DePaul picked up a much-needed 98-83 win Sunday over Miami (FL), after dropping two games they were favored in to NIU and Cleveland State. 

Led by head coach Kate Meier, Miami came into the game 4-0 atop the ACC. This was the Blue Demons toughest test of the year so far.

The Hurricanes came in having the edge with their guard play. Led by one of the top scorers in the country, graduate student and Morgan Park, IL native Destiny Harden, Miami had their eyes on 5-0. 

Head coach Doug Bruno’s squad began the game the same way it has in the three games of the season, with high energy, and knocked down shots from all over the floor, except this time the momentum continued through all four quarters. 

“Most importantly I am very proud of our basketball team for holding themselves together after such a tough beginning of the season.” Bruno said. 

At the end of the first, DePaul had a two point, 28-26 edge. Junior Darrione Rogers was well on pace for a career night, as she poured in 15 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds, and was perfect from the field, shooting 100%. 

The Blue Demons stayed ahead in this game and only found themselves trailing by no more than 3 points for its entirety. 

Morrow and Rogers combined for 71 of DePaul’s 98 points at Wintrust Sunday night, the most points DePaul has scored in a game so far this season. 

The win marked another milestone achieved for the legendary Doug Bruno, as he picked up his 800th all-time victory. 

A key to the win was how well the Blue Demons were able to move the ball, while also limiting their turnovers. The team total of 18 assists was the most thus far this season. 

DePaul shot 11-23 from three and were able to defensively closeout and not let the Hurricanes get anything going from deep. 

After Harden had 15 first quarter points in her return back home, DePaul was stout defensively and held her to 3 points the rest of the game. 

By the fourth quarter, DePaul held their largest lead of the game at 20 and were well on their way of breaking the two game losing skid and getting back to .500 before heading out to the Fort Myers Tip-Off in Florida. 

Rogers posted a new career-high 36 points, while also connecting on a career-high seven threes in the game. She also assisted seven times, while shooting 12-14 from the field. 

This comes after one of her worst shooting performances of her career against Cleveland State, the game before. 

“You can either mentally give up, and get down on yourself, but at the end of the day this is a long season and it’s just the beginning,” Rogers said. “So just being positive and getting more repetitions up, having teammates that motivate me and encourage me, overall did a great job motivating me.”

DePaul’s win comes just in time as the team readies for the tournament in Florida from Nov. 25-27. DePaul (2-2)  will open against No.14 ranked Maryland, followed by a matchup with Pittsburgh and will finish against Towson.