Wednesday, February 17
Wintrust Arena
4:00 P.M. CT
DePaul University
vs
Xavier
Xavier an Unpredictable Opponent for No. 19/19 DePaul
2/16/2021 8:06:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Blue Demons seek fourth-straight win at 4 p.m.in Wintrust Arena Wednesday
CHICAGO – There is an element of intrigue surrounding No. 19/19 DePaul's BIG EAST assignment Wednesday when Xavier comes to the South Loop.
This will be the Musketeers' first game since Jan. 23 as the women's basketball program paused activities due to COVID-19 related issues.
For the Blue Demon coaching staff, there's no telling what to expect or how to strategize in a highly unusual situation like this.
Suffice to say, coach Doug Bruno and his program that come in with a 12-4 overall record, 9-2 in conference, will launch its usual up-tempo attack while aggressively applying full-court pressure on the defensive end.
Heading up DePaul's attack in the 4 p.m. game at Wintrust Arena that will be shown on the BIG EAST Digital Network is explosive guard Sonya Morris who is averaging 18.9 points a game and leads the conference having scored 20-or-more points 10 times in 16 games.
The junior sharpshooter also leads the league in free throw percentage (.909) and is No. 13 in the country along with being just 18 points away from scoring 1,000 points in her career.
Three of her backcourt mates are also double-figure scoring threats. Lexi Held, who scored her 1,000th career point in Monday's victory over Seton Hall, is averaging 15.6 points and is No. 20 in the nation in steals per game.
Dee Bekelja continues her breakout senior year averaging 14.2 points a game and emerging as one of DePaul's strongest finishers at the rim. Deja Church, who reached the 1K milestone last month at Butler, is contributing 13.1 points a game.
Those four guards in double digits could be adding a fifth guard as freshman Darrione Rogers averages 9.8 points and leads the team with 5.8 rebounds a game.
Along with forward Jorie Allen (nine points a game) becoming a force down low, DePaul is averaging 83.8 points game---No. 6 in the country.
Complementing the balanced attack and upping the game's tempo is a full-court pressure defense that is forcing 22.1 turnovers a game---No. 7 in the nation. The Musketeers enter Wintrust Arena averaging nearly 21 turnovers per game. Held is No. 20 in the country in steals per game at nearly three and has 21 in her last five games.
DePaul leads the BIG EAST in nine categories including scoring offense, three-pointers, free throw percentage, steals and forcing turnovers.
The Blue Demons will be looking to win their fourth in a row and eighth in their last nine. They own a dominant 20-1 series record against Xavier and are 11-0 at home. After losing the series debut back in 1984, Bruno's program has won 20 in a row.
Three of the key Xavier players DePaul's defense will focus on are leading scorer Nia Clark (15 points a game), forward Ariana Gray (11.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and Kae Satterfield (9.3 points, 6.6 rebounds). Clark is also the team's most dangerous threat from three-point land converting at a 45 percent clip.
This will be the Musketeers' first game since Jan. 23 as the women's basketball program paused activities due to COVID-19 related issues.
For the Blue Demon coaching staff, there's no telling what to expect or how to strategize in a highly unusual situation like this.
Suffice to say, coach Doug Bruno and his program that come in with a 12-4 overall record, 9-2 in conference, will launch its usual up-tempo attack while aggressively applying full-court pressure on the defensive end.
Heading up DePaul's attack in the 4 p.m. game at Wintrust Arena that will be shown on the BIG EAST Digital Network is explosive guard Sonya Morris who is averaging 18.9 points a game and leads the conference having scored 20-or-more points 10 times in 16 games.
The junior sharpshooter also leads the league in free throw percentage (.909) and is No. 13 in the country along with being just 18 points away from scoring 1,000 points in her career.
Three of her backcourt mates are also double-figure scoring threats. Lexi Held, who scored her 1,000th career point in Monday's victory over Seton Hall, is averaging 15.6 points and is No. 20 in the nation in steals per game.
Dee Bekelja continues her breakout senior year averaging 14.2 points a game and emerging as one of DePaul's strongest finishers at the rim. Deja Church, who reached the 1K milestone last month at Butler, is contributing 13.1 points a game.
Those four guards in double digits could be adding a fifth guard as freshman Darrione Rogers averages 9.8 points and leads the team with 5.8 rebounds a game.
Along with forward Jorie Allen (nine points a game) becoming a force down low, DePaul is averaging 83.8 points game---No. 6 in the country.
Complementing the balanced attack and upping the game's tempo is a full-court pressure defense that is forcing 22.1 turnovers a game---No. 7 in the nation. The Musketeers enter Wintrust Arena averaging nearly 21 turnovers per game. Held is No. 20 in the country in steals per game at nearly three and has 21 in her last five games.
DePaul leads the BIG EAST in nine categories including scoring offense, three-pointers, free throw percentage, steals and forcing turnovers.
The Blue Demons will be looking to win their fourth in a row and eighth in their last nine. They own a dominant 20-1 series record against Xavier and are 11-0 at home. After losing the series debut back in 1984, Bruno's program has won 20 in a row.
Three of the key Xavier players DePaul's defense will focus on are leading scorer Nia Clark (15 points a game), forward Ariana Gray (11.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and Kae Satterfield (9.3 points, 6.6 rebounds). Clark is also the team's most dangerous threat from three-point land converting at a 45 percent clip.
Players Mentioned
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