WOMEN’S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY
NO. 4 UCONN AT DEPAUL
When: Saturday, 2 p.m.
Where: Wintrust Arena, Chicago
Records: UConn (24-5, 16-2 Big East), DePaul (15-14, 8-10)
TV: FOX
Radio: UConn Sports Network, WGCH 1490 AM (Greenwich), WAVZ 1300 AM (New Haven), WATR 1320 AM (Waterbury), 97.9 FM-ESPN
KEEP AN EYE ON
Raised stakes: After being upset by St. John’s Tuesday in Hartford, there’s a lot on the line for the No. 4-ranked Huskies.
UConn needs to win one more game (either Saturday against the Blue Demons or Monday against Xavier) to secure the No. 1 seed in next weekend’s Big East Tournament. If the Huskies only win one out of their two last games and Villanova wins both of its last two, then the teams will share the conference’s regular-season title.
A little history: The Huskies have only lost once ever to DePaul and that was over 40 years ago. The last time UConn suffered three conference losses in one season was in the 2011-12 season (losing at Notre Dame, against St. John’s and against Notre Dame).
UConn defeated the Blue Demons in Storrs on Jan. 23 earlier this season 9451. The Huskies held DePaul to a seasonlow 26.3 field goal percentage thanks to double-doubles from Aaliyah Edwards (23 points, 10 rebounds) and Aubrey Griffin (18 points, 11 rebounds). Lou Lopez Sénéchal added 20 points and Dorka Juhász 19. Nika Mühl recorded 10 assists.
Scouting DePaul: Since last meeting the Huskies, the Blue Demons have gone 4-4.
They lead the Big East with 77.3 points per game (UConn is second with 76.8) and 41.4 rebounds per game (UConn is second with 40.6). DePaul is also first with 15.5 offensive boards per game and second with 9.0 steals per game.
Most recently DePaul nearly edged out Villanova on Tuesday, falling 67-64 to the Wildcats. Aneesah Morrow and Darrione Rogers combined for 29 of DePaul’s 41 second-half points. Morrow led all players with 29 points and 19 rebounds (Rogers finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds).
Morrow continues to lead the Blue Demons. The sophomore is tied for third in the nation with 23 double-doubles, fourth with 25.7 points per game and fifth with 12.3 rebounds per game.
On Monday, the sophomore was named the Big East Player of the Week after averaging 27 points and 17 rebounds per game in three games last week. Morrow recorded 31 points and 22 rebounds at Providence last Saturday to set the season-high in single-game boards in the conference. Morrow was also named to the Naismith Player of the Year Midseason Team, the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Top 10 list, the Wooden Player of the Year Late Season Top 20 list and the Katrina McClain Top 10 list.
Per the Big East, if Seton Hall beats Butler Friday night, the Blue Demons would be locked in at the No. 7 spot in the conference tournament seeding. DePaul closes out the regular season on Monday at Marquette.