Sunday, December 29
McGrath-Phillips Arena
4:00 p.m. CT
DePaul University
11-2,1-0Big East
89
vs
71
Marquette
9-3,0-1Big East
1
2
3
4
F
Marquette
12
21
20
18
71
DePaul
9
32
26
22
89
No. 16/16 DePaul Opens BIG EAST in Style
12/29/2019 7:39:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Held and Stonewall lead Blue Demons past Marquette 89-71 on Sunday
CHICAGO – It was the first game of a new BIG EAST season and the last game of the decade for No. 16/16 DePaul on Sunday.
And, the Blue Demons' quest for their sixth regular-season title in the last seven years got off to a rousing start with an 89-71 victory over Marquette in front of an enthusiastic and near-capacity McGrath-Phillips Arena crowd.
It was Lexi Held and Chante Stonewall leading the way with Held scoring a game-high 22 points and Stonewall finishing with 20 points, five steals and playing an intense brand of defense baseline to baseline spearheading the DePaul full-court press that forced 26 turnovers.
Deja Church tied her DePaul career high with 16 points, Sonya Morris added 15 points and four steals while Kelly Campbell once again stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. DePaul improved to 11-2, 1-0 and Marquette dropped to 9-3, 0-1.
Six Church points and a Campbell connection from deep increased an eight-point halftime advantage to 52-41 at the third quarter media timeout. Church was having one of her better games as a Blue Demon hitting four of her first seven shots.
After Marquette drew within 56-49, Morris and Held launched an 11-2 run to give their team a 67-51 lead. A Golden Eagle layup made it 67-53 going into the fourth quarter.
Three-pointers by Held and Campbell followed by four-straight Stonewall points boosted the DePaul lead to 77-61 at the fourth quarter media timeout.
Coach Doug Bruno's team put this one away with a 10-2 run courtesy of four Morris points and back-to-back threes from Held and Campbell for an 87-66 lead.
DePaul started out slowly after not playing for eight days, making just one of its first nine shots---a Morris jumper. That resulted in a 10-4 Marquette lead at the first quarter media timeout.
Morris ignited a 7-2 Blue Demon burst as a Held three-pointer followed by a pull-up jumper cut the deficit to 10-9. It was 12-9 after the first quarter.
A 10-point Stonewall scoring spree climaxed by a three-pointer provided DePaul with a 21-18 second-quarter lead. Church's three, a foul shot and another Morris score increased the margin to 27-22 at the media timeout.
After the Golden Eagles had crept within 33-29, a Stonewall score, foul shot and a Morris three resulted in the first double-digit lead at 39-29. A pair of Church free throws left the home team leading 41-33 at halftime.
Stonewall already had 15 points and four steals at the break while Held had 10 points. DePaul's pressure defense forced 15 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
Up next is the first conference road game for the nationally ranked Blue Demons when they travel to Providence for a 5:30 p.m. Friday matchup televised by FS2.
Postgame Notes
And, the Blue Demons' quest for their sixth regular-season title in the last seven years got off to a rousing start with an 89-71 victory over Marquette in front of an enthusiastic and near-capacity McGrath-Phillips Arena crowd.
It was Lexi Held and Chante Stonewall leading the way with Held scoring a game-high 22 points and Stonewall finishing with 20 points, five steals and playing an intense brand of defense baseline to baseline spearheading the DePaul full-court press that forced 26 turnovers.
Deja Church tied her DePaul career high with 16 points, Sonya Morris added 15 points and four steals while Kelly Campbell once again stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. DePaul improved to 11-2, 1-0 and Marquette dropped to 9-3, 0-1.
Six Church points and a Campbell connection from deep increased an eight-point halftime advantage to 52-41 at the third quarter media timeout. Church was having one of her better games as a Blue Demon hitting four of her first seven shots.
After Marquette drew within 56-49, Morris and Held launched an 11-2 run to give their team a 67-51 lead. A Golden Eagle layup made it 67-53 going into the fourth quarter.
Three-pointers by Held and Campbell followed by four-straight Stonewall points boosted the DePaul lead to 77-61 at the fourth quarter media timeout.
Coach Doug Bruno's team put this one away with a 10-2 run courtesy of four Morris points and back-to-back threes from Held and Campbell for an 87-66 lead.
DePaul started out slowly after not playing for eight days, making just one of its first nine shots---a Morris jumper. That resulted in a 10-4 Marquette lead at the first quarter media timeout.
Morris ignited a 7-2 Blue Demon burst as a Held three-pointer followed by a pull-up jumper cut the deficit to 10-9. It was 12-9 after the first quarter.
A 10-point Stonewall scoring spree climaxed by a three-pointer provided DePaul with a 21-18 second-quarter lead. Church's three, a foul shot and another Morris score increased the margin to 27-22 at the media timeout.
After the Golden Eagles had crept within 33-29, a Stonewall score, foul shot and a Morris three resulted in the first double-digit lead at 39-29. A pair of Church free throws left the home team leading 41-33 at halftime.
Stonewall already had 15 points and four steals at the break while Held had 10 points. DePaul's pressure defense forced 15 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
Up next is the first conference road game for the nationally ranked Blue Demons when they travel to Providence for a 5:30 p.m. Friday matchup televised by FS2.
Postgame Notes
- Including the 26 by Marquette, Bruno's team has forced 153 turnovers in the last six games for an average of 25.5 per game. The lowest in that span was 21 by No. 1-ranked Connecticut.
- This was the third-straight win for DePaul in the rivalry improving its series record to 45-27.
- The Blue Demons went into the game ranked second in the nation in assists and three-pointers and third in scoring.
- In the latest NCAA RPI, DePaul is ranked No. 8.
- The Blue Demons need one more win to reach 900 in program history.
- Church tied her DePaul career high with 16 points.
- The nine points in the first quarter was the lowest-scoring quarter of the season.
- Campbell needs 46Â points to reach the 1,000-point career milestone.
- Campbell is No. 5 in career assists with 548Â and Jessica January is fourth with 554.
- Campbell has passed WNBA Draft pick Felicia Chester and Beth Hasenmiller for eighth in all-time rebounds with 811. Megan Podkowa is No. 7 at 835.
- Stonewall passed Sam Quigley (1,273 points) for No. 24 with in career scoring with 1,284. Next on the list at No. 23 is Jenna Rubino with1,314. Last season's teammate Martè Grays is No. 22 with 1,375.
Team Stats
Marq
DePaul
FG%
.500
.458
3FG%
.308
.346
FT%
.722
.778
RB
36
32
TO
26
11
STL
6
16
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
Guard
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/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALLGuard
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