DePaul Women's Basketball Bounces Back With Big 128-66 Win

The DePaul Blue Demons bounced back from their season-opening loss in grand fashion with a huge 128-66 win over Chicago State. Their first win included an all-time scoring record, among other accomplishments.

DePaul came out strong and the game was never really in doubt. The Blue Demons, who started the game with a five-guard offense, came out shooting. Thanks to a 21-1 run, the Blue Demons jumped to a 24-5 lead and never looked back. The big lead allowed Coach Doug Bruno to empty his bench early in the second quarter.

Coming of the bench, freshman Kendall Holmes led all scorers with 23 points, including hitting 6 of 8 3-point attempts. Lexi Held and Sonya Morris were next with 21 points, followed by Dee Bekelja with 15, Darrione Rogers with 12, and Deja Church with 11, as six players scored in double digits. Hannah Purcell (8), Jean Nadege (8), Maya Stovall (5), and Kayla Caudle (4) also got in on the scoring binge. Only Jolene Daninger somehow did not score, despite playing more than 17 minutes.

Not surprisingly, DePaul also dominated in team stats. DePaul's biggest lead was 63 points, compared to Chicago State's early 2 point lead. DePaul led for 38:39, while Chicago State had the lead for 52 seconds. There were only three lead changes in the game.

Several DePaul records were broken or tied.

• The 128 points is an all-time record. (The previous record was 124 against Savannah State in 2018)
• The 19 three-pointers tied for the second-most in school history.
• The 50 field goals is the third-highest in history.
• The 67-point first half tied for second-highest in school history.
• The 40 points in the first quarter tied for third among all-time highest-scoring quarters.

Unofficially, DePaul might be the only women’s team in the country averaging just about 110 points a game (109).

In the post-game presser, Coach Doug Bruno and players Lexi Held and Sonya Morris talked about the big win. Coach Bruno was very respectful of Chicago State, while complimenting his team. Coach Bruno also discussed the rules on playing at Wintrust Arena. Morris and Held talked about playing with masks, the long layoff, playing with no fans, and other specifics about the game.

DePaul's Friday game against Villanova was postponed, but DePaul will instead play Louisville in the prestigious Women’s Jimmy V Classic at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The game will be televised nationally at 6 pm CST on ESPN. DePaul also announced it has canceled the December 9 game at Kent State.

(Video courtesy of DePaul Athletics.)