Sunday, December 19
Queens, NY
12:00 P.M. CT
DePaul University
11-2,3-0Big East
107
at
93
St. John's
5-6,1-1Big East
1
2
3
4
F
DePaul
23
29
30
25
107
St. John's (NY)
26
28
23
16
93
Record-Breaking Performance Leads DePaul Past St. John's 107-93
12/19/2021 2:38:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
First time in program history reaching the century mark in three-straight games
QUEENS, N.Y. – For those who prefer their hoops at breakneck speeds with offensive pyrotechnics lighting up the scoreboard, then Carnesecca Arena was the place for you on Sunday.
This was racehorse basketball with the two highest-scoring teams in the BIG EAST strapped in for 40 minutes of fast-break fury and shots galore.
And when the smoke finally cleared, DePaul came away with a sizzling 107-93 victory over St. John's.
It was the first time in program history that a Blue Demon women's basketball team had reached the century mark in three consecutive games.
Sonya Morris led the way with 35 points---one shy of tying her career high---along with eight rebounds.
Irrepressible freshman Aneesah Morrow finished with 29 points and 14 rebounds---her eighth double-double of the season which is second in the country.
Lexi Held added 21 points and six assists going 5-of-7 from three-point range. Deja Church scored 10 points while Darrione Rogers approached triple-double territory with nine points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Morris had 25 points and Morrow 23 heading into the final 10 minutes protecting an 82-77 lead.
After Morris opened the fourth quarter with a score, it was the Lexi Held Show. The sharpshooter from Kentucky swished three consecutive shots from behind the arc. Combined with another Morris basket, the 11-2 run gave DePaul a 95-81 lead at the media timeout.
At that point, the visitors had three players with 20 or more points.
Morris and Morrow took it from there and made sure there was no late comeback in Queens.
Down 54-52 at halftime, the Blue Demons (11-2, 3-0) rode the scoring of Morris and Morrow for a 72-67 lead at the third quarter media timeout. Morris had 25 points and Morrow 21 at that break.
Morrow was beginning to dominate down low and Morris was scoring from everywhere. A Church three-pointer provided the five-point lead.
Rogers hit a three and Church scored in the lane for DePaul's 74-69 advantage at the second media break.
The Red Storm came within 74-73 when the visiting team closed out the third quarter with an 8-4 spurt for an 82-77 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
Morris opened the game with a jumper and a three-pointer. A deep three from Rogers put DePaul on top 10-7, and it was 12-12 at the first quarter media timeout.
The lead went back and forth until St. John's (5-6, 1-1) took a 24-21 lead. Morrow's score inside left her team trailing 26-23 after one quarter.
A 6-2 Red Storm burst put the home team in front 32-25 and prompted DePaul coach Doug Bruno to call timeout.
DePaul went on a 9-0 run for a 41-34 lead in the middle of the quarter. After the Red Storm knotted it up 42-42, Morris went on her own personal run scoring six in a row. After a Morrow free throw, the Blue Demon advantage was 49-42.
Back came St. John's, closing out the quarter with a 12-3 surge for a 54-52 lead at halftime. DePaul was 6-of-12 from three-point range at the break.
The Blue Demons program is currently dealing with COVID-19 issues.
DePaul is back at Sweet Home, Chicago on Wednesday for a pivotal national TV showdown against rival Notre Dame that tips at 7:30 p.m. on FS1.
Postgame Notes
This was racehorse basketball with the two highest-scoring teams in the BIG EAST strapped in for 40 minutes of fast-break fury and shots galore.
And when the smoke finally cleared, DePaul came away with a sizzling 107-93 victory over St. John's.
It was the first time in program history that a Blue Demon women's basketball team had reached the century mark in three consecutive games.
Sonya Morris led the way with 35 points---one shy of tying her career high---along with eight rebounds.
Irrepressible freshman Aneesah Morrow finished with 29 points and 14 rebounds---her eighth double-double of the season which is second in the country.
Lexi Held added 21 points and six assists going 5-of-7 from three-point range. Deja Church scored 10 points while Darrione Rogers approached triple-double territory with nine points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Morris had 25 points and Morrow 23 heading into the final 10 minutes protecting an 82-77 lead.
After Morris opened the fourth quarter with a score, it was the Lexi Held Show. The sharpshooter from Kentucky swished three consecutive shots from behind the arc. Combined with another Morris basket, the 11-2 run gave DePaul a 95-81 lead at the media timeout.
At that point, the visitors had three players with 20 or more points.
Morris and Morrow took it from there and made sure there was no late comeback in Queens.
Down 54-52 at halftime, the Blue Demons (11-2, 3-0) rode the scoring of Morris and Morrow for a 72-67 lead at the third quarter media timeout. Morris had 25 points and Morrow 21 at that break.
Morrow was beginning to dominate down low and Morris was scoring from everywhere. A Church three-pointer provided the five-point lead.
Rogers hit a three and Church scored in the lane for DePaul's 74-69 advantage at the second media break.
The Red Storm came within 74-73 when the visiting team closed out the third quarter with an 8-4 spurt for an 82-77 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
Morris opened the game with a jumper and a three-pointer. A deep three from Rogers put DePaul on top 10-7, and it was 12-12 at the first quarter media timeout.
The lead went back and forth until St. John's (5-6, 1-1) took a 24-21 lead. Morrow's score inside left her team trailing 26-23 after one quarter.
A 6-2 Red Storm burst put the home team in front 32-25 and prompted DePaul coach Doug Bruno to call timeout.
DePaul went on a 9-0 run for a 41-34 lead in the middle of the quarter. After the Red Storm knotted it up 42-42, Morris went on her own personal run scoring six in a row. After a Morrow free throw, the Blue Demon advantage was 49-42.
Back came St. John's, closing out the quarter with a 12-3 surge for a 54-52 lead at halftime. DePaul was 6-of-12 from three-point range at the break.
The Blue Demons program is currently dealing with COVID-19 issues.
DePaul is back at Sweet Home, Chicago on Wednesday for a pivotal national TV showdown against rival Notre Dame that tips at 7:30 p.m. on FS1.
Postgame Notes
- The third-straight 100-point game in a row is a program record.
- The Blue Demons lead the country in scoring and assists and have scored 608 points in their last six games---an average of 101.3 per game. They have reached the century mark five times in the last six games.
- DePaul has reached the century mark a total of six times this season. That ties the program record set in 2014-15 (Brittany Hrynko, Jess January, Chanise Jenkins, Megan Rogowski) and 2016-17 (January, Brooke Schulte, Jacqui Grant, Amarah Coleman).
- Morris was one point shy of tying her career high.
- Held tied a career high with five 3-pointers.
- Morrow came into the game leading the nation in rebounds and the leading scorer among freshmen. She has five consecutive double-doubles and seven in her last eight games.
- Morrow has 166 points and 112 rebounds in her last eight games---an average of 20.8 points and 14 rebounds.
- The 6-1 freshman has a total of eight double-doubles which is second in the nation.
- Rogers had a career-high seven assists.
- Morris (1,345 points) is No. 24 on the all-time scoring list and Held (1,339) is No. 25.
- The Blue Demons are 3-2 against five NCAA tournament teams---beating Kentucky, Northwestern and Rutgers and falling to No. 23/17 Texas A&M and No. 4/8 Arizona.
- Held is the BIG EAST's active career scoring leader in conference games with 750 points.
- Morrow has scored in double figures 12 of the first 13 games of her collegiate career.
- The Blue Demons have won the battle of the boards in 11 of 13 games including over No. 4/8 Arizona. They topped St. John's 43-35.
Team Stats
DePaul
SJU
FG%
.513
.507
3FG%
.500
.348
FT%
.824
.650
RB
43
35
TO
12
15
STL
8
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
35
FGM
16
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
29
FGM
10
3FGM
1
FTM
8
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALLG
/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALLF
/ 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