No. 24 DePaul Wins Ninth in a Row on Sunday

Sunday, March 10

Wintrust Arena

6:00 P.M. CT

DePaul University

24-7

Providence

17-15

Providence

DePaul

3/10/2019 9:24:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

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Grays, Campbell power Blue Demons past Providence 85-60 in BIG EAST quarterfinal

CHICAGO – A successful debut in this year's BIG EAST tournament Sunday launched No. 24 DePaul onto its ninth win in a row.

Mart'e Grays and Kelly Campbell powered the second-seeded Blue Demons to an 85-60 victory over No. 7 Providence at Wintrust Arena.

Grays tallied a game-high 25 points and added six rebounds while the relentless Campbell was a three-pointer away from a triple double with seven points, 11 rebounds, 12 assists and five steals. Ashton Millender finished with 14 points and Lexi Held came through with 13 points off the bench.

DePaul (24-7) will take on the winner of the Butler-Creighton quarterfinal at 5:30 p.m. in a BIG EAST semifinal showdown that will be televised on FS1 with Lisa Byington and former DePaul standout Sarah Kustok on the call.

Trailing 37-22 at halftime, the Friars opened the third quarter with a 7-2 burst in reducing their deficit to 39-29. It was 41-32 when a Grays foul shot along with a Millender layup restored a 12-point advantage.

After Providence (17-15) had cut DePaul's lead to 10, Millender and Grays sparked their team on a 15-5 run in boosting the lead to 20. Rebekah Dahlman's three-pointer made it 63-43 going into the final 10 minutes.

Consecutive three-pointers by Held increased the margin to 73-49 as coach Doug Bruno began resting his key players for the quick turnaround.

The Blue Demons came out with an intense defensive presence right from the opening tip that resulted in turnovers and fast-break baskets. A Grays steal turned into a Stonewall basket followed by Grays scoring in the paint. It seemed the entire team was switching to a higher gear for the postseason.

Next possession, Campbell stole the ball and made a three-quarter court pass to a streaking Grays for two more and a 14-2 advantage. DePaul forced the visiting team into five turnovers in less than five minutes.

Lexi Held and Campbell connected back-to-back for an 18-5 lead before the Friars scored the next four. A Grays post-up in the paint where she has been dominating this season gave the home team a 20-9 lead after one quarter. In those first 10 minutes, Campbell had four points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Grays opened the second quarter with a three-pointer, and another by Millender sandwiching a Campbell jumper increased the margin to 28-11. Maya Stovall's steal triggered a fast break with Dee Bekelja cashing in at the other end. It was 34-18 at the media timeout.

Providence culminated a 9-2 run to draw within 34-22 when Grays answered with her third connection from behind the arc, sending DePaul into halftime with a 37-22 advantage.

Grays had 15 points in the first half shooting 6-of-9 from the floor including 3-of-4 from distance. Campbell put herself in good position for a triple-double with seven points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in the first 20 minutes.

Postgame Notes

DePaul is 21-10 in BIG EAST tournament play.
Since the conference was restructured in 2013-14, the Blue Demons are 13-2 in the league postseason.
Campbell recorded the 15th double-double of her career.
Grays has scored 161 points in her last nine games.
This was the 15th game the Blue Demons have converted a dozen or more three-pointers.
DePaul won the battle of the boards 42-23.
Millender (1,356 points) is No. 21 on the all-time scoring list with Jasmine Penny No. 20 at 1,417.
Grays (1,337) is No. 22 on the all-time scoring list, passing Jenna Rubino (1,314) on Sunday.
With 281 career three-pointers, Millender tied Brittany Hrynko at No. 2 all-time. Lenae Williams owns the all-time record with 303.
Millender (750) is No. 2 all-time in career three-point attempts. Williams set the career mark with 924.
Campbell (458) is No. 7 all-time in assists and in pursuit of No. 6 Molly Watson (471).
Campbell (688) is three rebounds away from Janine Douglas (691) who is No. 12 all-time.
Millender (141 games played) drew even with all-time leader Chanise Jenkins who is currently playing pro basketball in Australia.
This was the first time the Blue Demons have played Providence in the BIG EAST postseason.
DePaul is 20-4 all-time against Providence.