Sunday, January 31
Wintrust Arena
12:00 P.M. CT
DePaul University
9-4,6-2Big East
67
vs
100
#3/4 Connecticut
11-1,9-0Big East
1
2
3
4
F
UConn
18
29
32
21
100
DePaul
22
11
14
20
67
No. 17/20 DePaul Falls to No. 3/4 Connecticut 100-67 on Sunday
1/31/2021 2:50:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The Blue Demons' 13th game makes them eligible for NCAA postseason
CHICAGO – No. 17/20 DePaul got off to a strong start on Sunday but was victimized by a rough second quarter in its upset bid of No. 3/4 Connecticut.
In the first women's basketball game ever televised nationally by FOX, the Blue Demons fell 100-67 at Wintrust Arena. UConn outscored DePaul 29-11 in the second quarter in taking control. The Blue Demons are now 9-4 overall and 6-2 in the BIG EAST while Connecticut is 11-1, 9-0.
Lexi Held led the way for the Blue Demons with 16 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals while Sonya Morris came through with 19 points and six rebounds. Jorie Allen had nine points and five boards and Dee Bekelja chipped in eight points.
Christyn Williams scored a game-high 29 points while Connecticut's standout freshman Paige Bueckers finished with 22 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds.
Taking it to UConn right after the opening tip was paramount for DePaul to reinforce whatever lingering doubts Connecticut had after sustaining its first loss of the season on Thursday.
The two rivals exchange the lead early in the first quarter. Bekelja's jumper followed by a steal and three-pointer from Held provided a 10-8 lead at the media timeout.
Coach Doug Bruno went to his five-guard or "5G" alignment four minutes into the game bringing Darrione Rogers off the bench. His players were doing a good job collapsing on Huskies 6-5 center Olivia Nelson-Ododa.
A 7-0 Connecticut spurt tied it 15-15. The visitors took an 18-17 lead when DePaul responded with a 5-0 burst featuring a Jorie Allen three-pointer followed by Held's pump-fake 15-footer that just beat the buzzer for a 22-18 lead after one quarter.
This was DePaul's 13th game of the season which is the minimum required to become eligible for the NCAA tournament.
An Allen basket and another Held three-pointer put the home team up five. That's when Connecticut went on one of its patented runs, outscoring the Blue Demons 11-2 for a 33-29 advantage at the second quarter media timeout.
It had you wondering if coach Geno Auriemma's team had weathered a shaky start and were returning to form. UConn's run was extended to 16-2 until Morris scored in the lane.
With the Huskies closing out the quarter on a 9-2 run, Bruno & Co. were left with a 47-33 deficit at halftime. Held and Morris each had 10 points at the break.
Bekelja scored right out of the break and a Held three whittled the deficit to 51-38. UConn responded with an 8-2 run forcing Bruno to call a timeout with his team trailing 59-40.
The Huskies closed out the third quarter on a 20-7 run in assuming a 79-47 lead heading into the final 10 minutes. They outscored the home team 32-14 in the quarter.
The Blue Demons begin a rugged stretch Thursday facing one of the BIG EAST's hottest teams in Seton Hall. The showdown in South Orange, N.J. is the first of four consecutive road games.
Postgame Notes
In the first women's basketball game ever televised nationally by FOX, the Blue Demons fell 100-67 at Wintrust Arena. UConn outscored DePaul 29-11 in the second quarter in taking control. The Blue Demons are now 9-4 overall and 6-2 in the BIG EAST while Connecticut is 11-1, 9-0.
Lexi Held led the way for the Blue Demons with 16 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals while Sonya Morris came through with 19 points and six rebounds. Jorie Allen had nine points and five boards and Dee Bekelja chipped in eight points.
Christyn Williams scored a game-high 29 points while Connecticut's standout freshman Paige Bueckers finished with 22 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds.
Taking it to UConn right after the opening tip was paramount for DePaul to reinforce whatever lingering doubts Connecticut had after sustaining its first loss of the season on Thursday.
The two rivals exchange the lead early in the first quarter. Bekelja's jumper followed by a steal and three-pointer from Held provided a 10-8 lead at the media timeout.
Coach Doug Bruno went to his five-guard or "5G" alignment four minutes into the game bringing Darrione Rogers off the bench. His players were doing a good job collapsing on Huskies 6-5 center Olivia Nelson-Ododa.
A 7-0 Connecticut spurt tied it 15-15. The visitors took an 18-17 lead when DePaul responded with a 5-0 burst featuring a Jorie Allen three-pointer followed by Held's pump-fake 15-footer that just beat the buzzer for a 22-18 lead after one quarter.
This was DePaul's 13th game of the season which is the minimum required to become eligible for the NCAA tournament.
An Allen basket and another Held three-pointer put the home team up five. That's when Connecticut went on one of its patented runs, outscoring the Blue Demons 11-2 for a 33-29 advantage at the second quarter media timeout.
It had you wondering if coach Geno Auriemma's team had weathered a shaky start and were returning to form. UConn's run was extended to 16-2 until Morris scored in the lane.
With the Huskies closing out the quarter on a 9-2 run, Bruno & Co. were left with a 47-33 deficit at halftime. Held and Morris each had 10 points at the break.
Bekelja scored right out of the break and a Held three whittled the deficit to 51-38. UConn responded with an 8-2 run forcing Bruno to call a timeout with his team trailing 59-40.
The Huskies closed out the third quarter on a 20-7 run in assuming a 79-47 lead heading into the final 10 minutes. They outscored the home team 32-14 in the quarter.
The Blue Demons begin a rugged stretch Thursday facing one of the BIG EAST's hottest teams in Seton Hall. The showdown in South Orange, N.J. is the first of four consecutive road games.
Postgame Notes
- DePaul is now 9-4 and has met the minimum 13 games to be eligible for NCAA tournament play.
- Sonya Morris leads the team having scored 20-or-more points seven times in 13 games. Her 26 points on Jan. 16 at Georgetown tied her season and team high---scoring 26 Dec. 13 against Loyola.
- Lexi Held is a double-figure scorer in every game except one.
- DePaul checked in at No. 17 in the Associated Press Top 25 and is No. 20 in the USA Today/Coaches poll. The AP ranking is a season high.
- Bruno's full-court pressure tactics and his players' ball-hawking aggression have forced 20 or more turnovers in every game except four 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 Jan. 16 were a season high. UConn had 14 turnovers on Sunday. The Blue Demons are No. 5 in the nation in forcing turnovers at 24 a game.
- After Deja Church reached the 1,000-point mark in her career on Jan. 21 at Butler, Lexi Held is next up for the milestone. The junior guard is 38 points away from accomplishing the feat in just three seasons while classmate Sonya Morris is 82 shy.
- UConn and DePaul rank 1-2 for most BIG EAST regular-season titles and tournament crowns – UConn with 19 regular season and 18 tourney titles, DePaul with six and five.
- Among active BIG EAST coaches, Geno Auriemma and Doug Bruno rank 1-2 in career and BIG EAST wins – Auriemma with 1,102 overall and 411 BIG EAST, Bruno with 731 and 189; their BIG EAST Tournament winning percentages also rank 1-2 in league history (.868 and .722).
- The two programs have combined for 20 BIG EAST Players of the Year, 13 BIG EAST Scholar-Athletes of the Year, 52 WNBA Draft selections and 57 NCAA Tournament selections including 2020 when both won their respective conference tournaments to earn automatic bids into what would become a canceled national postseason.
Team Stats
UConn
DePaul
FG%
.577
.356
3FG%
.400
.308
FT%
.615
.700
RB
50
31
TO
14
11
STL
6
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
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