Blue Demons Face Dayton in NCAA First Four Showdown Wednesday

Wednesday, March 16

Ames, Iowa

8:00 P.M. CT

DePaul University

No. 11 Dayton

Blue Demons Face Dayton in NCAA First Four Showdown Wednesday

3/15/2022 3:38:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Ticket Info De Paul Notes Dayton Notes Live Stats

NCAA tournament opener at Ames, Iowa tips at 8 p.m. on ESPNU

AMES, Iowa – Emotions poured out of these Blue Demons on Sunday night when they discovered the NCAA tournament selection committee members had invited them to their Big Dance.

There were hugs all around and tears from some, wholly celebrating a moment that had eluded them for two years.

Right in the middle of all this joy and happiness was a Hall of Fame coach leaking out a little emotion himself as he wondered what this could all mean going forward.

Could the powerful feelings from that Sunday night team bonding translate into a critical element that has been missing all season?

Consistency.

There is no better time for DePaul to begin taking ownership of the kind of consistency that can guide teams through the unpredictable tumult that is March Madness.

It starts Wednesday night when Bruno & Co. engage Atlantic 10 regular-season champion Dayton in the NCAA Tournament First Four game at Hilton Coliseum on the campus of Iowa State.

The 8 p.m. tip will be televised on ESPNU with Jenn Hildreth on the call and analysis from former Chicago Bulls assistant coach Mike Thibault.

A combination of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and last year's season-ending slump conspired to keep the Blue Demons away from one of the classic events in all of sports.

There's the Super Bowl, the World Series, the Kentucky Derby and the NCAA Tournament.

"When you've qualified for the tournament 18 years in a row, it feels like an eternity since we've been back," Bruno said in front of cameras for four local TV stations. "It feels kind of like the first time we went."

Both DePaul (22-10) and Dayton (25-5) come in as No. 11 seeds with the survivor moving on to face No. 6 Georgia on Friday.

A nationwide TV audience will sit back and savor a delectable contrast. The Blue Demons love to push the pace to top speed while Dayton is more comfortable setting the tempo while setting up for quick-trigger three-pointers.

Speed and scrambling the game with a full-court press is one way Bruno's team overcomes its lack of size. The Flyers are deep in talented, lengthy players with guard skills along with height that can hurt you inside.

Ever ready to launch from distance, 6-1 Erin Whalen (13.3 points a game) and 6-1 Jenna Giacone (12.4 points) have combined to knock down 112 shots from behind the arc. DePaul's top two long-range threats Lexi Held and Darrione Rogers have combined for 125 three-pointers.

The Flyers' leading scorer Makira Cook (14.6 points a game) comes off the bench to light a spark and immediately attack.

Dayton's inside strength comes from 6-5 Tenin Magassa, 62 Kyle Whitehead and 6-3 Maria Perez.

That will be quite a challenge for the nation's leading rebounder. All-American power forward Aneesah Morrow is averaging 21.7 points and 13.8 rebounds.

No doubt Dayton coach Shauna Green has watched the film of Marquette throwing three and four bodies at Morrow in its gang-rebounding strategy that limited the 6-1 freshman to six rebounds.

Just as certain, Bruno and his staff will have a countermove should Green adopt that tactic.

DePaul's quartet of double-figure scoring guards could force the action with rapid ball movement creating fissures in the Dayton matchup zone and cashing in on open looks.

Sonya Morris is averaging nearly 18 points a game and Deja Church is scoring 14.2 points per game. Held is scoring at a 12.8 clip and Rogers averages 10.1 points.