DePaul Powers Past Providence 98-77 Friday NIght

Friday, January 7

Providence, RI

6:00 P.M. CT

DePaul University

12-3,4-0Big East

Providence

6-7,1-3Big East

DePaul

Providence

DePaul Powers Past Providence 98-77 Friday NIght

1/7/2022 8:06:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Church, Morris, Held, Morrow Combine for 73 points in BIG EAST win

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – So much for the long layoff.

Even though rust never sleeps, DePaul summoned up enough muscle memory and competitive juices Friday night to knock off Providence 98-77 at Alumni Hall.

The Blue Demons' first action in 16 days wound up being their eighth win in the last nine games.

At the forefront of coach Doug Bruno's latest success story was the experienced trio of Deja Church, Sonya Morris and Lexi Held.

Church led DePaul (12-3, 4-0) with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting including 3-of-5 from deep while adding six rebounds and three steals. Morris checked in with 19 points, seven rebounds and four steals.

Held added 17 points and a game-high eight assists. Aneesah Morrow finished with her seventh-straight double-double with 17 points and 10 boards. Darrione Rogers had nine points and five rebounds while Dee Bekelja contributed eight points and six rebounds off the bench.

Full disclosure: This was Providence's first game in 19 days.

DePaul came out in the third quarter looking to maintain or augment its 55-41 halftime lead.

After a Morrow score kept the margin at 13, the Friars went on an 8-2 run to close within 59-52. Back came Held with a pull-up jumper and Church with a three-pointer for a 64-54 lead at the media timeout.

The Friars (6-7, 1-3) came within seven one more time before Church, Morrow and Held closed out the third quarter with a 9-4 burst in giving their team a 79-65 advantage heading into the final 10 minutes.

Morrow keyed the offense early in the fourth quarter, and combined with a Church basket and a pretty under-the-basket reverse layup by Held provided the visiting team with an 87-69 lead at the media timeout.

Morris scored seven points in the first six minutes to help neutralize Providence's scoring down low. Rogers buried a three-pointer and it was 18-18 at the media timeout. The way both teams were scoring, this one could be the 30s after the first 10 minutes.

After a Morrow score inside, the talented freshman picked up her second foul and headed for the bench. The Friars closed out the first quarter on an 8-2 run to lead 26-22.

Providence's best player Janai Crooms did not play.

Morris, Church and Bekelja sparked a 10-2 Blue Demon burst for a 37-30 lead, prompting Providence coach Jim Crowley to call timeout.

Bekelja looked good after missing the last two games because of an illness. She helped key Bruno's 5G alignment---speeding up the game with five guards while Morrow sat out.

Morris and Church combined for 17 points in the second quarter as their team outscored the hosts 33-16. Even with its best rebounder sitting out with foul trouble, DePaul had outrebounded Providence 19-14 by halftime.

Morris had 17 points, five rebounds and three steals at the break. Church had nine points, Held eight points and six assists while Bekelja added eight and Rogers seven.

The Blue Demons begin their most arduous stretch of the season Wednesday at Marquette when they will play three games in just five days.

Postgame Notes

The Blue Demons came in leading the country in scoring and assists and have now scored 792 points in their last eight games---an average of 99 per game. They have reached the century mark five times in the last eight games.
DePaul has scored 100 or more 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). The Blue Demons came two points from setting a program record.
Morrow came into the game second in the nation in rebounds, double-doubles and offensive rebounds per game and was sixth in field goals, ninth in steals and No. 12 in total points. She has seven consecutive double-doubles and nine in her last 10 games.
The 6-1 freshman has 202 points and 132 rebounds in her last 10 games---an average of 20.2 points and 13.2 rebounds.
Morris (1,379 points) is No. 23 on the all-time scoring list and Held (1,374) is No. 25---just one point shy of No. 24 Mart'e Grays.
Dee Bekelja played in her 134th game, tying Sam Quigley for No. 9 all-time. Kelly Campbell and Felicia Chester are tied for seventh at 135. Katherine Harry is sixth at 136.
The Blue Demons are 3-3 against six NCAA tournament teams---beating Kentucky, Northwestern and Rutgers and falling to No. 23/17 Texas A&M, No. 4/8 Arizona and No. 20/17 Notre Dame.
Held is the BIG EAST's active career scoring leader in conference games with 767 points.
Morrow has scored in double figures 14 of the first 15 games of her collegiate career.
The Blue Demons have won the battle of the boards in 12 of 15 games including over No. 4/8 Arizona. DePaul outrebounded Providence 42-31 on Friday night.