Bluejay WBB and DePaul Face Off on Friday

Chicago, Ill. -- The test of a team is how it responds to a challenge. Coming off a home loss to #10 Connecticut, the 2021-22 Bluejay women's basketball team weekend readies for a stern challenge this weekend as the Bluejays play at DePaul on Friday and at Marquette on Sunday.

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2/4: - 7:00 pm (CT)
Creighton (15-6, 10-3 BE) at DePaul (18-5, 10-2 BE)
Twitter: @CreightonWBB

BEDN/FloHoops: Dave Bernhard and Trisha Babcock-McGraw
https://www.flohoops.com/live/33561

Live Stats:
https://depaulbluedemons.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary

Series with DePaul: Bluejays Trail 15-5
Home: 2-7 Away: 3-8 Neutral: 0-0
The Bluejays trail the overall series with DePaul, 15-5. Creighton, however, has had some success in Chicago. The Bluejays have road wins over the Blue Demons in each of the last three seasons.

Series Game-by-Game
Date   Opponent   Score
3/8/84   at DePaul   L, 56-63
12/15/87   DePaul   W, 84-71
1/15/89   at DePaul   L, 65-76
1/4/14   DePaul   W, 86-78
2/9/14   at DePaul   L, 66-80
1/23/15   at DePaul   L, 71-96
2/20/15   DePaul   L, 76-78
1/22/16   at #24 DePaul   L, 63-81
2/21/16   #21 DePaul   L, 52-78
1/4/17   at #23 DePaul   L, 65-79
1/27/17   # 21 DePaul   L, 56-60
1/10/18   DePaul   L, 54-82
2/2/18   at DePaul   L, 67-77
12/29/18   at #19 DePaul   W, 85-82
3/3/19   DePaul   L, 67-74
3/11/19   $ ª vs. DePaul   L, 69-80
1/5/20   #16 DePaul   L, 71-74
1/31/20   at #11 DePaul   W, 63-61
12/22/20   vs #18 Depaul   L, 81-90
2/20/21   at #19 DePaul   W, 83-72
ª - BIG EAST Tournament game
$ = played in Chicago, Ill.

Scouting DePaul (18-5, 10-2 BIG EAST)
DePaul is the most unique team in the BIG EAST and yet the most consistent. Since the Bluejays entered the conference prior to the 2013-14 season, the Blue Demons push the pace to force turnovers, shoot the three and have one dominant post player.

Freshman Aneesah Morrow is the Blue Demons dominant post this season, leading DePaul with 20.9 ppg as well as 13.4 rpg. The remaining four starters are far from slouches as Sonya Morris (18.6 ppg), Lexi Held (14.0 ppg), Deja Church (13.5 ppg) and Darrione Rogers (10.0 ppg) all average double-digits.

As a team the Blue Demons average 91.2 ppg, topping the century mark in seven contests. DePaul's season low came against NCAA Runner-Up Arizona with 68 points on Nov. 26. The Blue Demons force better than 20 turnovers per contest at 20.3.

Scouting Creighton (15-6, 10-3 BE)
A very skilled passing team, the Bluejays showed a little of their youth in a loss to #10 Connecticut on Wednesday. After building 32-20 lead midway through the second quarter, the Bluejays hit a wall built by the brute force of the Huskies.

Creighton's response on Friday and Sunday at Marquette, could impact the remainder of the 2021-22 season.

Sophomore Emma Ronsiek has been the Bluejays most prolific scorer this season at 14.4 ppg. With Lauren Jensen and Morgan Maly at 11.7 ppg.

The key to Creighton's attack is ball movement. The Bluejays enter Friday's contest in the top five of the NCAA in Assist-to-Turnovers (1.56), Assists Per Game (20.5) and Assists (431).

Senior point guard Tatum Rembao stirs the drink for the Bluejays with 129 assists and a 3.23 Assist-to-Turnover Ratio.

Keys To the Game on Friday, Feb. 4

Ball Security: Battles between DePaul and Creighton often come down to how well the Bluejays take care of the basketball. Although the Bluejays are more diverse than in years past, it is imperative to prevent the Blue Demons from getting easy buckets in transition.
Making Morrow Work on the Defensive End: The Bluejays' hybrid post players must make Morrow defend outside the paint to take some of her explosiveness away on the offensive end.
Limiting the Runs: DePaul's style of play leads to both teams having the chance to go on scoring runs. For Creighton it will be necessary to limit the length and frequency of Blue Demon surges.

Players to Watch for Creighton
Emma Ronsiek, Morgan Maly and Tatum Rembao: Ronsiek was dominant in both games against DePaul last season. Creighton will need a scoring boost from both her and Maly on Friday. Rembao will need to control the tempo as she has done all season.

Record Setting Attendance Gave Creighton Early Boost
Playing in front of an arena record crowd (2,279) for a women's basketball game and the programs first sellout in Bluejay history, Creighton raced out to a 32-20 lead on #10 Connecticut on Wednesday, February 2. Although the Bluejays were unable to complete the upset, it marked the third time in the history of D.J. Sokol Arena that over 2,000 fans were in attendance for a women's basketball contest.
The previous high was 2,121 in a game against Wichita State on Jan. 29, 2011.

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Players Mentioned

Lauren Jensen

Morgan Maly

Tatum Rembao

Emma Ronsiek