Lexi Held receives third Big East freshman of the week honor

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Jonathan Aguilar | The DePaulia

DePaul freshman Lexi Held pulls up for a jumper against Notre Dame on Nov. 17 at Wintrust Arena.

Continuing her strong play over the weekend, freshman Lexi Held was awarded her third Big East freshman of the week award on Monday. Held, averaged 22 points per game on 50 percent shooting from the field and 43.8 percent from the 3-point line in two wins against Seton Hall on Friday and St. John’s on Sunday.

In two close road games last week, DePaul needed someone to step up in the fourth quarter and Held was the one who rose to the occasion in both games. Against Seton Hall, Held scored 14 points in the final quarter which propelled the Blue Demons to a 94-85 win. The 5-foot-10-inch guard scored a game-high 28 points on 8-of-13 shooting, 4-of-9 from behind the arc and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line.

Following up that impressive performance, Held led the Blue Demons once again on Sunday against St. John’s this time, finishing with another game-high 16 points on 5-of-13 shooting and 3-of-7 from the 3-point line. Nine of those 16 points came in the fourth quarter with two 3-pointers and a 3-point play. The game once again hung in the balance with St. John’s making a run in the quarter, but Held didn’t let the moment and Madison Square Garden be too much for her as she helped the Blue Demons notch their 10th conference win of the season.

The 22-point average was good enough to be tied for the league’s best scoring mark of the week and also good enough for Held to be named a finalist for the player of the week award, however, that ended up Providence’s Jovana Nogic who averaged 21 points during the week.

Held and DePaul return home this weekend for their final two home games of the season, when they host Xavier on Friday and Butler on Sunday with both games being played at Wintrust Arena.