Thursday, November 25
St. Thomas, USVI
Noon CT
DePaul University
4-1,0-0Big East
77
vs
74
Rutgers
4-2,0-0Big Ten
1
2
3
4
F
DePaul
24
17
19
17
77
Rutgers
14
16
27
17
74
Held and Collier Lead DePaul Past Rutgers 77-74
11/25/2021 2:47:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Held scores 16 points and Collier 14 in Paradise Jam opener on Thursday
ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands – On perhaps the most blessed holiday in America as the warm comfort zone of family harmonizes beautifully with the mouth-watering aroma of juicy oven-baked turkey and all the trimmings---DePaul's basketball players gave thanks for being blessed with the soundest of minds and bodies to proudly represent their university at the Paradise Jam tournament.
Blue Demon nation can also be grateful for Lexi Held and a splendid DePaul debut from Drake transfer Kierra Collier in a tension-packed 77-74 victory over Rutgers in Thursday's opener of the Paradise Jam.
Held led DePaul (4-1) with 16 points and five assists while shooting 4-of-9 from three-point range.
Collier made a valuable contribution with 14 points and a team-high six rebounds, helping mitigate the foul trouble of Deja Church (12 points), Sonya Morris (10 points), Darrione Rogers (seven points, nine rebounds) and Aneesah Morrow (eight points, seven rebounds) who fouled out in the fourth quarter.
This was Collier's first game after being granted a transfer waiver by the NCAA.
After going up 67-59 on five Morris points, Rutgers (4-2) came within 67-63 in the fourth quarter. A Church three-point play made it 70-63 before the Scarlet Knights went on a 9-4 run and trailed 74-72.
Collier buried a clutch three-pointer to seal it for her new team.
Maintaining momentum was critical for DePaul at the outset of the third quarter after building a 41-30 halftime lead.
A Held three-pointer made it 44-32 early in the third quarter. After a Collier three, Rutgers rallied to come within 48-43 at the first media timeout.
Church's free throw put her team ahead by six at the second media timeout of the quarter.
The Scarlet Knights closed out the third quarter on an 8-3 run and trimmed DePaul's lead to 60-57 heading into the final 10 minutes.
Held opened the game with a pair of three-pointers and Morrow converted twice down low in sparking DePaul to a 14-8 lead at the first quarter media timeout. The Blue Demons made six of their first eight shots.
It was 18-8 after foul shots by Dee Bekelja and Kaitlyn Ammons, and the team from Chicago maintained the 10-point advantage, ahead 24-14 after one quarter.
It was a three-point barrage in the second quarter as Rogers, Held and back-to-back connections from Collier catapulted the Blue Demons to a 36-20 lead. It was 38-22 at the media timeout after a pair of Rogers free throws.
Collier was a welcome addition playing in her first game for DePaul after being granted a transfer waiver by the NCAA. The quick point guard helped overcome the early foul trouble to Morris and Church.
Hannah Purcell's corner three put her team ahead 41-26 until Rutgers closed out the first half with the final two baskets to trail 41-30 at the break.
Held led the Blue Demons at halftime with 11 points and Collier contributed six. Morris, Church and Morrow were all hampered by foul trouble in the first 20 minutes.
The Blue Demons are back in action at 2:15 p.m. Friday on ESPN3 facing No. 9/12 Arizona at the UVI Sports & Fitness Center
Postgame Notes
Blue Demon nation can also be grateful for Lexi Held and a splendid DePaul debut from Drake transfer Kierra Collier in a tension-packed 77-74 victory over Rutgers in Thursday's opener of the Paradise Jam.
Held led DePaul (4-1) with 16 points and five assists while shooting 4-of-9 from three-point range.
Collier made a valuable contribution with 14 points and a team-high six rebounds, helping mitigate the foul trouble of Deja Church (12 points), Sonya Morris (10 points), Darrione Rogers (seven points, nine rebounds) and Aneesah Morrow (eight points, seven rebounds) who fouled out in the fourth quarter.
This was Collier's first game after being granted a transfer waiver by the NCAA.
After going up 67-59 on five Morris points, Rutgers (4-2) came within 67-63 in the fourth quarter. A Church three-point play made it 70-63 before the Scarlet Knights went on a 9-4 run and trailed 74-72.
Collier buried a clutch three-pointer to seal it for her new team.
Maintaining momentum was critical for DePaul at the outset of the third quarter after building a 41-30 halftime lead.
A Held three-pointer made it 44-32 early in the third quarter. After a Collier three, Rutgers rallied to come within 48-43 at the first media timeout.
Church's free throw put her team ahead by six at the second media timeout of the quarter.
The Scarlet Knights closed out the third quarter on an 8-3 run and trimmed DePaul's lead to 60-57 heading into the final 10 minutes.
Held opened the game with a pair of three-pointers and Morrow converted twice down low in sparking DePaul to a 14-8 lead at the first quarter media timeout. The Blue Demons made six of their first eight shots.
It was 18-8 after foul shots by Dee Bekelja and Kaitlyn Ammons, and the team from Chicago maintained the 10-point advantage, ahead 24-14 after one quarter.
It was a three-point barrage in the second quarter as Rogers, Held and back-to-back connections from Collier catapulted the Blue Demons to a 36-20 lead. It was 38-22 at the media timeout after a pair of Rogers free throws.
Collier was a welcome addition playing in her first game for DePaul after being granted a transfer waiver by the NCAA. The quick point guard helped overcome the early foul trouble to Morris and Church.
Hannah Purcell's corner three put her team ahead 41-26 until Rutgers closed out the first half with the final two baskets to trail 41-30 at the break.
Held led the Blue Demons at halftime with 11 points and Collier contributed six. Morris, Church and Morrow were all hampered by foul trouble in the first 20 minutes.
The Blue Demons are back in action at 2:15 p.m. Friday on ESPN3 facing No. 9/12 Arizona at the UVI Sports & Fitness Center
Postgame Notes
- Multi-talented Drake transfer Kierra Collier played her first game in a Blue Demon uniform Thursday after being granted a transfer waiver by the NCAA.
- After the first five games, DePaul (431 points) is averaging 86.2 points a game
- The Blue Demons were outrebounded by Rutgers 46-43.
- Held was the BIG EAST's active career scoring leader in conference games with 697 points going into Thursday's game.
- Morrow has scored in double figures four of the first five games of her collegiate career.
- Church has finished in double figures every game this season.
- DePaul's pressure defense forced Rutgers into 20 turnovers.
Team Stats
DePaul
RU
FG%
.379
.424
3FG%
.345
.125
FT%
.680
.727
RB
43
45
TO
18
20
STL
7
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
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