No. 20/18 DePaul Renews Rivalry With Loyola

CHICAGO – There's nothing like bringing a little extra Christmas cheer into the holiday break by winning your fifth game in a row.

That's what No. 20/18 DePaul will focus on Thursday night when it makes the short trip up Lake Shore Drive to face longtime North Side rival Loyola (6-4) at the Gentile Center.

It's been mostly glad tidings the first 50 times these two programs have met with the Blue Demons coming out on top in 40 of them.

But both teams start at 0-0 once again as coach Doug Bruno and his talented staff prepare their players for a ball club that opened the season winning six of its first eight games.

There's certainly reason for some Blue Demon optimism based on recent events. Linchpin point guard Kelly Campbell turned in her best game of 2018-19 Monday night with a season-high 18 points along with eight rebounds and six steals.

Mart'e Grays has finished in double figures the last four games, scoring 70 points for an average of 17.5 points while fellow senior Ashton Millender is averaging 15.4 points over her last five games.

Chante Stonewall has been a double-figure scorer in five of her last seven games, averaging 14 points a game in that span.

Freshman Lexi Held's growing composure and poise has been evident the last six games as she is averaging 13 points a game over that span. Rarely forcing off-balance shots, the two-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week is shooting 63 percent from the field and 57 percent from three-point range the last six games.

DePaul (8-3) will aim to light up Gentile Center with an explosive offense that leads the nation in three-pointers, threes per game and three-point attempts. Helping sustain the attack is a brilliant passing game that has the Blue Demons No. 2 in the country in assists.

They are also No. 7 in free throw percentage, No. 9 in assists per game, No. 10 in scoring offense (85.4 points a game) and No. 20 in steals.
Millender is No. 10 in three-point attempts and No. 12 in three-pointers. Campbell is No. 16 in Division I in steals, No. 20 in steals per game and No. 26 in free throw percentage.

The Ramblers opened the season winning six of their first eight games, but have dropped the last two against Purdue and UMKC. Their three top threats are Ellie Rice (12.7 points per game), Abby O'Connor (12.3 points, 6.8 rebounds) and Janae Gonzales (10.7 points). Tiara Wallace is averaging nearly nine points a game and leads Loyola in assists and steals.

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Players Mentioned

Kelly Campbell

Martè Grays

Lexi Held

Ashton Millender

Chante Stonewall

DePaul University Athletics