Held, Morris and Morrow Launch DePaul on a Winning Thrill Ride

Friday, January 28

Chicago, Ill.

6:00 P.M. CT

DePaul University

17-5,9-2Big East

St. John's

6-13,2-7Big East

St. John's (NY)

DePaul

Held, Morris and Morrow Launch DePaul on a Winning Thrill Ride

1/28/2022 9:19:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

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Terrific trio combines for 68 points in a 94-88 victory over St. John's on Friday night

CHICAGO – It was a totally entertaining Friday night in the South Loop as DePaul and St. John's exchanged deft jabs and counterpunches with all the aggression of a championship bout.

It was the "DePaulball" style of shoot-it or share- it against the Red Storm's potent collection of one-on-one artists ready to break you down at a moment's notice.

In the end, in front of an FS1 national TV audience, the heroic trio of Lexi Held, Sonya Morris and Aneesah Morrow collectively delivered the decisive haymaker in the Blue Demons' 94-88 thrill-ride of a win at Wintrust Arena.

Held had an all-around magnificent game with 24 points, eight assists and five steals while Morris was in triple-double territory with 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Morrow notched her 14th consecutive double-double with 22 points and 18 rebounds. That streak is the longest among active players in the NCAA and her season total of 17 is tops in the nation.

And coach Doug Bruno needed all three of them to have an impactful night along with Deja Church's 13 points to overcome a St. John's team that is beginning hit its stride.

This one had the look and feel of a dramatic ending as neither team could establish control during the first three quarters.

The Blue Demons struck first in the crucial fourth quarter with a 7-2 run as Held scored twice.

Timeout St. John's.

Whatever coach Joe Tartamella told them in the break, his players responded by knotting up this BIG EAST skirmish 82-82.

A Church score, Held's three-pointer and Morrow's tough score inside restored an 89-84 advantage. A trademark soft Morris jumper was sandwiched in between two St. John's baskets with the oversized Wintrust scoreboard reading: DePaul 91, St. John's 88.

Leave it to Lexi to clinch it with three free throws and a huge steal at the 22.2-second mark.

When the smoke had cleared, DePaul improved to 17-5 and 9-2 in the BIG EAST while St. John's dropped to 6-13, 2-7.

The third quarter began with DePaul looking to buttress a 46-42 halftime lead. Two quick Morris buckets and a Church score thanks to a pair of Held steals followed by Morrow's basket in the block provided a 54-44 lead.

The Red Storm answered with six unanswered points causing DePaul coach Doug Bruno to signal for a timeout. That Storm surge grew to 10-0 in knotting up the score at 54-54.

Morrow's put-back and a Church three-pointer restored a 59-54 lead. Back came the visiting team as the pace quickened. It was 59-58 at the media timeout.

Back and forth they went exchanging scoring spurts and matching shot for shot. A 6-2 Blue Demon burst made it 69-65 but St. John's had it tied up 69-69 heading into the final 10 minutes.

DePaul came out smoking hot at the start, knocking down five of its first six shots for an 11-4 lead at the media timeout. Morris hit three in a row, Rogers one and Held a three-pointer.

The pace was fast as both teams are passionate about the running game. Morrow score three baskets in a row---the last one on a steal and court-length drive for a layup. Held followed with another swish for 19-9 advantage.

St. John's responded with a 7-2 burst to come within 21-16. Kierra Collier knocked down a three before the Red Storm scored the final three points of the first quarter to trail 24-19.

Held connected on a two and a three followed by a Rogers basket off a nice feed from Collier as DePaul upped its margin to 34-24 early in the second quarter.

But the team in red came storming back on an 11-4 run in reducing its deficit to 38-37 at the media timeout. St. John's extended the surge to 14-4 and moved in front 40-38 out of the timeout.

That's when the Blue Demons launched an 8-0 retaliation with Morrow scoring four points while Held and Collier contributed for a 46-42 halftime lead.

Held had 12 points and Morris 10 as the two senior leaders combined to shoot 10-of-12. Morrow already had her 14th consecutive double-double in the first 20 minutes with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

DePaul will be in South Orange, N.J. Sunday for a BIG EAST matchup against Seton Hall that will be televised nationally on FS1.

Postgame Notes

The Blue Demons came in leading the country in scoring and assists, putting up 1,423 points in their last 15 games---an average of 94.9 per game. They have reached the century mark eight times to set a new school season record.
The record of six was set in 2014-15 (Brittany Hrynko, Jess January, Chanise Jenkins, Megan Rogowski & Co.) and matched by the 2016-17 team featuring January, Brooke Schulte, Jacqui Grant and Amarah Coleman.
Morrow came into the game leading the nation in double-doubles and offensive rebounds per game, was second in rebounds and field goals, fourth in points, ninth in steals and 10th in blocks. She has 14 consecutive double-doubles and 17 on the season.
The 6-1 freshman has 334 points and 199 rebounds in her last 14 games---an average of 23.9 points and 14.2 rebounds.
Morris came into the game third in the nation in field goals and Held was 9th in assists.
Morris is now No. 19 on the all-time scoring list with 1,524 points. Megan Podkowa is No. 20 with 1,481. Held (1,462 points) is No. 21. Jessica January (1,530) is No. 18.
Dee Bekelja has played in 137 games, tying Brooke Schulte and Chante Stonewall for fourth all-time. Ashton Millender holds the record with 144 games.
The Blue Demons are 3-5 against seven NCAA tournament teams---beating then No. 14/14 Kentucky, Northwestern and Rutgers and falling to then-No. 23/17 Texas A&M, No. 4/8 Arizona, No. 20/17 Notre Dame, Marquette and No. 10/9 UConn.
They are 3-1 against Wildcat teams---beating Kentucky, Northwestern and Villanova and falling to Arizona.
Held is the BIG EAST's active career scoring leader in conference games with 867 points.
Morrow has scored in double figures 21 of the first 22 games of her collegiate career.
The Blue Demons have won the battle of the boards in 16 of 22 games including over Arizona featuring 6-5 Lauren Ware and 6-3 Ariyah Copeland. They outrebounded the taller Red Storm 38-36 on Friday night.
The women's basketball program celebrated Alumni Night with Bruno's former players being introduced at halftime.