Saturday, January 16
Washington, D.C.
1:00 P.M. CT
DePaul University
8-3,5-1BIG EAST
78
at
54
Georgetown
1-3,1-3BIG EAST
1
2
3
4
F
DePaul
27
20
16
15
78
Georgetown
10
17
14
13
54
No. 19/22 Tops Georgetown 78-54 on Saturday
1/16/2021 3:21:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Sonya Morris leads the way with a game-high 26 points
WASHINGTON, D.C. – There's nothing like an overabundance of road games to steel the resolve of a basketball team.
Beginning with Saturday's 78-54 victory over Georgetown in Our Nation's Capital, No. 19/22 DePaul (8-3, 5-1 BIG EAST) plays six of seven games away from the friendly confines of Wintrust Arena.
And the one-and-only home game in this demanding stretch? How about a Jan. 31 showdown with No. 4/5 Connecticut televised nationally on FOX.
Helping to get this daunting stretch off to a promising start were Sonya Morris who tied her season-high with 26 points, going 9-of-13 from the field including 4-of-5 from deep.
Lexi Held scored 15 points while adding five rebounds and Darrione Rogers had 10 points and eight rebounds. Dee Bekelja scored nine points and Deja Church contributed seven points, six steals, four rebounds and four assists.
DePaul (8-3, 5-1) has won three in a row and seven of its last eight.
As with basketball programs nationwide, coach Doug Bruno and his team have watched the coronavirus pandemic wreak havoc with their schedule. Postponements and the accompanying rescheduling of games are practically becoming the new normal.
Morris came out on fire, scoring seven quick points in the five minutes and staking her team to a 16-6 lead by the first quarter media timeout. Morris scored seven in a row in sparking a 19-2 run for a 21-6 lead that was 27-10 after the first quarter.
Morris had 12 points in a little over eight minutes while combining with her teammates to force 14 Hoyas turnovers in the first 10 minutes.
Morris didn't cool off during the break. She opened the second quarter with back-to-back threes, and combined with a Church free throw, it was 34-13. Morris made six of her first seven shots including 4-of-5 from three-point range.
What finally did cool off the sizzling junior was being whistled for her second foul, sending her to the bench. It was 41-21 at the second quarter media timeout and Morris had 18 of her team's first 31 points.
Rogers picked up the offensive slack in Morris' absence scoring seven points towards the end of the quarter and also pulling down six rebounds. The Blue Demons took a 47-27 lead into the break. Held had 10 points in the first 20 minutes as DePaul forced 18 turnovers. They wound up forcing a season-high 33.
Held opened the third quarter with a three in putting her team ahead by 23 points at the media timeout. Morris picked up her third foul and came out of the game. Rogers joined her after her fourth foul.
Jorie Allen, Morris and Bekelja fueled the DePaul attack in the waning stage of the third quarter, enabling the Blue Demons to take a 63-41 advantage into the final 10 minutes.
Behind baskets by Morris and Church plus a pair of Held free throws, DePaul took a 69-42 lead as Georgetown coach James Howard called a timeout just over two minutes into the fourth quarter.
The Blue Demons are back in action Thursday with a 6 p.m. game at Butler that will be shown on the BIG EAST Digital Network/FloSports.
Postgame Notes
Beginning with Saturday's 78-54 victory over Georgetown in Our Nation's Capital, No. 19/22 DePaul (8-3, 5-1 BIG EAST) plays six of seven games away from the friendly confines of Wintrust Arena.
And the one-and-only home game in this demanding stretch? How about a Jan. 31 showdown with No. 4/5 Connecticut televised nationally on FOX.
Helping to get this daunting stretch off to a promising start were Sonya Morris who tied her season-high with 26 points, going 9-of-13 from the field including 4-of-5 from deep.
Lexi Held scored 15 points while adding five rebounds and Darrione Rogers had 10 points and eight rebounds. Dee Bekelja scored nine points and Deja Church contributed seven points, six steals, four rebounds and four assists.
DePaul (8-3, 5-1) has won three in a row and seven of its last eight.
As with basketball programs nationwide, coach Doug Bruno and his team have watched the coronavirus pandemic wreak havoc with their schedule. Postponements and the accompanying rescheduling of games are practically becoming the new normal.
Morris came out on fire, scoring seven quick points in the five minutes and staking her team to a 16-6 lead by the first quarter media timeout. Morris scored seven in a row in sparking a 19-2 run for a 21-6 lead that was 27-10 after the first quarter.
Morris had 12 points in a little over eight minutes while combining with her teammates to force 14 Hoyas turnovers in the first 10 minutes.
Morris didn't cool off during the break. She opened the second quarter with back-to-back threes, and combined with a Church free throw, it was 34-13. Morris made six of her first seven shots including 4-of-5 from three-point range.
What finally did cool off the sizzling junior was being whistled for her second foul, sending her to the bench. It was 41-21 at the second quarter media timeout and Morris had 18 of her team's first 31 points.
Rogers picked up the offensive slack in Morris' absence scoring seven points towards the end of the quarter and also pulling down six rebounds. The Blue Demons took a 47-27 lead into the break. Held had 10 points in the first 20 minutes as DePaul forced 18 turnovers. They wound up forcing a season-high 33.
Held opened the third quarter with a three in putting her team ahead by 23 points at the media timeout. Morris picked up her third foul and came out of the game. Rogers joined her after her fourth foul.
Jorie Allen, Morris and Bekelja fueled the DePaul attack in the waning stage of the third quarter, enabling the Blue Demons to take a 63-41 advantage into the final 10 minutes.
Behind baskets by Morris and Church plus a pair of Held free throws, DePaul took a 69-42 lead as Georgetown coach James Howard called a timeout just over two minutes into the fourth quarter.
The Blue Demons are back in action Thursday with a 6 p.m. game at Butler that will be shown on the BIG EAST Digital Network/FloSports.
Postgame Notes
- DePaul leads the all-time series against Georgetown 22-3 including 9-1 on the Hoyas' home court.
- The Blue Demons have won three in a row and seven of their last eight.
- Sonya Morris leads the team having scored 20-or-more points seven times in 11 games. Her 26 points Saturday tied her season and team high---scoring 26 Dec. 13 against Loyola.
- Lexi Held is a double-figure scorer in every game except one.
- Adding badly needed height to the lineup, the 6-foot, 2-inch Kiara Dallmann played in her third game on Saturday after missing the first eight with an ankle injury.
- DePaul checked in at No. 19 in the Associated Press Top 25 and is No. 22 in the USA Today/Coaches poll.
- Bruno's full-court pressure tactics and his players' ball-hawking aggression have forced 20 or more turnovers in every game except three 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 33 miscues on Saturday were a season high. It's no wonder the Blue Demons are No. 8 in the nation in forcing turnovers. They pressured Georgetown into 32 on Dec. 19 and are averaging more than 23 forced turnovers a game.
- Deja Church needs 13 points to reach the 1,000 mark in her career. That includes two seasons at Michigan. Lexi Held is 71 away from accomplishing the feat in just three seasons while classmate Sonya Morris is 116 shy.
Team Stats
DEPAUL
GU
FG%
.379
.382
3FG%
.375
.150
FT%
.760
.600
RB
35
45
TO
15
33
STL
12
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
26
FGM
9
3FGM
4
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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