Top Two in BIG EAST Collide Friday Night

Friday, February 14

McGrath-Phillips Arena

7:00 P.M. CT

DePaul University

Butler

Tickets

2/13/2020 3:37:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

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No. 13/13 DePaul and Butler in a showdown at McGrath-Phillips Arena

CHICAGO – Here we go again.

First, there was Creighton with its commendable NCAA RPI coming to challenge No. 13/13 DePaul in an early January BIG EAST showdown.

Coach Doug Bruno and his team responded with a tension-filled 74-71 win in Omaha, Neb.

Next up was Villanova, riding high in second place and looking to take down the league leader on its home court. The Blue Demons came away from that showdown with an 85-69 victory as Sonya Morris went off for a career-high 30 points.

Now the latest iteration of this sequence comes to Lincoln Park as the primary challenger in the conference.

Butler can lay claim to being the BIG EAST's hottest team in the new decade after going 9-1 since New Year's Day. That includes a five-game winning streak that will accompany the Bulldogs into Friday night's game at McGrath-Phillips Arena.

Partisan Blue Demon fans and an NBC Sports Chicago Plus television audience will check out a Butler program that has gone 17-6 on the season and sits in second place with a 9-3 conference record.

Do not dwell on the success Bruno & Co. enjoyed on Jan. 19 when they upended Butler 80-65 on its home court as five Blue Demons scored in double figures.

As Bruno is fond of saying: "Every game has a life of its own," and no doubt, what took place at Hinkle Fieldhouse has no bearing on Friday night.

For the Bulldogs, that was the only setback in their last 10 games dating all the way back to Jan. 4.

In that same span, DePaul (22-3, 12-1) has gone 10-1 with the only setback a 63-61 loss to Creighton at Wintrust Arena.

The Blue Demons are coming off a rugged road swing through New York and New Jersey that saw them rally for a 71-65 win at St. John's and an 86-76 decision over Seton Hall.

During the 10-1 run, Bruno has seen a total team effort. Five times, all five starters finished in double figures while six Blue Demons accomplished the feat at Georgetown.

There have also been some terrific individual performances. In addition to Morris' 30 points, Chante Stonewall scored a career-high 29 points at Seton Hall and Kelly Campbell came through with the second triple-double of her career against Providence with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists.

Campbell leads the nation in assist-turnover ratio and is No. 6 in assists. Stonewall is No. 7 in field goals, No. 11 in shot attempts and No. 22 in scoring. She has been in double figures in every game but one this season.

The have led a DePaul attack that is No. 2 in the country in scoring at nearly 85 points a game and second in three-pointers. The Blue Demons are fourth in assists, steals and turnover margin and sixth in assist-turnover ratio. With Stonewall at the point of their vaunted full-court press, Bruno's program is forcing nearly 22 turnovers a game---ninth best in the nation.

Butler is led by all-around talent Kristen Spolyar who is averaging 19 points and 7.3 rebounds. In the first matchup with DePaul, Spolyar finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds.

Friday night is also the annual "Pink Game" as DePaul athletics highlights breast cancer awareness. In addition, DePaul will honor the memory of legendary North Carolina State women's basketball coach Kay Yow who waged a courageous and inspirational 12-year battle against breast cancer before passing away in January of 2009.