Milwaukee Next Hurdle for No. 16/20 DePaul

CHICAGO – The biggest job coach Doug Bruno and his staff will have this week is maintaining No. 16/20 DePaul's competitive edge and feisty nature heading into Tuesday's nonconference game against Milwaukee tipping at 4:30 p.m. at Wintrust Arena.

That's because the talented and deep Blue Demons are coming off their biggest win of the season knocking off No. 19/17 Miami 89-83 last Saturday in the championship game of the Maggie Dixon Classic.

They became the first BIG EAST Conference team to take down a nationally ranked opponent this season.

What Bruno's players did was basically empty the tank in an effort to counter the Hurricanes' decided advantage inside with 6-foot, 4-inch Beatrice Mompremier who wound up with 31 points and 18 rebounds.

Despite that, Miami came up short after Bruno & Co. cranked up their full-court pressure defense to its highest degree with a disruptive, in-your-face defensive attack that resulted in 23 turnovers translating into 23 DePaul points.

No one exhausted herself as much senior co-captains Chante Stonewall and Kelly Campbell. The amazingly versatile Stonewall was on the court for all but four seconds valiantly helping Campbell defend Mompremier while also producing 27 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals on the other end.

Campbell battled a player six inches taller who knows how to use her size advantage for much of the game. She also played like a warrior down low either grabbing rebounds herself or blocking out for teammates to seize missed shots. The 5-10 guard finished with 11 points, seven assists, four rebounds and four steals.

Having been in this position before, you can count on Stonewall and Campbell to bring the same passion and intensity to the Milwaukee game.

Bruno (698 career wins) and his staff will do their level best to make sure everyone else turns the page on the Miami game and refocuses on their next hurdle---the opener of a South Loop doubleheader with the undefeated DePaul men's team going for its seventh win in a row afterwards facing Central Michigan.

The Panthers are off to a 2-3 start, winning their opener before losing three-straight on the road to Big Ten teams Purdue, Minnesota and Wisconsin and bouncing back with a 69-55 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Minnesota is receiving votes in both national polls.

Milwaukee is being outscored 69.6-61.8 and is averaging 23 turnovers a game. Led by 6-3 redshirt freshman Emma Wittmershaus, the Panthers are outrebounding their opponents by an average of 39.4 to 32.2. They are shooting 41.2 percent from the floor and 33.7 percent from three-point range.

The top player is Brandi Bisping who is averaging 10 points a game and converting on 55.6 percent of her shots. Keep any eye on three-point shooting leader Sydney Levy who is 7-of-15 (.467) from deep.

Following Tuesday's game the Blue Demons will enjoy a Thanksgiving break and return to the court on Sunday for a 2 p.m. game against north suburban rival Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

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Players Mentioned

Kelly Campbell

Chante Stonewall