Friday, January 18
McGrath-Phillips Arena
7:00 P.M. CT
DePaul University
vs
St. John's
No. 24/24 DePaul Tangles With St. John's on Friday Night
1/17/2019 4:07:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Bid for third BIG EAST win in a row will be televised by NBC Sports Chicago Plus
CHICAGO – Even though his team has demonstrated the ability to come back and finish strong, coach Doug Bruno would rather see No. 24/24 DePaul jump out to a fast start and maintain a healthy lead Friday night.
So far this season, the BIG EAST is as competitive as it has ever been, and Friday night promises more of the same as defensive-minded St. John's comes to McGrath-Phillips Arena.
The matchup at 7 p.m. will be televised by NBC Sports Chicago Plus and also shown on the BIG EAST Digital Network with Dave Bernhard handling play-by-play and Trish Babcock McGraw as the analyst.
No. 14/13 Marquette and Butler have started out 5-0 in the conference while the Blue Demons and Seton Hall are both 3-2. Creighton is 3-3 and Villanova, Georgetown and Providence are 2-4. There's not a big difference between Marquette and Georgetown which speaks to the difficulty of the league schedule.
DePaul (12-5) is still searching for a defining identity and isn't close to reaching its potential. Bruno and his coaching staff are ready to see their players begin firing on all cylinders.
The Blue Demons will take their home court Friday night leading the nation in three-pointers and three-point attempts. They are second in three-pointers per game, No. 5 in assists, No. 7 in scoring offense, No. 8 in assists per game, No. 10 in free throw percentage and No. 15 in assist-turnover ratio.
Point guard Kelly Campbell is No. 14 in the country in assist-turnover ratio while backcourt mate Ashton Millender is No. 16 in three-point attempts.
Millender needs six more connections from long distance to tie Allie Quigley for third all-time in career three-pointers. Quigley is a WNBA All-Star with the Chicago Sky.
The second time Millender launches from deep on Friday night, she passes up Chanise Jenkins for No. 3 all-time in three-point attempts. Senior Rebekah Dahlman is 11 points shy of becoming a career 1,000-point scorer.
Repeat BIG EAST Honor Roll selection Mart'e Grays leads DePaul in scoring at 13.6 points a game and is fourth in the BIG EAST play averaging 17 points. The senior forward from Detroit, Mich. has scored in double figures in nine of her last 10 games. Millender is averaging 12.9 points and Chante Stonewall 12.8.
Campbell has been storming the backboards with 74 rebounds in her last eight games. Freshman Lexi Held has finished in double-figure scoring in five of her last six games.
St. John's has lost five of its last six games including conference setbacks against Seton Hall, Butler, Providence and Creighton. That includes losing the last two games by a total of three points.
The defensive-minded Red Storm is holding opponents to just 58.8 points per game while scoring 63.1. Opposing teams are shooting 40 percent from the field and .366 from three-point range. The most points scored against St. John's this season is Seton Hall's 77.
Qadashah Hoppie leads the team scoring 12.3 points a game while Alisha Kebbe is averaging 11.2 and Akina Wellere 10.5. Point guard Tiana England is tops in assists and steals and Kayla Charles leads in rebounds and blocked shots.
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So far this season, the BIG EAST is as competitive as it has ever been, and Friday night promises more of the same as defensive-minded St. John's comes to McGrath-Phillips Arena.
The matchup at 7 p.m. will be televised by NBC Sports Chicago Plus and also shown on the BIG EAST Digital Network with Dave Bernhard handling play-by-play and Trish Babcock McGraw as the analyst.
No. 14/13 Marquette and Butler have started out 5-0 in the conference while the Blue Demons and Seton Hall are both 3-2. Creighton is 3-3 and Villanova, Georgetown and Providence are 2-4. There's not a big difference between Marquette and Georgetown which speaks to the difficulty of the league schedule.
DePaul (12-5) is still searching for a defining identity and isn't close to reaching its potential. Bruno and his coaching staff are ready to see their players begin firing on all cylinders.
The Blue Demons will take their home court Friday night leading the nation in three-pointers and three-point attempts. They are second in three-pointers per game, No. 5 in assists, No. 7 in scoring offense, No. 8 in assists per game, No. 10 in free throw percentage and No. 15 in assist-turnover ratio.
Point guard Kelly Campbell is No. 14 in the country in assist-turnover ratio while backcourt mate Ashton Millender is No. 16 in three-point attempts.
Millender needs six more connections from long distance to tie Allie Quigley for third all-time in career three-pointers. Quigley is a WNBA All-Star with the Chicago Sky.
The second time Millender launches from deep on Friday night, she passes up Chanise Jenkins for No. 3 all-time in three-point attempts. Senior Rebekah Dahlman is 11 points shy of becoming a career 1,000-point scorer.
Repeat BIG EAST Honor Roll selection Mart'e Grays leads DePaul in scoring at 13.6 points a game and is fourth in the BIG EAST play averaging 17 points. The senior forward from Detroit, Mich. has scored in double figures in nine of her last 10 games. Millender is averaging 12.9 points and Chante Stonewall 12.8.
Campbell has been storming the backboards with 74 rebounds in her last eight games. Freshman Lexi Held has finished in double-figure scoring in five of her last six games.
St. John's has lost five of its last six games including conference setbacks against Seton Hall, Butler, Providence and Creighton. That includes losing the last two games by a total of three points.
The defensive-minded Red Storm is holding opponents to just 58.8 points per game while scoring 63.1. Opposing teams are shooting 40 percent from the field and .366 from three-point range. The most points scored against St. John's this season is Seton Hall's 77.
Qadashah Hoppie leads the team scoring 12.3 points a game while Alisha Kebbe is averaging 11.2 and Akina Wellere 10.5. Point guard Tiana England is tops in assists and steals and Kayla Charles leads in rebounds and blocked shots.
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Players Mentioned
Guard
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Guard
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Forward
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Guard
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Forward
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