DePaul University
14-9,11-5Big East
Saint Louis
13-4,9-3Atlantic 10
Furious Fourth Quarter Rally Falls Just Short
3/19/2021 8:10:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
DePaul loses 74-72 Friday to Saint Louis in WNIT, faces Drake in Saturday consolation game
ROCKFORD, Ill. – There were 5.8 seconds left and DePaul was down two when Sonya Morris came racing up the court, dead-set on sending this pulsating Friday thriller into overtime.
The look of determination pasted across the junior guard's face let the world know she was ready for the moment. A high dribble in the rush to score likely threw off her rhythm just enough that her pull-up shot in the waning seconds caught more iron than net in a 74-72 loss to Saint Louis in the WNIT opener.
It was for Blue Demon fans a tough ending after Morris had lit the fuse on an amazing fourth-quarter rally. Trailing by 14 points early in the fourth quarter, Morris went ballistic for a stretch of 2 minutes and 36 seconds at the UW Health Sports Factory.
The All-BIG EAST standout had three jumpers, two free throws, an assist, a blocked shot and a steal, practically willing her team back into the game. When the smoke had cleared, that 63-49 deficit had been reduced to a mere three points.
It would get even tighter thanks to freshman Darrione Rogers who converted a three-point play with 2:42 left, knocked down two free throws with 2:19 on the clock after a Dee Bekelja steal and then topped it off with a huge three-pointer at the 1:36 mark that tied the game at 70-70. After the release, the confident Rogers maintained her shooting pose for a few seconds and watched it go down.
Ciaja Harbison put Saint Louis (13-4) back on top only to watch Morris go one-on-one with 26.6 seconds left and swish a pretty step-back jumper. Harbison made two free throws with 5.8 to go, and Morris gave it one last shot.
The heart-breaking setback left DePaul (14-9) with a 2 p.m. consolation game on Saturday against Drake which lost to Milwaukee 84-46 on Friday night.
Morris finished with a season-high 28 points and added 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the year. Rogers scored 18 clutch points and Lexi Held added 16 points.
The Blue Demons were down eight going into the fourth quarter. The Billikens opened with a 6-0 burst in taking a 63-49 lead at the 8:33 mark. It was the largest lead of the game, causing coach Doug Bruno to call timeout.
That's when Morris and Rogers took over.
The third quarter began with DePaul clinging to a 35-34 lead and fully operational in the survive-and-advance mode that the postseason demands.
The lead went back and forth early in the third quarter. After a pair of Deja Church free throws put the Blue Demons ahead 42-42, Saint Louis answered with a 7-0 run to lead 48-42 at the media timeout.
That run was extended by another Billiken basket as DePaul trailed 50-42 at the second media timeout. Bruno's team had made just 2-of-8 shots at that point in the third quarter.
Despite two baskets from Morris and a Held three-pointer, Saint Louis took a 57-49 lead into the fourth quarter.
DePaul's first WNIT game since 2002 got off to a slow start, trailing 12-9 at the first quarter media timeout. Saint Louis pulled out to an 18-11 lead before back-to-back baskets from Morris and Kiara Dallmann cut the deficit to three.
Despite a Rogers three-pointer as the freshman was acquitting herself well in her NCAA postseason baptism, the Billikens led 25-20 after one quarter.
A 9-2 DePaul run midway through the second quarter produced a 35-33 lead after a long Morris three. The game bogged down at that point with Saint Louis hitting a free throw down the stretch.
Coach Doug Bruno addressed his team at halftime protecting a slim 35-34 lead. DePaul's pair of All-BIG EAST First Team guards Morris and Held led the way in the first 20 minutes with Morris scoring 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting including 2-of-3 from deep while Held ha 10 points.
Overall, the Blue Demons virtually held their own on the backboards against the taller Billikens, trailing just 20-18 in the rebound battle at halftime. They ended up topping Saint Louis 38-36.
Postgame Notes
- Morris racked up her second double-double of the season.
- DePaul outrebounded the taller Billikens 38-36 behind Morris' 10 boards.
- The Blue Demons are 8-11 all-time in the WNIT.
- DePaul's series record against Saint Louis is now 23-7.
- Morris is second in the BIG EAST in scoring 20-or-more points with 12 times in 22 games. Villanova's Maddy Siegrist leads with 14. Morris' 26 points on Jan. 16 at Georgetown tied her previous season and the team high---also scoring 26 Dec. 13 against Loyola.
- Lexi Held is a double-figure scorer in every game except one and has 149 points in her last eight games.
- Morris has 159 points in her last eight games.
- Held has 41 steals in her last 10 games and is No. 5 in the nation in steals.
- DePaul is receiving votes in both the Associated Press Top 25 and the USA Today/Coaches poll.
- Bruno's full-court pressure tactics and his players' ball-hawking aggression have forced 20 or more turnovers in 14 of 23 games this season including 27 against then-No. 10/10 Texas A&M and 23 against both then-No. 2/2 Louisville and No. 9/9 Kentucky. Georgetown's 33 miscues on Jan. 16 were a season high. Saint Louis had 13 on Friday. The Blue Demons are No. 8 in the nation in forcing turnovers averaging nearly 22 a game.
- After Deja Church reached the 1,000-point mark in her career on Jan. 21 at Butler, Lexi Held reached the milestone on Feb. 15 against Seton Hall. Sonya Morris became DePaul's third 1,000-point scorer of the season on Feb. 17 against Xavier.
