DePaul WBB Loses to Drake in WNIT Consolation Game

Chicago IL

20 March, 2021

7:20 PM

Description

DePaul's once promising season ended with a whimper, as the Blue Demons lost to Drake in Saturday's WNIT consolation game. It was almost a fitting finish, as DePaul just didn't seem to have it over the last couple weeks. In contrast to DePaul's shortcomings was the hot shooting of Drake, who hit 17 of 34 three point attempts. DePaul wasn't too far behind though at 13 of 34, but coming up short was an all too familiar theme of late. Drake jumped out to a 30-21 first quarter lead and stretched it to 57-45 at half. DePaul shaved two off the lead to end the third at 77-67. In the fourth quarter, DePaul closed the gap by one, but that was nine short and the game ended 100-91. Drake took four of the five main offensive team stats categories. Drake led in points in the paint (44-24), second chance points (26-13) and points from fast breaks (10-9). Drake crushed DePaul in bench scoring (53-5). DePaul edged Drake in points from turnovers (15-14). DePaul shot 46.7% from the field, 38.2% from three point land and 72.7% from the foul line. Drake shot 51.3%, 50.0% and 71.4% from those areas. Sonya Morris once again led the Blue Demons with 30 points. Other DePaul scorers were Deja Church (23), Lexi Held (18), Dee Bekelja (11), Jorie Allen (4), Darrione Rogers (3) and Kiara Dallmann (2). Dallmann's nine rebounds were the team high. For Drake, Kierra Collier had 21 points to lead the team. Monica Burich grabbed 10 rebounds to pace the team. The disappointing and frustrating end came after DePaul started 13-4 with the only losses to current consensus No. 1 Connecticut (twice), consensus No. 4 Texas A&M and No. 6/7 Louisville. The Blue Demons seemed poised for a long run in the NCAA tourney. I was certain the team would pull it together and come back strong, but too many times they dug big holes they couldn't escape. The DePaul players and entire athletic department should be proud despite the end. They escaped the pandemic unscathed. They beat some quality teams. They staged fantastic comebacks. They played hard. Sometimes, teams just don't have enough and this was the case this season for the Blue Demons. DePaul still has a lot of talent heading into next season. They will lose senior guards Dee Bekelja and Deja Church, along with forward Kiara Dallmann. Seniors-to-be Lexi Held and Sonya Morris will be key figures for Coach Doug Bruno and the younger players will have to step up. In a strange way, it might be good that DePaul lost so quickly. It emphasizes areas they need to improve, rather than provide a false positive to end the season. Coach Bruno will go back to the drawing board and he will have the Blue Demons ready for the 2021-22 season.