Blue Demons Make Impact on National Scene

9/25/2019 1:00:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Three women's basketball preseason polls rank DePaul in Top 25

CHICAGO – National prognosticators across the NCAA women's basketball landscape have taken notice of DePaul shooting for its 18th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and third-straight BIG EAST tournament title.

The Blue Demons have been recognized among the nation's top 25 teams in three preseason rankings. Lindy's Sports places coach Doug Bruno's team at No. 17, ESPNW has DePaul at No. 18 and Street & Smith's slots the Blue Demons at No. 19.

All three of the early forecasts have Oregon and returning National Player of the Year Sabrina Ionescu ranked No. 1 going into the 2019-20 season with Baylor at No. 2.

"Preseason rankings are a function of last season's results and our returning players," said Blue Demons' coach Doug Bruno. "While we would much rather be ranked in the preseason than not ranked, here at DePaul we play for the reviews and not the previews."

DePaul's NCAA tournament streak puts the program in elite company, matching Connecticut, Notre Dame, Stanford and Tennessee.

In addition to its quest for a three-peat conference tournament title, the Blue Demons have won the league's regular-season title five of the last six years. They were 26-8 last season, 14-4 in the BIG EAST.

The national power from Lincoln Park will be led by a pair of stellar seniors, All-BIG EAST Second Team forward Chante Stonewall and do-everything point guard Kelly Campbell. Both are among the top returning players in the BIG EAST.

Stonewall averaged 14.3 points and 6.6 rebounds while leading the team in field goal percentage and blocked shots. The BIG EAST tournament Most Outstanding Player scored a career-high 28 points---including the game-winning, three-point play with five seconds left---in a 74-73 title game victory over Marquette.

Campbell averaged 7.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists, leading the Blue Demons in rebounds, assists and steals. She was No. 5 in the nation in assist-turnover ratio and honored as a Top 10 finalist in the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award.

The seniors were key components for a team that led the country in three-point shot attempts last season and was No. 3 in three-pointers and threes per game. DePaul also finished No. 7 in assists, No. 8 in scoring average (81.1 points per game) and No. 9 in free throw percentage (.775).

Sophomore guard Lexi Held could be on the brink of a breakout year after averaging 8.3 points in 15.3 minutes per game and being named to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team. Other returnees who were key contributors last season include sophomore guards Sonya Morris and Maya Stovall along with junior guard Dee Bekelja.

Bruno is looking for 6-foot, 2-inch freshman Nadège Jean to strengthen the front line after the former Rich South standout missed the 2018-19 season with injury.

A pair of talented newcomers should make an immediate impact on the program. Junior guard Deja Church transferred in from Michigan after helping lead the Wolverines to the NCAA Second Round. Church started all 34 games averaging nearly nine points a game. She finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals in an 84-54 victory over Kansas State in the NCAA tournament opener.

The 6-2 Kiara Dallmann was a junior college All-American last season after averaging nearly 14 points to go along with her 7.5 rebounds a game. The Iowa Western Community College standout was fifth in the nation in field goal percentage at 61.2 percent. As a freshman, she led the country in shooting percentage at 70.9 percent. The junior forward averaged 17 points and 13 rebounds, shooting nearly 37 percent from three-point range.

Multi-talented guard Keke Rimmer from Proviso East heads up a talented recruiting class that also features guard Marisa Warren (Incarnate Word Academy in St. Louis), 6-1 forward Kayla Caudle (Vernon Hills) and 6-0 forward Hannah Purcell from Annandale (Minn.) High School.

"We're very excited about the possibilities for this year's team," Bruno said. "But like the poet Robert Frost said: 'We have miles to go before we sleep.'"