NFL
By: Jeffrey Newholm
What is a word? Language, at its core, is no more than pointing. A name points at a person; a verb, at an action. But at Wednesday’s classic Big East matchup between the Uconn and DePaul basketball foes, two words heard from the DePaul huddle sums up the attitude of so many Husky opponents from the past eight years:
“Beat Uconn!” The Blue Demons chanted.
But with ten of its eleven players available, the Huskies neared full strength. With the game rescheduled from December due to a Husky COVID outbreak, the Wintrust fan smattering threatened to dull a historic match.
Blue Demon fans, though, are tired of waiting. DePaul hadn’t beaten Uconn since 1983, and while life is short, that’s still a loooooong series of futility. The centers marched to the central circle; the official threw up the ball; would history follow?
Devil Of A Time
Some Christians (DePaul is a Catholic school) object to calling a team by a demonic name. However, considering the home team’s dogged second-quarter effort, the moniker fits like a perfectly tied shoelace.
Uconn pawed to a 20-11 lead after one quarter, and it appeared this game would go the same as the majority of the 166 conference losers before DePaul. But while the Blue Demons don’t really worship Satan, they have the passion of the squirmiest fiend.
That's a deep one
Lexi drills it.#DePaulBall x @lexi_held pic.twitter.com/2Kv5I7FpUB
— DePaul Women's Basketball (@DePaulWBBHoops) January 27, 2022
Note the timestamp: 7:36. Eight minutes later, the Demons had the lead.
The lead is ours!
Baby D hits back-to-back
s#DePaulBall x @darrione_rogers pic.twitter.com/2TUafzgBQx
— DePaul Women's Basketball (@DePaulWBBHoops) January 27, 2022
A 21-2 run concluded the half, and DePaul surely would have blown the dogs away were it not for intermission. But, just as Husky coach Geno Auriemma recalled their program-defining 1995 Elite Eight game so long ago, halftime gives teams a chance to regroup. In basketball, the bell can save you. While baseball is stringent with the need to get every out, basketball is a bit kinder: a trailing team can get a break, a leading squad, a red light.
On both counts, the basketball angels schemed to spite the Demons.
Boing!
The Huskies battled back, taking a three-point lead with a minute to go. Uconn fouled, leading star freshman Aneesah Morrow to the line. She hit the first, but an unfortunate fan (certainly not a Nuts And Bolts Sports employee) yelled exceptionally loudly, “box out on the miss!”
Hey, man, it’s cool; she’ll make it. But, unfortunately, the yeller spoke the miss into existence. After another Uconn turnover, two more free throws tied the game. So, for the first time since 2013, Uconn did not lead in a conference game in the last possession.
And that’s where legends are made: at the last second, where, just like in the banishing of Sauron, all hope seems lost.
CAROLINE. DUCHARME. pic.twitter.com/SSTNDDpkec
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) January 27, 2022
After Duchmare’s layup, an official stopped the game to check the clock, giving DePaul one more chance. Morrow’s half-court heave, for history, appeared on-line from the sideline, but it BOINGED off the backboard. With that, 39 years of frustration extended into another long, cold night.
Sun Rises
Nothing frustrates an athlete more than saying, “it’s just a game,” or “it’s a learning experience” after a loss. Please, please don’t tell her that! College basketball is a passion, a way of life. It won’t do to diminish the pain of defeat.
But, still, the season must go on, even through grief. Uconn faces a shocking placement in the Spokane regional and needs every possible win to avert banishment. DePaul must regroup to continue its chase for a conference championship or earn a spot away from the Huskies in the Big East tournament bracket.
The sun had already set by the time Ducmare’s devastating layup darned the Blue Demons to defeat hell. So when the sun rose on Thursday, did the proud program feel sorry for itself?
Get off their case, Saint Peter. The Blue Demons will never relinquish their pride as Chicago’s premier college team.
