Church and Morrow Lead DePaul Past Marquette 77-66 on Wednesday night

Wednesday, February 16

Chicago, Ill.

7:00 P.M. CT

DePaul University

21-7,13-4Big East

Marquette

17-8,10-6Big East

Marquette

DePaul

Church and Morrow Lead DePaul Past Marquette 77-66 on Wednesday night

2/16/2022 10:44:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Energized Blue Demons race out to an early lead and never look back

CHICAGO – It's only one game, to be sure, and you don't want to get carried away.

But at the same time, the hope is that just maybe, these Blue Demons are beginning to find their groove.

In what was forecast as a long, tense night in the South Loop, DePaul's players took to heart most everything their Hall of Fame coach tries to instill and made magic with a 77-66 victory over BIG EAST rival Marquette at Wintrust Arena.

This game wasn't nearly as close as the final score would have you believe. Near the end of the third quarter, the margin was 25 points.

Deja Church, who continues to play the best basketball of her career, turned in another stellar performance with a game-high 23 points along with eight rebounds.

All-American candidate Aneesah Morrow racked up her 20th consecutive double-double and 23rd overall with 21 points and 17 rebounds. She becomes only the fourth player in the history of NCAA women's basketball with at least 20-straight double-doubles according to ESPN Stats and Info.

The 6-foot, 1-inch power forward shattered the BIG EAST single-season rebounding mark of 248 (in BIG EAST games only) set by Georgetown's Natalie Butler in 2013-14. Morrow now has 257 with three more conference games to go.

Morrow is closing in on the all-time DePaul single-season rebounding record of 397 set by All-American Diana Vines in 1986-87. The Blue Demon freshman now has 386.

Sonya Morris came through with 15 points while Kierra Collier made a valuable contribution off the bench with nine points and intense, harassing defense on Marquette point guard Jordan King that disrupted the flow of the Golden Eagle attack.

Now, the onus is on Bruno, his staff and the players to come out with the same energy and passion for the final three games of their BIG EAST season.

Bruno had one primary task at halftime. Make sure his players did not get complacent after building a 48-32 cushion in the first 20 minutes.

Church and Morrow scored early in the third quarter before Collier went on a personal five-point spree, increasing the margin to 57-36. It was 57-40 at the media timeout.

Church matched Collier with a five-pointer of her own, and along with a Morris foul shot, the lead had grown to 65-40. Morrow scored inside and Church drove for a buzzer-beating layup as the Blue Demons were in front 69-45 going into the fourth quarter.

It was still a 20-point cushion midway through the fourth quarter when Bruno gradually began subbing out his starters. Marquette fell to 17-8, 10-6.

DePaul (21-7, 13-4 BIG EAST) got off to one of its best starts in a while, knocking down six of its first eight shots. Morrow was money underneath with three baskets while Morris and Darrione Rogers buried three-pointers.

The passing was crisp, the ball was moving and the Blue Demons were in rhythm. After Morrow's score made it 16-7, Marquette coach Megan Duffy called timeout.

That first quarter was all about "DePaulball." It ended with a perfect example of a Doug Bruno play. Church drove the lane with three seconds left and at the last second, fed Morrow for a layup.

Along with Morris' hot shooting and the wonderful collaboration, the Blue Demons pulled out to a 28-17 lead after one quarter. It was their best opening act in a while.

Now, they needed to sustain that rocket start.

These Blue Demons had it goin' on. Morrow led the fast break and spotted a wide-open Rogers who cashed in all three points. Next possession, a wicked pass set up Held who swished from long distance.

Time out Golden Eagles. DePaul 35, Marquette 19.

Morris scored DePaul's next five points and then watched Church knock down back-to-back threes for a 46-28 advantage. Morrow's rebound basket sent her team into the halftime locker room on top 48-32.

DePaul was sizzling from distance in the first 20 minutes going 7-of-15 (46.7 percent). Bruno's players epitomized his shoot-it-or-share-it mandate as seven different Blue Demons had at least one assist.

Morris had 14 points at the break while Morrow had 13 points and seven rebounds, making good on 6-of-7 shots. Church had 12 points and six boards.

The next BIG EAST showdown for the Blue Demons is Sunday at Villanova with a tip time of 1 p.m.

Postgame Notes

The Blue Demons lead the country in scoring and assists, and have put up 1,906 points in their last 21 games---an average of 90.8 per game. They have reached the century mark nine times to set a new school season record.
The previous 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, rebounds, rebounds per game and offensive rebounds per game and was second in field goals, third in points and sixth in steals. She now has 20 consecutive double-doubles and 23 on the season. Only three other players in NCAA women's basketball history have recorded 20 or more in a row.
The 6-1 freshman has 244 points and 166 rebounds in her last 10 games---an average of 24.4 points and 16.6 rebounds.
Sonya Morris came into the game fourth in the nation in field goals and 10th in attempts while Held was seventh in assists and Church No. 9 in free throw percentage.
Morris is now No. 13 on the all-time scoring list with 1,604 points. Beth Hasenmiller (1,600) is No. 14. Debra Robinson is No. 15 with 1,592 points and Keisha Hampton (1,574) is No. 16. Mfon Udoka (1,569) is No. 17, Melanie Ehrhardt (1,552) is No. 18 and Jessica January (1,530) is No. 19. Held (1,528) is No. 20. Chanise Jenkins is No. 12 with 1,605 points and Chante Stonewall (1,622) is No. 11. JoAnn Feiereisel is No. 10 at 1,630.
Deja Church is now a 1,000-point Blue Demon scorer with 1,034 in three years. She transferred in after playing two seasons at Michigan.
Dee Bekelja has played in 138 games and is tied with Brittany Hrynko for third all-time in DePaul history. Ashton Millender holds the record with 144 games.
The Blue Demons are 3-6 against nine 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.8/8 UConn twice.
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 923 points.
Morrow has scored in double figures 27 of the first 28 games of her collegiate career.
DePaul is 18-10 outrebounding opponents including Arizona featuring 6-5 Lauren Ware and 6-3 Ariyah Copeland. Marquette won the battle of the boards 44-39 on Wednesday.