The Georgetown Hoyas women’s basketball team (0-0, Big East) will face the No. 24 DePaul Blue Demons (3-2, Big East) at 3:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at WinTrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. This will be the season opener for the Hoyas, who have been on pause due to a positive COVID-19 test from a Tier 1 individual on November 28. They will have their hands full with one of the top programs in the country in the Blue Demons, who are rounding into form themselves riding a two-game winning streak. The game will be broadcasted on the Big East Digital Network, which is accessible through a subscription to FloHoops, and live stats will be available on guhoyas.com.
The Hoyas are coming into the season with eight new faces, and they will have an uphill climb in Big East play due to their relatively late start. Furthermore, three returning players have opted out of the season due to COVID-19: sophomore guard Lexi Kimball, senior forward Sari Cureton, and senior center Breonna Mayfield. This leaves just four returning players whom the team will heavily depend on this season. Key to the Hoyas success will be sophomore forward Graceann Bennett and senior forward Anita Kelava, who bring a strong interior presence on the defensive side. Offensively, they will look to sophomore forward Taylia Stimpson (11.0 points per game at Southern Idaho) and graduate forward Taylor Baur (6.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game at Princeton last year) to create shot opportunities and act as reinforcements.
The shorthanded Hoyas will face a stiff test against the Blue Demons, who enter the game coming off a victory against No. 9 Kentucky (6-1, SEC), their first victory over a top-10 team since 2016. In every season under head coach Doug Bruno, DePaul has either held a share of the Big East regular season title or won the Big East Tournament.
The clear leader of this year’s team is junior guard Sonya Morris, who averages 19.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, including a 23 point effort against Kentucky. Morris is complemented by four other guards averaging double figures on the season: seniors Deja Church and Dee Bekelja, junior Lexi Held, and freshman Darrione Rogers. DePaul prides themselves on pace and swarming defense (24.8 turnovers forced per game) which leads to transition offense at the other end (91.2 points per game).
For the Hoyas to have any chance of winning, they will have to limit transition opportunities, protect the basketball, and force someone other than Morris to beat them. DePaul will look to take care of business and start Big East play strong as they push for another championship. For live coverage of the game and all Georgetown sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.
