DePaul University Athletics
Friday, January 10
McGrath-Phillips Arena
7:00 P.M. CT
DePaul University
vs
Seton Hall
Dangerous Seton Hall Next for No. 15/17 DePaul
1/9/2020 11:40:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Friday night matchup at McGrath-Phillips Arena televised on NBC Sports Chicago Plus
CHICAGO – No. 15/17 DePaul entered the BIG EAST regular season with a conspicuously large target on its back as the preseason favorite to finish in first place.
In addition, the Blue Demons are the only BIG EAST team consistently ranked in national Top 25 polls and the kind of program that opponents typically rise up to challenge.
Right from the get-go, DePaul (13-2, 3-0) butted heads with the BIG EAST's best. Four of its first five conference games (Marquette, Creighton, Seton Hall, St. John's) are against other leading contenders for a regular-season title.
The gauntlet began with an 89-71 win over a Marquette team that came in with a sparkling 9-2 record. After prevailing 80-67 over a stubborn Providence team, coach Doug Bruno's pride of Lincoln Park came face-to-face with a talented Creighton program that was 11-3 and carried a victory over No. 23 West Virginia on its resume.
Overcoming a vocal partisan crowd in Sokol Arena along with the BIG EAST's rising star in Jalyn Agnew, the Blue Demons parlayed virtuoso performances by Chante Stonewall and Lexi Held into a tough 74-71 victory.
Now come two more big tests beginning at 7 p.m. Friday when dangerous Seton Hall (10-5, 3-1) visits McGrath-Phillips Arena for a showdown televised by NBC Sports Chicago Plus. Creighton, Seton Hall, St. John's (DePaul's opponent on Sunday) and Villanova enter the weekend tied for second place with 3-1 records.
Seton Hall will return to the same Doug Bruno Court where the Pirates upset DePaul 84-73 last year on the third weekend in January.
That alone should inflame the competitive juices of Bruno and his players to come out strong in their best "DePaulball" tradition.
When the Blue Demons are moving the ball in their selfless style, the resulting collaboration has them leading the nation in assists. Sharing the ball and executing a high-speed attack has DePaul No. 2 in the country in three-pointers, three-point attempts and threes per game.
They're the third-highest scoring offense in the nation at nearly 87 points a game while defensively unraveling opponents with a series of presses producing 23.6 turnovers per game.
The Pirates from South Orange, N.J. will encounter an opponent that is No. 2 in the country in turnover margin, No. 3 in steals and No. 6 in forced turnovers. Only Creighton with 16 turnovers last Sunday has finished a game with less than 20. Even consensus No. 1 Connecticut coughed it up 21 times.
Individually, Kelly Campbell leads the nation in assist-turnover ratio and is seventh in total assists. Stonewall is No. 5 nationwide in field goals and shot attempts, No. 10 in steals and No. 19 in scoring at 18.5 points per game.
Sonya Morris has been dangerous all season and is averaging 16.1 points. Held is scoring at a 14-point clip and combined with Morris to knock down a total of 66 shots from behind the arc. Deja Church is averaging 9.7 points and Dee Bekelja 9.5. Campbell leads the team with 7.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game.
Seton Hall has won five of its last six games behind an offense featuring Desiree Elmore (14.9 points per game), Shadeen Samuels(12.4 points), Alexis Lewis (12 points), Mya Jackson (10.8 points) and Barbara Johnson (9.7 points). Orchestrating the attack is point guard Lauren Park-Lane with a team-high 55 assists (3.7 a game). The Pirates' defense is forcing 21 turnovers a game as seven players register double-digits in steals.
In addition, the Blue Demons are the only BIG EAST team consistently ranked in national Top 25 polls and the kind of program that opponents typically rise up to challenge.
Right from the get-go, DePaul (13-2, 3-0) butted heads with the BIG EAST's best. Four of its first five conference games (Marquette, Creighton, Seton Hall, St. John's) are against other leading contenders for a regular-season title.
The gauntlet began with an 89-71 win over a Marquette team that came in with a sparkling 9-2 record. After prevailing 80-67 over a stubborn Providence team, coach Doug Bruno's pride of Lincoln Park came face-to-face with a talented Creighton program that was 11-3 and carried a victory over No. 23 West Virginia on its resume.
Overcoming a vocal partisan crowd in Sokol Arena along with the BIG EAST's rising star in Jalyn Agnew, the Blue Demons parlayed virtuoso performances by Chante Stonewall and Lexi Held into a tough 74-71 victory.
Now come two more big tests beginning at 7 p.m. Friday when dangerous Seton Hall (10-5, 3-1) visits McGrath-Phillips Arena for a showdown televised by NBC Sports Chicago Plus. Creighton, Seton Hall, St. John's (DePaul's opponent on Sunday) and Villanova enter the weekend tied for second place with 3-1 records.
Seton Hall will return to the same Doug Bruno Court where the Pirates upset DePaul 84-73 last year on the third weekend in January.
That alone should inflame the competitive juices of Bruno and his players to come out strong in their best "DePaulball" tradition.
When the Blue Demons are moving the ball in their selfless style, the resulting collaboration has them leading the nation in assists. Sharing the ball and executing a high-speed attack has DePaul No. 2 in the country in three-pointers, three-point attempts and threes per game.
They're the third-highest scoring offense in the nation at nearly 87 points a game while defensively unraveling opponents with a series of presses producing 23.6 turnovers per game.
The Pirates from South Orange, N.J. will encounter an opponent that is No. 2 in the country in turnover margin, No. 3 in steals and No. 6 in forced turnovers. Only Creighton with 16 turnovers last Sunday has finished a game with less than 20. Even consensus No. 1 Connecticut coughed it up 21 times.
Individually, Kelly Campbell leads the nation in assist-turnover ratio and is seventh in total assists. Stonewall is No. 5 nationwide in field goals and shot attempts, No. 10 in steals and No. 19 in scoring at 18.5 points per game.
Sonya Morris has been dangerous all season and is averaging 16.1 points. Held is scoring at a 14-point clip and combined with Morris to knock down a total of 66 shots from behind the arc. Deja Church is averaging 9.7 points and Dee Bekelja 9.5. Campbell leads the team with 7.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game.
Seton Hall has won five of its last six games behind an offense featuring Desiree Elmore (14.9 points per game), Shadeen Samuels(12.4 points), Alexis Lewis (12 points), Mya Jackson (10.8 points) and Barbara Johnson (9.7 points). Orchestrating the attack is point guard Lauren Park-Lane with a team-high 55 assists (3.7 a game). The Pirates' defense is forcing 21 turnovers a game as seven players register double-digits in steals.
Players Mentioned
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Forward
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