DePaul University Athletics
Saturday, March 5
Uncasville, Conn.
1:30 P.M. CT
DePaul University
vs
No. 5 Marquette
DePaul Collides With Marquette in Saturday's BIG EAST Quarterfinals
3/4/2022 8:56:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Blue Demons face longtime rival at Mohegan Sun Arena on FS2
UNCASVILLE, Conn. – There are three words that will resonate with the DePaul women's basketball program for as long as the madness of March lingers in Lincoln Park.
Survive, and advance.
Coach Doug Bruno will echo that refrain to his team as it hopes to peak at the right time.
Beginning Saturday with BIG EAST tournament quarterfinal showdown against Marquette at Mohegan Sun Arena, all that matters is coming out on top.
Doesn't matter how you get there. If success results from a highly entertaining, fast-paced offense as the Blue Demons spread the court, share the ball and knock down shots, more power to you.
But in one-and-done season, style points don't mean a thing. Whether you make it look easy or struggle mightily for 40 minutes, the 'W' will be equally fulfilling.
DePaul (22-9, 14-6 BIG EAST) is the No. 4 seed and longtime rival Marquette (20-9, 13-7) is No. 5. Theoretically, it should be the most contested matchup of the day.
Although past results mean very little in the postseason, these two adversaries split the regular season series with each holding serve on its home court.
Back on Jan. 12 in Milwaukee, the Blue Demons came up just short 88-85 in overtime. Back home Feb. 16 at Wintrust Arena, the home team won going away 77-66.
The Golden Eagles will attack with a rugged front line headed by 6-foot, 2-inch All-BIG EAST forward Lauren Van Kleunen (13.2 points a game), 6-2 Liza Karlen (10 points, seven rebounds) and 6-1 Chloe Marotta.
DePaul will rely on All-American Candidate and BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Aneesah Morrow to come up big down low in her first collegiate postseason game.
Morrow is averaging 21.5 points and 14 rebounds a game, looking to extend her streak of 23 consecutive double-doubles.
She leads the nation in double-doubles, field goals, rebounds, rebounds per game and offensive rebounds per game. The 6-1 power forward is third in the country in points and sixth in steals.
The former Simeon All-Stater heads up a formidable starting five that is averaging nearly 77 points a game. All-BIG EAST First Team guard Sonya Morris is scoring 18 points a game and All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention guard Deja Church is contributing 14.2 per game.
All-BIG EAST Second Team point guard Lexi Held averages 12.8 points, hands out 5.5 assists and orchestrates an offense that leads the nation in scoring and assists. Darrione Rogers is scoring at a 10.3 clip and has the deepest three-point range on the team.
DePaul's 1,767 points scored over 20 BIG EAST games shattered the previous record of 1,640 by Connecticut in 1998-99.
One would hope the deep experience of the Blue Demons' first five will carry the day in the heat of pressure-cooker games. Church is a fifth-year graduate student and Morris and Held are seniors. Morrow and the sophomore Rogers infuse their team with the energy and youthful enthusiasm.
Further veteran experience comes off the bench in the form of fifth-year grad student Dee Bekelja and reliable junior Kierra Collier.
Survive, and advance.
Coach Doug Bruno will echo that refrain to his team as it hopes to peak at the right time.
Beginning Saturday with BIG EAST tournament quarterfinal showdown against Marquette at Mohegan Sun Arena, all that matters is coming out on top.
Doesn't matter how you get there. If success results from a highly entertaining, fast-paced offense as the Blue Demons spread the court, share the ball and knock down shots, more power to you.
But in one-and-done season, style points don't mean a thing. Whether you make it look easy or struggle mightily for 40 minutes, the 'W' will be equally fulfilling.
DePaul (22-9, 14-6 BIG EAST) is the No. 4 seed and longtime rival Marquette (20-9, 13-7) is No. 5. Theoretically, it should be the most contested matchup of the day.
Although past results mean very little in the postseason, these two adversaries split the regular season series with each holding serve on its home court.
Back on Jan. 12 in Milwaukee, the Blue Demons came up just short 88-85 in overtime. Back home Feb. 16 at Wintrust Arena, the home team won going away 77-66.
The Golden Eagles will attack with a rugged front line headed by 6-foot, 2-inch All-BIG EAST forward Lauren Van Kleunen (13.2 points a game), 6-2 Liza Karlen (10 points, seven rebounds) and 6-1 Chloe Marotta.
DePaul will rely on All-American Candidate and BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Aneesah Morrow to come up big down low in her first collegiate postseason game.
Morrow is averaging 21.5 points and 14 rebounds a game, looking to extend her streak of 23 consecutive double-doubles.
She leads the nation in double-doubles, field goals, rebounds, rebounds per game and offensive rebounds per game. The 6-1 power forward is third in the country in points and sixth in steals.
The former Simeon All-Stater heads up a formidable starting five that is averaging nearly 77 points a game. All-BIG EAST First Team guard Sonya Morris is scoring 18 points a game and All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention guard Deja Church is contributing 14.2 per game.
All-BIG EAST Second Team point guard Lexi Held averages 12.8 points, hands out 5.5 assists and orchestrates an offense that leads the nation in scoring and assists. Darrione Rogers is scoring at a 10.3 clip and has the deepest three-point range on the team.
DePaul's 1,767 points scored over 20 BIG EAST games shattered the previous record of 1,640 by Connecticut in 1998-99.
One would hope the deep experience of the Blue Demons' first five will carry the day in the heat of pressure-cooker games. Church is a fifth-year graduate student and Morris and Held are seniors. Morrow and the sophomore Rogers infuse their team with the energy and youthful enthusiasm.
Further veteran experience comes off the bench in the form of fifth-year grad student Dee Bekelja and reliable junior Kierra Collier.
Players Mentioned
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