Friday, January 17
Cincinnati, Ohio
6:00 P.M. CT
DePaul University
16-2,6-0Big East
91
at
68
Xavier
2-15,1-5Big East
1
2
3
4
F
DePaul
20
27
21
23
91
Xavier
16
17
24
11
68
No. 14/15 DePaul Wins Seventh in a Row
1/17/2020 8:10:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Stonewall, Held lead Blue Demons past Xavier 91-68 on Friday night
CINCINNATI – This was a challenge of a different nature being posed to No. 14/15 DePaul Friday night at the Cintas Center.
Could these Blue Demons who collectively elevated their game against Connecticut and Notre Dame summon a similar intensity against an opponent having its struggles in the new decade?
Demonstrating the kind of maturity and focus it takes to win a game like this, DePaul took care of business with a 91-68 victory over Xavier for its seventh win in a row. Coach Doug Bruno's team is now 16-2 overall and leading the BIG EAST with a 6-0 record.
Chante Stonewall had an overall brilliant game with 22 points and Lexi Held scored 19 including 5-of-7 from three-point range in her homecoming game as she lives 25 minutes from the Cintas Center.
Deja Church continued to emerge as a key player with 16 points and Sonya Morris added 11 points. Kelly Campbell contributed nine rebounds and seven assists.
Morris scored five quick points right out of the opening tip, giving her team an early 9-6 lead. She came out of the game momentarily after drawing a charging foul from Xavier star A'riana Gray.
A pair of Stonewall scores and Maya Stovall's three-pointer increased the margin to 19-10. That's when Xavier scored six in a row sparked by Carrie Gross. Kiara Dallmann's free throw made it 20-16 after the first quarter.
After the Musketeers scored the opening basket of the second quarter, DePaul went on one of its patented runs with a pair of Stonewall buckets, two Church free throws and threes by Morris and Held. The 12-0 burst provided a 32-18.
The closest the home team could come was 40-33 when Church hit a three, Dee Bekelja a tough driving score and Church with another basket for a 47-33 advantage at halftime.
The Blue Demons were 8-of-17 from deep in the first two quarters as Church scored 10 of her 12 points in the second quarter. Held had 11 points at the break while Morris and Stonewall had eight apiece. Morris scored her points in just 10 minutes of playing time after sitting most of the second quarter in foul trouble.
DePaul's vaunted full-court press was operating at high efficiency forcing 16 Xavier turnovers in the first 20 minutes. The home team had 24 for the game.
A pair of threes by Held and one by Stonewall kept their team comfortably in front 58-44 at the third quarter media timeout. At that point, Held was 5-of-6 from behind the arc and finished 5-of-7.
The Musketeers could not come any closer than 10 the rest of the quarter as DePaul's offense sparked by Stonewall held them at bay. A Morris three and a Stonewall foul shot made it 68-57 heading into the final 10 minutes.
Stonewall was in a smooth offensive rhythm to start the fourth quarter and knocked down a trio of jumpers. Combined with a three-pointer from Campbell, the Blue Demons extended their lead to 79-61 at the fourth quarter media timeout. Campbell's three was the 13th of the game for the visitors.
A Dee Bekelja basket off a nice feed from Stonewall made it a 20-point margin.
Next up on their BIG EAST calendar is a 1 p.m. matchup Sunday at Butler in the historic Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Postgame Notes
Could these Blue Demons who collectively elevated their game against Connecticut and Notre Dame summon a similar intensity against an opponent having its struggles in the new decade?
Demonstrating the kind of maturity and focus it takes to win a game like this, DePaul took care of business with a 91-68 victory over Xavier for its seventh win in a row. Coach Doug Bruno's team is now 16-2 overall and leading the BIG EAST with a 6-0 record.
Chante Stonewall had an overall brilliant game with 22 points and Lexi Held scored 19 including 5-of-7 from three-point range in her homecoming game as she lives 25 minutes from the Cintas Center.
Deja Church continued to emerge as a key player with 16 points and Sonya Morris added 11 points. Kelly Campbell contributed nine rebounds and seven assists.
Morris scored five quick points right out of the opening tip, giving her team an early 9-6 lead. She came out of the game momentarily after drawing a charging foul from Xavier star A'riana Gray.
A pair of Stonewall scores and Maya Stovall's three-pointer increased the margin to 19-10. That's when Xavier scored six in a row sparked by Carrie Gross. Kiara Dallmann's free throw made it 20-16 after the first quarter.
After the Musketeers scored the opening basket of the second quarter, DePaul went on one of its patented runs with a pair of Stonewall buckets, two Church free throws and threes by Morris and Held. The 12-0 burst provided a 32-18.
The closest the home team could come was 40-33 when Church hit a three, Dee Bekelja a tough driving score and Church with another basket for a 47-33 advantage at halftime.
The Blue Demons were 8-of-17 from deep in the first two quarters as Church scored 10 of her 12 points in the second quarter. Held had 11 points at the break while Morris and Stonewall had eight apiece. Morris scored her points in just 10 minutes of playing time after sitting most of the second quarter in foul trouble.
DePaul's vaunted full-court press was operating at high efficiency forcing 16 Xavier turnovers in the first 20 minutes. The home team had 24 for the game.
A pair of threes by Held and one by Stonewall kept their team comfortably in front 58-44 at the third quarter media timeout. At that point, Held was 5-of-6 from behind the arc and finished 5-of-7.
The Musketeers could not come any closer than 10 the rest of the quarter as DePaul's offense sparked by Stonewall held them at bay. A Morris three and a Stonewall foul shot made it 68-57 heading into the final 10 minutes.
Stonewall was in a smooth offensive rhythm to start the fourth quarter and knocked down a trio of jumpers. Combined with a three-pointer from Campbell, the Blue Demons extended their lead to 79-61 at the fourth quarter media timeout. Campbell's three was the 13th of the game for the visitors.
A Dee Bekelja basket off a nice feed from Stonewall made it a 20-point margin.
Next up on their BIG EAST calendar is a 1 p.m. matchup Sunday at Butler in the historic Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Postgame Notes
- Held is the pride of Burlington, Ky., a 25-minute drive from the Cintas Center, and the sophomore guard had a vocal cheering section of more than 30 family members and friends in attendance Friday night.
- DePaul outrebounded Xavier 42-39.
- With the 24 Xavier turnovers, the Blue Demons have forced 20 or more turnovers in all but two games this season. St. John's has the lowest count with 10 and Creighton had 16.
- DePaul went into the game leading the nation in assists, ranked second in three-pointers and third in scoring.
- In the latest NCAA RPI, DePaul is ranked No. 11.
- This was the 904th win in program history.
- Campbell needs 13 points to reach the 1,000-point career milestone.
- Campbell is No. 4 in career assists with 572. Chanise Jenkins is No. 3 with 670.
- Campbell has passed WNBA Draft pick Felicia Chester, Beth Hasenmiller and Megan Podkowa for seventh in all-time rebounds with 851. JoAnn Feiereisel is No. 6 at 984.
- Stonewall is No. 22 with in career scoring with 1,377 passing 2018-19 teammate Martè Grays (1,375). Another 2018-19 teammate Ashton Millender is No. 21 with 1,392.
Team Stats
DePaul
XU
FG%
.425
.414
3FG%
.419
.235
FT%
.762
.640
RB
42
39
TO
17
24
STL
14
13
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
16
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
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