DePaul Wins BIG EAST Opener 78-72 at Butler

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – DePaul opened BIG EAST play with a 78-72 victory at Butler on Sunday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse. In a battle between league teams, the Blue Demons executed at a high-level down the stretch, shooting 91 percent from the field in the fourth quarter including a perfect five-for-five from downtown.

Sophomore forward Aneesah Morrow paced the Blue Demons with 28 points, 14 rebounds and five steals while Darrione Rogers poured in 25 points and handed out seven assists. Morrow recorded the 33rd double-double of her career and Rogers tallied five or more assists for the sixth time this season.

Anaya Peoples totaled 13 points while collecting five rebounds and dishing out five assists.

DePaul (5-3, 1-0 BIG EAST) assisted on 19 of 30 made field goals and won the battle of the boards for the seventh time this season, outrebounding Butler 35-31.

A 10-3 DePaul run to open the contest forced a Butler timeout as four different players recorded a bucket in the early going. Back-to-back baskets from Morrow pushed the advantage to 14-3, but the Bulldogs answered with an 8-0 run to cut the advantage to three, 14-11. After 10 minutes, the Blue Demons led 17-13.

On the second possession of the second quarter, Morrow completed the three-point play to extend DePaul's lead to 20-13. Butler hung around and came within three, 24-21, before the Blue Demons used a 10-2 run to take a 34-23 edge into the locker room.

The Bulldogs went on an 8-0 run in the latter stages of the third quarter to claim their first lead of the game, 50-49. Morrow went up and under for her ninth field goal of the afternoon to put DePaul back in front 51-50 heading into the fourth quarter.

After Butler made the first bucket of the fourth, the Blue Demons poured on a 7-0 run on three-consecutive Bulldog miscues to jump back in front 58-52. Rogers connected on three-consecutive trips down the floor to push DePaul's lead to 71-62 with just under three minutes to play. Back-to-back layups inside from Butler trimmed the lead to five once again, but a three by Morrow with the shot clock winding down was the silencer to put the game out of reach.

Rachel McLimore led Butler with 17 points and five rebounds.

Up Next: The Blue Demons return to Chicago for a pair of local matchups next week. DePaul will make the trip to Rogers Park to take on Loyola on Wednesday, Dec. 7 before heading to Evanston to face Northwestern on Saturday, Dec. 10.

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Team Stats

Aneesah Morrow

Darrione Rogers

Anaya Peoples

Kendall Holmes

Players Mentioned

Aneesah Morrow

Anaya Peoples

Darrione Rogers

Players Mentioned

Aneesah Morrow

Anaya Peoples

Darrione Rogers