Wednesday, January 13
Wintrust Arena
5:30 P.M. CT
DePaul University
vs
St. John's
On Guard: Backcourt Duel Pits No. 19/22 DePaul vs. St. John’s
1/12/2021 4:04:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
BIG EAST Clash Wednesday at Wintrust Arena Televised on FS1
CHICAGO – Whenever No. 19/22 DePaul and fellow Vincentian university St. John's collide, there's always a lot of sizzle in the backcourt.
Their first encounter of 2021 is no exception.
When the Blue Demons and Red Storm take the Wintrust Arena court at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday with an FS1 national TV audience looking on, their backcourts will feature a total of four Preseason All-BIG EAST guards.
In one corner wearing the white jerseys are your home-team favorites, juniors Sonya Morris and Lexi Held.
In the other corner wearing the red traveling jerseys are a pair of Gotham City's finest, Leilani Correa and Qadashah Hoppie. Both Morris and Hoppie earned Preseason All-BIG EAST votes from every coach.
There have been some memorable backcourt battles in recent years, and Wednesday promises to be more of the same. Morris and Held combine to average 32.6 points a game as opposed to Correa and Hoppie's 37.7.
The advantage tilts back towards coach Doug Bruno's program when factoring DePaul's depth at the guard position into the overall equation
Along with Morris and Held, three of their teammates are also averaging in double figures. Dee Bekelja is scoring 14.3 points a game, freshman Darrione Rogers is at 13 points a game followed closely by Deja Church at 12.9.
Collectively, this five-piece backcourt set is producing nearly 73 points per game for a team averaging nearly 85. That 73 figure represents 86 percent of the 11th-highest scoring team in the nation.
The five guards along with 6-foot, 1-inch forward Jorie Allen and guards Jolene Daninger and Kendall Holmes will apply their vaunted full-court pressure strategically. The Blue Demons are No. 9 in the country in forcing turnovers (23.1 per game) and No. 10 in turnover margin.
Allen and 6-2 Kiara Dallmann will match up inside against the Johnnies' 6-4 Raven Farley and 6-1 Emma Nolan with 6-3 Rayven Peeples in reserve. Dallmann missed the first eight games of the season with a high-ankle injury.
DePaul (6-3, 3-1 in the BIG EAST) has won five of its last six games with the loss coming at No. 4/5 Connecticut. St. John's (4-5, 1-3) snapped a five-game losing streak with back-to-back wins over St. Bonaventure and Butler.
Inactivity will be a challenge for Bruno & Co. to overcome. Wednesday will be their first game action since a 94-82 victory over Villanova back on Jan. 4---a stretch of nine days. St. John's defeated Butler 64-56 last Saturday in Queens, N.Y. behind 20 points from Correa and 17 from Hoppie.
Their first encounter of 2021 is no exception.
When the Blue Demons and Red Storm take the Wintrust Arena court at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday with an FS1 national TV audience looking on, their backcourts will feature a total of four Preseason All-BIG EAST guards.
In one corner wearing the white jerseys are your home-team favorites, juniors Sonya Morris and Lexi Held.
In the other corner wearing the red traveling jerseys are a pair of Gotham City's finest, Leilani Correa and Qadashah Hoppie. Both Morris and Hoppie earned Preseason All-BIG EAST votes from every coach.
There have been some memorable backcourt battles in recent years, and Wednesday promises to be more of the same. Morris and Held combine to average 32.6 points a game as opposed to Correa and Hoppie's 37.7.
The advantage tilts back towards coach Doug Bruno's program when factoring DePaul's depth at the guard position into the overall equation
Along with Morris and Held, three of their teammates are also averaging in double figures. Dee Bekelja is scoring 14.3 points a game, freshman Darrione Rogers is at 13 points a game followed closely by Deja Church at 12.9.
Collectively, this five-piece backcourt set is producing nearly 73 points per game for a team averaging nearly 85. That 73 figure represents 86 percent of the 11th-highest scoring team in the nation.
The five guards along with 6-foot, 1-inch forward Jorie Allen and guards Jolene Daninger and Kendall Holmes will apply their vaunted full-court pressure strategically. The Blue Demons are No. 9 in the country in forcing turnovers (23.1 per game) and No. 10 in turnover margin.
Allen and 6-2 Kiara Dallmann will match up inside against the Johnnies' 6-4 Raven Farley and 6-1 Emma Nolan with 6-3 Rayven Peeples in reserve. Dallmann missed the first eight games of the season with a high-ankle injury.
DePaul (6-3, 3-1 in the BIG EAST) has won five of its last six games with the loss coming at No. 4/5 Connecticut. St. John's (4-5, 1-3) snapped a five-game losing streak with back-to-back wins over St. Bonaventure and Butler.
Inactivity will be a challenge for Bruno & Co. to overcome. Wednesday will be their first game action since a 94-82 victory over Villanova back on Jan. 4---a stretch of nine days. St. John's defeated Butler 64-56 last Saturday in Queens, N.Y. behind 20 points from Correa and 17 from Hoppie.
Players Mentioned
F
/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
G
/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
G
/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
F
/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
G
/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
G
/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
G
/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
G
/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALLDemon Docs: Welcome Head Coach Jill M. Pizzotti
Tuesday, April 29
Episode 19: Jill M. Pizzotti, Women's Basketball Head Coach
Wednesday, April 16
Jill M. Pizzotti Introductory Press Conference
Tuesday, April 15
DePaul Women's Basketball: Jill Pizzotti Introductory Press Conference
Thursday, April 10