San Diego State's Morris Too Much for DePaul

SAN DIEGO- As comebacks go, this one was impressive. But ultimately short.

San Diego State University’s Jene Morris scored 35 points to lead the Aztecs (24-7) over the DePaul Blue Demons, 76-70, in the first round of the NCAA women’s tournament.

With DePaul’s Keisha Hampton picking up her second foul at the 15:00 mark of the first half and teammate Sam Quigley picking up her second foul at the 11:59 mark, DePaul’s Erin Cattell came off the bench with eight first half points to spark the Demons.

Morris’ 16 first half points were countered by a strong inside game from DePaul’s Natasha Williams, who scored 14 points in the first half. A jumper by the Demons’ China Threatt with :05 remaining knotted the score at 36. Neither team led by more than four points in the first stanza.

SDSU started the second half on a 15-4 run to lead 51-40 with 13:27 left, but at the 9:00 mark the Aztecs went scoreless for the next three minutes and DePaul’s comeback began.

Two free throws by Hampton, a three point play by DePaul’s Felicia Chester, and six straight points by Williams narrowed the deficit to 60-55 with 4:38 to play. Two free throws by Hampton at 2:25 cut the lead to 64-60. But six points by Morris over the next 90 seconds proved too much for DePaul. A jumper by DePaul’s Deidre Naughton with :03 remaining provided the final score.

Williams led DePaul with 22 points on 11-16 shooting from the field. Naughton added 16 points for the Demons. DePaul shot just 25% from beyond the arc and 56% from the free throw line.

Quinese Davis added 18 for the Aztecs. SDWU shot 50% from three point territory and converted 23 of 29 free throws.

DePaul finishes the season at 23-10.