Women’s basketball: DePaul falls short in 77-68 loss to Creighton

The DePaul women’s basketball team fell 77-68 to the Creighton Blue Jays on Friday, five days after coming off an 85-65 win over Seton Hall on Jan. 30 where freshman forward Aneesah Morrow put up 27 rebounds to break a Big East record.

Senior guard Sonya Morris kicked off the game with a 3-point jumper, followed by a layup by Morrow before Creighton got on the board. Both teams were playing aggressively from the start, with the Blue Demons taking two fouls in the first three minutes of the game.

That aggression on the court continued as points went back and forth and the lead swapped between the teams. By the halfway point of the first quarter, the game was tied at 10.

DePaul took the lead again with a jumper by Morris, the first basket in over two minutes for either team before Creighton scored a basket of their own to tie up the game again.

Creighton closed out the first quarter with a basket, but the Blue Demons were with a score of 21-16 to enter the second quarter.

The second quarter began with a second-chance layup by graduate student guard Deja Church, followed by a jumper by Church to extend DePaul’s lead to nine points.

The Blue Jays began to challenge, cutting the lead to two points with three baskets of their own. Held extended DePaul’s lead with a 3-point jumper, but Creighton scored a 3-point jumper of their own to decrease the lead again.

The Blue Jays tied the game at 28 points halfway through the second quarter before taking the lead. After that, the lead swapped back and forth between the teams.

Creighton looked like the stronger team in the second quarter, while DePaul struggled to make shots and get rebounds. No player on the Blue Demons looked fully confident in their play, while it seemed like the Blue Jays controlled almost every rebound in the quarter.

A buzzer beater by the Blue Jays at the end of the second quarter gave Creighton the lead to make the score 36-34. Church finished the quarter leading the team with 13 points, while Morrow followed with 11 points and five rebounds.

Church scored the first basket of the third quarter with a second-chance layup to tie the game at 36 points. The Blue Jays answered to take the lead right back, but Morrow responded seconds later with a second-chance layup to tie the game again.

Creighton regained the lead with a 3-point jumper, but senior guard Lexi Held responded with her own 3-point jumper to tie the game again.

Both teams traded points before Held gave the Blue Demons the lead with a layup and free throw. Another layup by Held extended DePaul’s lead to four points halfway through the third quarter, making the score 46-42.

Creighton tied the game at 46, but the Blue Demons took the lead right back with a jumper by Held, her fourth consecutive basket.

The Blue Demons looked more confident in the later minutes of the third quarter. The team was connecting on the court while controlling many of the rebounds and sinking their shots. The third quarter ended with the Blue Demons in the lead 56-53 and Held had 10 points in the quarter.

Creighton scored the first basket of the quarter, and while the Blue Demons were able to respond, the Blue Jays quickly took the lead and pulled ahead.

While the Blue Demons were the stronger team in the third quarter, Creighton was the better team in the fourth. DePaul looked like they did in the second quarter and struggled to make baskets and get the rebounds.

The Blue Demons did not score for over two minutes before Morris snapped that drought with a layup, but the team was still trailing 71-64 with three and a half minutes left, and ended the game trailing by nine.

“We got shots people make, but we didnt make them,” head coach Doug Bruno said. “When you don’t make shots, you have to defend and you have to rebound.”

Morrow finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds, while Church had 17 points and eight rebounds and Held had 15 points.

The team looks to bounce back against Providence on Sunday at home before the take on UConn on Feb. 11 in Connecticut.