First-Place Battle Lived Up To The Hype
Caroline Ducharme broke the game’s fifth tie, scoring what proved to be the game-winning layup with 1.5 seconds left Wednesday night at Wintrust Arena as No. 10 Connecticut remained undefeated (7-0) in BIG EAST play with an 80-78 victory over RV DePaul. Freshmen highlighted the night’s action as Ducharme scored a team-high 19 points, while fellow highly touted UConn newcomer Azzi Fudd saw her first game action since Nov. 22, finishing with 15 points off 6-of-10 shooting. DePaul freshman Aneesah Morrow posted her fourth 30-point performance of the season with a game-high 30 to go along with a game-best 14 rebounds. The lead changed hands nine times with runs causing wild swings on the scoreboard. The Huskies (12-4, 7-0 BIG EAST) led by 10 with 6:09 left in the second quarter before the Blue Demons went on a 21-2 run to close the half and lead by nine at the break. The Huskies led by seven with 8:12 left in the fourth before DePaul (16-5, 8-2) went on a 12-2 run to lead by three with 5:38 to go. The fourth quarter alone saw six lead changes. The loss drops the Blue Demons to 8-2 in league play, allowing Creighton (14-5, 9-2) to jump back into second place in the standings as DePaul moves to third.
 
Midweek Roundup
In addition to Wednesday’s UConn-DePaul tilt, Marquette improved to 10-1 at the Al McGuire Center with a 62-43 win over Seton Hall on Wednesday night, while St. John’s scored an 80-52 victory at Georgetown Tuesday night. Lauren Van Kleunen (23 points, 12 rebounds) and Liza Karlin (14 points, 15 rebounds) notched double-doubles to lead the Golden Eagles (14-5, 7-3) over the Pirates. Andra Espinoza-Hunter had a team-best 13 points for The Hall (8-9, 3-6). Camree Clegg scored a career-best 20 points as head coach Joe Tartamella moved into a tie for first place on the St. John’s wins list (176) Tuesday in DC. Milan Bolden-Morris scored a Georgetown-best 17 points while also snagging a team-high eight boards. St. John’s improved to 6-12 overall, 2-6 in BIG EAST play, while GU fell to 6-9, 1-6.
Full Recaps: SHU-MU | UConn-DPU | SJU-GU
Box Scores: Marquette 62, Seton Hall 43  | UConn 80, DePaul 78  | St. John's 80, Georgetown 52  
 
Up Next
A four-game Friday tips off at noon ET as Butler travels to Villanova. Action continues as 5 p.m., as the Providence at Creighton game got moved up from 7:30 p.m. in anticipation of a winter storm in Rhode Island affecting the Friars’ travel home. Both early games will stream live on the BIG EAST Digital Network presented by SoFi available on FloSports. One more game on BEDN follows at 7 p.m. when Xavier travels to Georgetown. RV/- DePaul will be on upset alert on FS1 at 7 p.m. when St. John’s comes to town. The two squads played to a 107-93 decision back on Dec. 19, ending in favor of the Blue Demons. The Red Storm’s Leilani Correa and Blue Demons’ Sonya Morris each scored 35 points in that high-scoring battle.
 
This Week in the BIG EAST
Friday
Butler at Villanova, Noon Stats BEDN on FloSports
Providence at Creighton, 5 p.m. Stats BEDN on FloSports
St. John’s at RV/- DePaul, 7 p.m. FS1 Stats
Xavier at Georgetown, 7 p.m. Stats BEDN on FloSports
Sunday
10/9 UConn at Providence, 11 a.m. SNY Stats
Marquette at St. John’s, 1 p.m. Stats BEDN on FloSports
Xavier at Villanova, 2 p.m. Stats BEDN on FloSports
Butler at Georgetown, 2 p.m. Stats BEDN on FloSports
RV/- DePaul at Seton Hall, 4:30 p.m. FS1 Stats
All times Eastern