No. 18/20 DePaul Impressive on Opening Day
11/8/2019 7:45:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Stonewall and Daninger spark 98-79 win over Miami (Ohio) Friday in Preseason WNIT
CHICAGO – Chante Stonewall was performing like a warrior all over the Wintrust Arena court on Friday while Jolene Daninger was having a coming-out party.
No wonder No. 18/20 DePaul's season opener was so much fun. Led by Stonewall and Daninger, the Blue Demons smoked Miami (Ohio) 98-79 in the first round of the Preseason WNIT.
Coach Doug Bruno's team moves onto the second round and will face the winner of Saturday's game between Drexel and Davidson. The second-round showdown is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday at McGrath-Phillips Arena.
An aggressive Stonewall led all scorers with 23 points and all rebounders with 12 while also contributing five steals and shooting 11-of-14 from the field in a game that wasn't nearly as close as the final score.
Daninger, who sat out her first year with an injury and played sparingly last season, posted career highs in points with 14, field goals with four and rebounds with four.
Sonya Morris stepped up with 12 points and five assists, often setting up Deja Church and Lexi Held who each scored 11 points. Kelly Campbell turned in another superb all-around game with eight points, eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals.
Kicking her game up another level from last season, Stonewall scored seven points in a row to begin the third quarter in extending 22-point halftime lead to 58-31. It was 61-38 at the third quarter media timeout.
Stonewall was impacting the season opener all over the court---hitting jumpers, scoring inside and converting in transition even as the senior forward was cleaning up on the backboards at the same time. It's exactly what DePaul coach Doug Bruno envisioned heading into 2019-20.
Lexi Held's three-pointer once again made it a 30-point game at 72-40. Daninger's three-pointer and a foul shot on the next possession increased the margin to 76-43 towards the end of the third quarter. A pair of Campbell free throws provided an 81-50 lead going into the fourth quarter.
DePaul came out flying from the opening tip, running its signature transition game while also finding openings in the RedHawk defense.
Stonewall, Church and Campbell helped secure an early lead that grew to 21-9 after a 15-4 burst. Miami (Ohio) came within eight when Stonewall and Jolene Daninger sparked a 7-0 run to close the first quarter with a 28-13 lead.
A Stonewall score and Sonya Morris' three gave DePaul its first 20-point lead of the new season at the outset of the second quarter.
Aided by a 12-1 run with Stonewall at the scoring end of three possessions, the Blue Demons built their first 30-point margin of the season at 44-14. Miami (Ohio) cut into the margin somewhat as DePaul took a 51-29 advantage into halftime.
Bruno's concerns at the outset of 2019-20 was how well and how quickly seven new faces in his program would blend in with seven returnees.
The first half may have put some of that to ease as a newcomer like Church eased into the "DePaulBall" mix. Jolene Daninger, who didn't see a lot of action last season, began justifying the potential Bruno recognized in the sophomore guard.
Stonewall led DePaul with 12 points followed by Daninger with 10 and Morris with nine. Stonewall's nine rebounds in the first 20 minutes gave her team a considerable 30-13 edge on the boards.
Postgame Notes
No wonder No. 18/20 DePaul's season opener was so much fun. Led by Stonewall and Daninger, the Blue Demons smoked Miami (Ohio) 98-79 in the first round of the Preseason WNIT.
Coach Doug Bruno's team moves onto the second round and will face the winner of Saturday's game between Drexel and Davidson. The second-round showdown is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday at McGrath-Phillips Arena.
An aggressive Stonewall led all scorers with 23 points and all rebounders with 12 while also contributing five steals and shooting 11-of-14 from the field in a game that wasn't nearly as close as the final score.
Daninger, who sat out her first year with an injury and played sparingly last season, posted career highs in points with 14, field goals with four and rebounds with four.
Sonya Morris stepped up with 12 points and five assists, often setting up Deja Church and Lexi Held who each scored 11 points. Kelly Campbell turned in another superb all-around game with eight points, eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals.
Kicking her game up another level from last season, Stonewall scored seven points in a row to begin the third quarter in extending 22-point halftime lead to 58-31. It was 61-38 at the third quarter media timeout.
Stonewall was impacting the season opener all over the court---hitting jumpers, scoring inside and converting in transition even as the senior forward was cleaning up on the backboards at the same time. It's exactly what DePaul coach Doug Bruno envisioned heading into 2019-20.
Lexi Held's three-pointer once again made it a 30-point game at 72-40. Daninger's three-pointer and a foul shot on the next possession increased the margin to 76-43 towards the end of the third quarter. A pair of Campbell free throws provided an 81-50 lead going into the fourth quarter.
DePaul came out flying from the opening tip, running its signature transition game while also finding openings in the RedHawk defense.
Stonewall, Church and Campbell helped secure an early lead that grew to 21-9 after a 15-4 burst. Miami (Ohio) came within eight when Stonewall and Jolene Daninger sparked a 7-0 run to close the first quarter with a 28-13 lead.
A Stonewall score and Sonya Morris' three gave DePaul its first 20-point lead of the new season at the outset of the second quarter.
Aided by a 12-1 run with Stonewall at the scoring end of three possessions, the Blue Demons built their first 30-point margin of the season at 44-14. Miami (Ohio) cut into the margin somewhat as DePaul took a 51-29 advantage into halftime.
Bruno's concerns at the outset of 2019-20 was how well and how quickly seven new faces in his program would blend in with seven returnees.
The first half may have put some of that to ease as a newcomer like Church eased into the "DePaulBall" mix. Jolene Daninger, who didn't see a lot of action last season, began justifying the potential Bruno recognized in the sophomore guard.
Stonewall led DePaul with 12 points followed by Daninger with 10 and Morris with nine. Stonewall's nine rebounds in the first 20 minutes gave her team a considerable 30-13 edge on the boards.
Postgame Notes
- Stonewall posted the 10th double-double of her career.
- Daninger came away with career highs in points, rebounds and field goals.
- Morris recorded a career high in assists.
- Stonewall tied a career high with 11 field goals.
- Held grabbed a career-high five rebounds.
- The Blue Demons need 11 more wins to reach 900 in program history.
- Kelly Campbell needs 138 points to reach the 1,000-point career milestone.
- Campbell moved into sixth all-time in career assists with 479. Sam Quigley is No. 5 with 484.
- Campbell is No. 10 all-time in career rebounds with 719 and Felicia Chester is ninth with 751.
- Bruno needs five more victories to become only the third active women's basketball coach to reach the 700-win plateau at one school, joining Connecticut's Geno Auriemma and Villanova's Harry Perretta.
- Chante Stonewall is No. 35 all-time in career scoring with 1,070 points with No. 34 Katherine Harry (1,100) and No. 33 Felicia Chester (1,129) in her sights.
Team Stats
Miami
DePaul
FG%
.462
.436
3FG%
.364
.323
FT%
.579
.690
RB
35
53
TO
27
19
STL
11
15
Game Leaders
Scoring
Players Mentioned
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