Sunday, December 5
Chicago, Ill.
5:00 P.M. CT
DePaul University
7-2,2-0Big East
103
vs
85
Xavier
3-5,0-2Big East
1
2
3
4
F
Xavier
23
20
20
22
85
DePaul
26
27
28
22
103
Inside-Outside Duo of Morrow & Rogers Too Much for Xavier
12/5/2021 8:12:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Morrow's double-double and Rogers' 3-point blitz ignites 103-85 BIG EAST win
CHICAGO – It was a sweet Sunday sweep for DePaul in jump-starting its BIG EAST Conference season.
The Blue Demons took care of business with a 103-85 victory over Xavier at Wintrust Arena following up Friday night's 101-64 triumph over Butler.
It was the first back-to-back 100-point performances since 2019 when they took down Notre Dame on the road 105-94 on Dec. 5 and four days later ran past Alabama State 105-76 on Dec. 9.
Aneesah Morrow led the way with 24 points and a career-high 19 rebounds as coach Doug Bruno's program improved to 7-2 on the season and 2-0 in the BIG EAST. The losses came against No. 17/15 Texas A&M and No. 7/11 Arizona.
Darrione Rogers knocked down her first six 3-pointers en route to a 21-point performance along with six rebounds and five assists. Deja Church had a trio of three-point plays on her way to 21 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Rounding out the double-digit scoring, Lexi Held finished with 16 points and Sonya Morris added 15 points and six assists.
A key factor in Sunday's win was DePaul connecting on a season-best 14 three-pointers while Xavier made just two from behind the arc.
Morrow's relentless scoring down low and Rogers going 5-for-5 from deep provided a 53-43 margin at halftime.
Morris hit a couple of jumpers and Church knocked one down for a 59-43 lead at the outset of the third quarter.
The Musketeers (3-5, 0-2) countered with six-straight of their own to trail 59-49 at the media timeout. Back-to-back threes from the All-BIG EAST duo of Morris and Held put their team on top 67-51 at the second media timeout.
DePaul was 12-of-28 from distance in the middle of the third quarter led by Rogers going 5-for-5 at that point.
Rogers made it 6-for-6 in culminating a decisive 13-2 run as the Blue Demons took control with a 74-53 lead. The streak finally came to an end when Rogers missed in the fourth quarter.
Was she surprised when it didn't drop?
"Well, to tell the truth, yes, I was a little surprised," said Rogers with a smile. The sophomore guard with a shooter's mentality had persevered through a shooting slump by going strong to the backboards and becoming a facilitator for her teammates until the shooting touch returned.
"To be honest," Rogers continued, "I never lost confidence in my shot."
A Church three-pointer and a Morris basket put their team in front 81-63 heading into the fourth quarter.
A pair of Church three-point plays and her two free throws propelled DePaul to a 93-69 lead midway through the quarter.
Morrow already had a double-double with 20 points and 15 rebounds at that point.
It was a three-for-all after the opening tip as DePaul took an 18-17 lead at the first quarter media timeout with five shots behind the arc and Morrow's three-point play. Rogers connected three times from deep and Held twice.
Xavier went on a 6-0 spurt to move in front 17-15 until Rogers answered with her third 3-pointer.
Morrow's layup down low just before the buzzer put her team ahead 26-23. The first quarter featured six 3-pointers and a pair of three-point plays from the home team. DePaul shot 6-of-14 from deep.
Xavier did not have a three-point shot but was consistently scoring down low off some crisp passing after attacking the Blue Demon pressure defense. A Rogers free throw gave her team a 27-26 lead at the 9:25 media timeout.
The Musketeers were within 34-31 when DePaul proceeded to outscore them 15-8 for a 49-39 advantage. Morrow had three scores down low and Rogers hit her fifth consecutive shot from deep. A Morris jumper made it 53-43 at halftime.
Morrow had 18 points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks at the break while Rogers had 16 points and five boards. The Blue Demons were shooting 40 percent from behind the arc while Xavier countered with 34 points in the paint.
After going 2-2 against four NCAA tournament teams this season, DePaul faces its fifth 2021 NCAA postseason opponent on Thursday traveling to No. 16/18 Kentucky. The Blue Demons will play in the fabled Rupp Arena.
Postgame Notes
The Blue Demons took care of business with a 103-85 victory over Xavier at Wintrust Arena following up Friday night's 101-64 triumph over Butler.
It was the first back-to-back 100-point performances since 2019 when they took down Notre Dame on the road 105-94 on Dec. 5 and four days later ran past Alabama State 105-76 on Dec. 9.
Aneesah Morrow led the way with 24 points and a career-high 19 rebounds as coach Doug Bruno's program improved to 7-2 on the season and 2-0 in the BIG EAST. The losses came against No. 17/15 Texas A&M and No. 7/11 Arizona.
Darrione Rogers knocked down her first six 3-pointers en route to a 21-point performance along with six rebounds and five assists. Deja Church had a trio of three-point plays on her way to 21 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Rounding out the double-digit scoring, Lexi Held finished with 16 points and Sonya Morris added 15 points and six assists.
A key factor in Sunday's win was DePaul connecting on a season-best 14 three-pointers while Xavier made just two from behind the arc.
Morrow's relentless scoring down low and Rogers going 5-for-5 from deep provided a 53-43 margin at halftime.
Morris hit a couple of jumpers and Church knocked one down for a 59-43 lead at the outset of the third quarter.
The Musketeers (3-5, 0-2) countered with six-straight of their own to trail 59-49 at the media timeout. Back-to-back threes from the All-BIG EAST duo of Morris and Held put their team on top 67-51 at the second media timeout.
DePaul was 12-of-28 from distance in the middle of the third quarter led by Rogers going 5-for-5 at that point.
Rogers made it 6-for-6 in culminating a decisive 13-2 run as the Blue Demons took control with a 74-53 lead. The streak finally came to an end when Rogers missed in the fourth quarter.
Was she surprised when it didn't drop?
"Well, to tell the truth, yes, I was a little surprised," said Rogers with a smile. The sophomore guard with a shooter's mentality had persevered through a shooting slump by going strong to the backboards and becoming a facilitator for her teammates until the shooting touch returned.
"To be honest," Rogers continued, "I never lost confidence in my shot."
A Church three-pointer and a Morris basket put their team in front 81-63 heading into the fourth quarter.
A pair of Church three-point plays and her two free throws propelled DePaul to a 93-69 lead midway through the quarter.
Morrow already had a double-double with 20 points and 15 rebounds at that point.
It was a three-for-all after the opening tip as DePaul took an 18-17 lead at the first quarter media timeout with five shots behind the arc and Morrow's three-point play. Rogers connected three times from deep and Held twice.
Xavier went on a 6-0 spurt to move in front 17-15 until Rogers answered with her third 3-pointer.
Morrow's layup down low just before the buzzer put her team ahead 26-23. The first quarter featured six 3-pointers and a pair of three-point plays from the home team. DePaul shot 6-of-14 from deep.
Xavier did not have a three-point shot but was consistently scoring down low off some crisp passing after attacking the Blue Demon pressure defense. A Rogers free throw gave her team a 27-26 lead at the 9:25 media timeout.
The Musketeers were within 34-31 when DePaul proceeded to outscore them 15-8 for a 49-39 advantage. Morrow had three scores down low and Rogers hit her fifth consecutive shot from deep. A Morris jumper made it 53-43 at halftime.
Morrow had 18 points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks at the break while Rogers had 16 points and five boards. The Blue Demons were shooting 40 percent from behind the arc while Xavier countered with 34 points in the paint.
After going 2-2 against four NCAA tournament teams this season, DePaul faces its fifth 2021 NCAA postseason opponent on Thursday traveling to No. 16/18 Kentucky. The Blue Demons will play in the fabled Rupp Arena.
Postgame Notes
- Morrow came into the game as the nation's leading rebounder among freshman and second in points. Her 19 rebounds is a team high this season.
- Morrow has 89 points, 56 rebounds and 18 steals in her last four games---an average of 22.3 points, 14 rebounds and 4.5 steals.
- The 6-1 freshman has scored 20 points or more in four of nine games---tops in the BIG EAST.
- After the first nine games, DePaul (794 points) is averaging 88.2 points a game.
- With 16 points Sunday, Held moves past Samantha Quigley as the No. 25 scorer all-time in program history with 1,280 points.
- Morris needs five more points to surpass Quigley.
- Dee Bekelja is No. 21 among active NCAA Division I players in career games played.
- The Blue Demons are 2-2 against four NCAA tournament teams in their first seven games---beating Northwestern and Rutgers and falling to No. 17/15 Texas A&M and No. 7/11 Arizona.
- Held is the BIG EAST's active career scoring leader in conference games with 713 points.
- Morrow has scored in double figures eight of the first nine games of her collegiate career.
- Church and Morris have finished in double figures every game except one this season.
- The Blue Demons have won the battle of the boards in seven of nine games including over No. 7/11 Arizona. They topped Xavier 46-40.
Team Stats
XU
DePaul
FG%
.479
.452
3FG%
.222
.378
FT%
.813
.765
RB
40
46
TO
14
12
STL
7
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
10
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
21
FGM
6
3FGM
6
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
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/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
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/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALLG
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