Sunday, November 21
Chicago, Ill.
5:00 P.M. CT
DePaul University
3-1,0-0Big East
78
vs
75
Northwestern
3-1,0-0Big Ten
1
2
3
4
F
Northwestern
13
25
17
20
75
DePaul
32
13
9
24
78
Held Holds Off Northwestern on Sunday
11/21/2021 8:37:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Clutch senior scores 13 fourth-quarter points in 78-75 victory at Wintrust Arena
CHICAGO – A dynamite first quarter and a big-time closing act was just enough for RV/RV DePaul on Sunday.
Behind Lexi Held's 13 points in the fourth quarter, the Blue Demons came out on top 78-75 in an extremely intense rivalry-game victory over RV Northwestern at Wintrust Arena.
The clutch senior who often saves her best for the biggest moments hit a jumper, a three-pointer and went 8-for-9 at the free throw line to hold off the Wildcats. She finished with 16 points, eight assists and four steals.
Classmate Sonya Morris led DePaul (3-1) with 20 points and nine rebounds while 6-foot, 1-inch freshman Aneesah Morrow had another big game with 15 points, 17 rebounds and four blocked shots. Deja Church came through with 12 points and seven assists.
Veronica Burton drilled a three-pointer to put Northwestern (3-1) in front 71-68 late in the fourth quarter. Back came Church with a long jumper and it was 71-70 with 1:32 left.
Held stepped to the line after getting fouled with 1:15 to go and knocked down three free throws. After Burton tied it at 73-73, Darrione Rogers buried a pair of foul shots with :40.4 left. Held hit one more with 12.9 seconds on the clock and Morris knocked down a pair five seconds later to ice it.
This one looked like it was going down to the wire. The Blue Demons would have to play the final 10 minutes with Church on the bench with four fouls. It was coach Doug Bruno's decision when he would go to Church.
Held hit a big three-point shot and followed up with a pair of free throws for a 62-60 lead. Church was back on the court several minutes into the quarter.
A Morris jumper kept the home team ahead by two. After Northwestern knotted it up again, Held responded with two more free throws just after the media timeout.
Morrow was having another outstanding game with 15 points and 16 rebounds at this point.
A Wildcat basket tied it 66-66 with 3:00 left.
Looking to build on a 45-38 halftime lead, DePaul watched Northwestern open the third quarter with a 10-2 run as Burton's layup put the Wildcats on top 48-47. Rogers sat out much of the quarter with three fouls.
NU went up 51-49 on a Burton three-point play just after the media timeout. It was close the rest of the quarter. A pair of Dee Bekelja free throws and one by Morrow left their team trailing 55-54 after three quarters.
It didn't take Sonya Morris long to wipe away any memory of last Monday's setback at Texas AM.
Not long after the Bears lost late in the fourth quarter to the Baltimore Ravens just a few miles away, the intrepid DePaul senior opened the game scoring eight points in the first four minutes and staking her team to a 15-7 advantage at the first quarter media timeout.
Bruno went with a five-guard alignment in the middle of the quarter which led to a 10-1 burst and a 25-8 lead. Some crisp passing and sharp assists along with offense from Morris and Church led to a 32-13 lead after one quarter.
In the first 10 minutes, Morris had 13 points and five rebounds while Church scored eight.
Northwestern opened the second quarter with consecutive baskets that were neutralized by Morrow's back-to-back buckets in the low post. Two more quick Wildcat strikes prompted Bruno to call timeout with his team in front 36-21.
After another Morrow basket made it a 17-point lead, NU went on a 13-3 run and came within 41-34. Morrow scored the final two baskets of the first half to counter a pair of NU scores for a 45-38 halftime lead.
The team from Evanston outscored the South Loop ball club 25-13 in the second quarter. At the break, Morris had 13 points and seven rebounds while Morrow had 12 points and six boards. Church had contributed eight points and six assists.
The Blue Demons are back in action on Thanksgiving Day facing Big Ten power Rutgers at the Paradise Jam tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Postgame Notes
Behind Lexi Held's 13 points in the fourth quarter, the Blue Demons came out on top 78-75 in an extremely intense rivalry-game victory over RV Northwestern at Wintrust Arena.
The clutch senior who often saves her best for the biggest moments hit a jumper, a three-pointer and went 8-for-9 at the free throw line to hold off the Wildcats. She finished with 16 points, eight assists and four steals.
Classmate Sonya Morris led DePaul (3-1) with 20 points and nine rebounds while 6-foot, 1-inch freshman Aneesah Morrow had another big game with 15 points, 17 rebounds and four blocked shots. Deja Church came through with 12 points and seven assists.
Veronica Burton drilled a three-pointer to put Northwestern (3-1) in front 71-68 late in the fourth quarter. Back came Church with a long jumper and it was 71-70 with 1:32 left.
Held stepped to the line after getting fouled with 1:15 to go and knocked down three free throws. After Burton tied it at 73-73, Darrione Rogers buried a pair of foul shots with :40.4 left. Held hit one more with 12.9 seconds on the clock and Morris knocked down a pair five seconds later to ice it.
This one looked like it was going down to the wire. The Blue Demons would have to play the final 10 minutes with Church on the bench with four fouls. It was coach Doug Bruno's decision when he would go to Church.
Held hit a big three-point shot and followed up with a pair of free throws for a 62-60 lead. Church was back on the court several minutes into the quarter.
A Morris jumper kept the home team ahead by two. After Northwestern knotted it up again, Held responded with two more free throws just after the media timeout.
Morrow was having another outstanding game with 15 points and 16 rebounds at this point.
A Wildcat basket tied it 66-66 with 3:00 left.
Looking to build on a 45-38 halftime lead, DePaul watched Northwestern open the third quarter with a 10-2 run as Burton's layup put the Wildcats on top 48-47. Rogers sat out much of the quarter with three fouls.
NU went up 51-49 on a Burton three-point play just after the media timeout. It was close the rest of the quarter. A pair of Dee Bekelja free throws and one by Morrow left their team trailing 55-54 after three quarters.
It didn't take Sonya Morris long to wipe away any memory of last Monday's setback at Texas AM.
Not long after the Bears lost late in the fourth quarter to the Baltimore Ravens just a few miles away, the intrepid DePaul senior opened the game scoring eight points in the first four minutes and staking her team to a 15-7 advantage at the first quarter media timeout.
Bruno went with a five-guard alignment in the middle of the quarter which led to a 10-1 burst and a 25-8 lead. Some crisp passing and sharp assists along with offense from Morris and Church led to a 32-13 lead after one quarter.
In the first 10 minutes, Morris had 13 points and five rebounds while Church scored eight.
Northwestern opened the second quarter with consecutive baskets that were neutralized by Morrow's back-to-back buckets in the low post. Two more quick Wildcat strikes prompted Bruno to call timeout with his team in front 36-21.
After another Morrow basket made it a 17-point lead, NU went on a 13-3 run and came within 41-34. Morrow scored the final two baskets of the first half to counter a pair of NU scores for a 45-38 halftime lead.
The team from Evanston outscored the South Loop ball club 25-13 in the second quarter. At the break, Morris had 13 points and seven rebounds while Morrow had 12 points and six boards. Church had contributed eight points and six assists.
The Blue Demons are back in action on Thanksgiving Day facing Big Ten power Rutgers at the Paradise Jam tournament in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Postgame Notes
- After the first three games, DePaul (354 points) is averaging 88.5 points a game.
- Morrow came away with a career-high 17 rebounds
- The Blue Demons have outrebounded their opponents in three of their first four games after edging NU 47-45.
- Held's eight assists ties a career high.
- Morrow has scored in double figures the first four games of her collegiate career.
- Church has also finished in double figures every game this season.
- Rogers finished with a double-double two of her first four games.
- Morrow came into Sunday No. 2 in the nation in blocked shots per game, and her four against Northwestern gives her 17 on the season.
- The DePaul defense limited Northwestern to 3-of-18 shooting from three-point range.
- The Autism Awareness theme for Sunday's game had special meaning for Northwestern coach Joe McKeown who spoke eloquently after the game about his autistic son Joey and the struggles Joey's family and many others have faced and overcome.
- McKeown told Lexi Held in the postgame handshake line: "After today, I am your No. 1 fan during your BIG EAST season."
Team Stats
NU
DePaul
FG%
.413
.403
3FG%
.167
.313
FT%
.375
.767
RB
45
47
TO
12
19
STL
11
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
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