoppable when it counted most and paced the Blue Demons (5-2, 2-0 in the BIG EAST) with 22 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Five of her teammates finished in double figures as Dee Bekelja had 16 points and six rebounds.
Deja Church added 15 points, Jorie Allen came through with 14 points in her DePaul debut, Lexi Held had 10 points and six assists while Darrione Rogers chipped in with 10 points.
It had all the makings of a Blue Demon turnaround after three quarters. Down three heading into the final 10 minutes, DePaul opened by holding Creighton to a five-second count for a turnover. Church, Bekelja and Morris responded with baskets and just like that, the team in red was ahead 66-63.
Creighton coach Jim Flanery called timeout to slow the Blue Demon roll. Morris, Allen, Held and Kendall Holmes hit clutch shots down the stretch and it was 85-78 with 1:32 left.
Morris hit a dagger of a three-pointer for a 10-point lead that doused any hopes of a Bluejay comeback.
The Blue Demons made adjustments and came out for the third quarter looking to erase a 45-41 deficit. Rogers hit a pair of three-pointers while Church, Morris and Bekelja scored, but DePaul had difficulty getting defensive stops. It was 56-54 at the media timeout.
Creighton scored the first five points out of the timeout, and with his team trailing 61-54 with 2:14 left in the third quarter, DePaul coach Doug Bruno called a timeout.
A held swish from deep followed by a Morris turnaround jumper and Bekelja's free throw brought the Blue Demons within 63-60 heading into the final 10 minutes.
An early 14-4 Creighton surge gave the home team a 16-12 lead at the first quarter media timeout. Jorie Allen scored her first basket as a DePaul player on a rebound put-back. The 6-1 forward made a noticeable difference inside. Morris opened the game with back-to-back threes.
Allen helped keep her team close until Bekelja erupted for consecutive three-pointers followed by another Morris connection from deep. The 9-0 burst provided a 26-24 lead after one quarter.
Church and Bekelja provided the scoring early in the second quarter, resulting in a 32-28 Blue Demon lead at the media timeout. After another Allen score made it 34-30, the Bluejays went on a 13-2 run in seizing a 43-36 advantage.
Held buried a three and Rogers scored on a drive. A Bluejay bucket just before the horn left DePaul trailing 45-41 at halftime. Morris had nine points and four assists at the break and Church scored nine. Bekelja had eight points and five rebounds while Allen had eight points and three boards.
DePaul will enjoy the Christmas holiday season before resuming its challenging BIG EAST road regimen with a Dec. 29 showdown at No. 3/5 Connecticut.
Postgame Notes
- Indiana transfer Jorie Allen played her first game in a DePaul uniform Tuesday after the NCAA granted immediate eligibility to all transfer players. Her father Jeff Allen played for the Blue Demon men's team (1981-83) under legendary coach Ray Meyer. Her sister Jenna played at Michigan State.
- The Blue Demons donned their sharp-looking red uniforms for the first time since knocking off then-No.9/9 Kentucky on Dec. 16 at Wintrust Arena.
- DePaul made a huge leap in the Associated Press Top 25 rankings going from No. 24 to No. 18 on the strength of last week's 86-82 upset of No. 9 Kentucky. The Blue Demons moved up three spots in the USA Today/Coaches poll from No. 23 to No. 20.
- Bruno's full-court pressure tactics and his players' ball-hawking aggression have forced 23 or more turnovers in every game this season including 27 against No. 10/10 Texas A&M and 23 against both No. 2/2 Louisville and No. 9/9 Kentucky. Georgetown's 32 miscues on Dec. 19 were a season high forced by DePaul. It's no wonder the Blue Demons leading the nation at forcing turnovers.
- Creighton was the first team all season to finish with less than 20 turnovers---at 19.
- Bekelja tied with Morris for the team high in rebounds with six and is averaging nine rebounds a game over her last three games.
- 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 last week's 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 had faced such elite competition in its first handful of games.
- Deja Church needs 57 points to reach the 1,000 mark in her career. That includes two seasons at Michigan. Lexi Held is 134 away from accomplishing the feat in just three seasons while classmate Sonya Morris is 189 shy.
Team Stats
DePaul
CU
FG%
.603
.523
3FG%
.480
.478
FT%
.333
.667
RB
28
31
TO
16
19
STL
10
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
9
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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