Nothing Went Right for DePaul in 88-57 Loss to Dayton on Wednesday

Wednesday, March 16

Ames, Iowa

8:00 P.M. CT

DePaul University

22-11,14-6Big East

No. 11 Dayton

26-5,14-1Atlantic 10

DePaul

Dayton

Nothing Went Right for DePaul in 88-57 Loss to Dayton on Wednesday

3/16/2022 11:49:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Box Score Box Score (PDF

All-American Aneesah Morrow had 28 points and 17 rebounds in NCAA First Four game

AMES, Iowa – The wheels came off for DePaul Wednesday night at just about the worst possible time of the season.

Playing in a historic NCAA First Four game---the first time for a 68-team field in women's basketball---nothing went right for the 11th-seeded Blue Demons in an 88-57 loss to Dayton in Hilton Coliseum.

No. 11 seed Dayton advances to a First Round matchup against No. 6 Georgia on Friday.

The inconsistency that prevented a talented team from going on an extended run and playing to its true potential made it tough on coach Doug Bruno's program to gain any traction on a tough night.

After having her consecutive double-double streak of 23 snapped at the BIG EAST tournament last week, All-American Aneesah Morrow was back to her impressive self with 28 points, 17 rebounds and four blocked shots.

That gave the National Freshman of the Year a nation-leading 27 double-doubles on the season.

Lexi Held had nine points and Deja Church finished with eight points and six rebounds as DePaul closes out the 2021-22 campaign with a 22-11 record.

There were some memorable moments this season including an inspiring 94-85 upset of then-No. 14/14 Kentucky at the hallowed Rupp Arena.

The Blue Demons finished the regular season strong with a 90-84 triumph over BIG EAST contender Creighton in Omaha, Neb. That's when Morrow scored a career-high 41 points.

Trailing 55-32 at the break on Wednesday night, Bruno and his staff were tasked with finding a way of slowing down Dayton's three-point accuracy while also igniting an offense that was misfiring for the first 20 minutes.

Dayton (26-5) had made 11-of-13 three-pointers in the first half, cooling off and going 2-for-10 the final two quarters.

Morrow opened the third quarter with three consecutive baskets, but Dayton continued to score. A 7-0 Flyer burst made it 64-38 at the media timeout.

The deficit was 69-38 when Morrow scored six in a row for her team. The Blue Demons trailed 73-44 going into the fourth quarter.

Morris opened the final period with a three-pointer and Rogers followed with a basket. The Flyers led 77-49 at the fourth quarter media timeout. The deficit grew to 86-53 with 2:27 left.

The pace was fast and frenetic right from the opening tip. Three-pointers by Morrow and Held provided an early 8-5 lead. It went back and forth with Morrow and Church sparking the DePaul attack. Dayton scored just before the media timeout to take a 16-14 lead.

The Flyers drilled three consecutive shots from deep and increased their advantage to 22-14 with 2:50 left in the first quarter. Bruno called timeout.

Rogers buried a three and Held converted a pair of free throws to make it 25-19. Morrow scored down low but Dayton hit another three-pointer for a 29-21 lead after one quarter.

The Flyers started out scorching from distance, hitting six of eight in the first 10 minutes. They did not let up, drilling four more in the middle of the second quarter to move in front 41-25.

At that point, the Atlantic 10 regular-season champion had hit 10-of-12 from behind the arc. Jenna Giacone was 4-of-4 and Erin Whalen 4-of-6. Bruno called another timeout to regroup.

The story of the first half was Dayton's three-point shooting. The Flyers went into their halftime locker room with a 55-32 lead after connecting on 11 of their first 13 attempts from distance.

That translates to 84.6 percent.

The Blue Demons made 4-of-9 from the same distance but shot 29.7 percent overall. Dayton was 59.4 percent.

Postgame Notes

Earlier on Wednesday, Morrow was named to the Associate Press All-American Second Team. It's her third All-America honor joining Sports Illustrated and The Athletic.
Morrow has established the new all-time DePaul single-season rebounding record with 457. Diana Vines (1986-87) previously set the standard with 397.
The Blue Demons came into the game leading the country in scoring, averaging 88.3 points a game. They have reached the century mark nine times to set a new school season record.
The previous mark 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 third in field goals and sixth in points. She now has 27 double-doubles on the season and had a stretch of 23 in a row.
The 6-1 freshman has 381 points and 237 rebounds in her last 15 games---an average of 25.4 points and 15.8 rebounds.
Morrow holds the all-time BIG EAST record (conference games only) for rebounds in a season with 287 and rebounds in a game with 27 (Jan. 30 at Seton Hall). She also owns the BIG EAST freshman record for points in a game with 41.
A group of 60 family members and friends traveled from Lincoln, Neb. to cheer for Morrow and DePaul. Her mom Nafeesah was a basketball star at Nebraska and her dad Ed played linebacker on the Cornhuskers' 1994 national champion. Most of Aneesah's extended family moved to Nebraska and settled in Lincoln.
Morris came into the game No. 12 in the nation in field goals and No. 18 in attempts while Held was No. 17 in assists. Church was No. 7 in free throw percentage.
Morris in No. 9 in the all-time scoring list with 1,668 points. Jenni Dant is No. 10 at 1,633. JoAnn Feiereisel is No. 11 at 1,630. Chante Stonewall (1,622) is No. 12. Chanise Jenkins is No. 13 with 1,605. Beth Hasenmiller (1,600) is No. 14, Debra Robinson is No. 15 with 1,592 points and Lexi Held is No. 16 with 1,578.
Deja Church is now a 1,000-point Blue Demon scorer with 1,092 in three years. She transferred in after playing two seasons at Michigan.
Dee Bekelja has played in 142 games which is second all-time in DePaul history. Ashton Millender holds the record with 144 games. Chanise Jenkins is third at 141.
The Blue Demons are 4-7 against 2021 NCAA tournament teams---beating then No. 14/14 Kentucky, Northwestern, Marquette and Rutgers and falling to then-No. 23/17 Texas A&M, No. 4/8 Arizona, No. 20/17 Notre Dame, Marquette and No. 7/8 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 951 points.
Morrow has scored in double figures 32 of 33 games in her first collegiate season.
DePaul is 20-13 outrebounding opponents including Arizona featuring 6-5 Lauren Ware and 6-3 Ariyah Copeland. DePaul lost the battle of the boards Wednesday 48-42.
The Blue Demons' 57 points on Wednesday was a season low as was their 19 field goals. It was also the largest margin for a loss.