Saturday, March 7
Wintrust Arena
12:00 P.M. CT
DePaul University
26-5,15-3Big Ea
97
vs
59
Providence
13-19,3-15Big E
1
2
3
4
F
Providence
14
10
24
11
59
DePaul
24
23
27
23
97
No. 1 Seed DePaul Rolls Past Providence 97-59
3/7/2020 3:43:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Blue Demons advance to Sunday's 5 p.m. BIG EAST semifinal
CHICAGO – The quest for a BIG EAST tournament three-peat title got off to a rip-roaring start for No. 1 seed DePaul on Saturday.
In their 2020 postseason debut, the Blue Demons flew up and down the Wintrust Arena court during a 97-59 victory over Providence before an enthusiastic partisan crowd and an FS2 national TV audience.
The Associated Press' No. 18 nationally ranked team and No. 16 in the coaches poll will play the winner of the Butler-Seton Hall quarterfinal at 5 p.m. on Sunday in the BIG EAST semifinals televised nationally on FS1.
Leading the way for DePaul (26-5) was Deja Church with 16 points and nine rebounds while Chante Stonewall also scored 16 points. Dee Bekelja came through with 14 points off the bench and Lexi Held added 11. Kelly Campbell contributed nine points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals. Sonya Morris scored eight points.
Providence (13-19) opened the game with a zone defense, and it didn't take long for DePaul to find the seams. Held hit a pair of three-pointers and Campbell buried one from deep forcing the Friars into a man-to-man alignment.
After Held and Campbell went back-to-back from behind the arc, the Blue Demons led 13-5 at the first quarter media timeout.
A Stonewall three-point play followed by her layup provided a 22-11 lead. Kiara Dallmann's free throws gave DePaul a 24-14 advantage after the first quarter.
Providence came within 24-18 early in the second quarter when the Blue Demons mounted a 15-2 run highlighted by back-to-back-to-back threes from Church, Campbell and Morris. That made it 39-20 at the media timeout.
Scoring from Stonewall, Church and Dee Bekelja down the stretch of the first half padded the margin. Coach Doug Bruno and his team took a 47-24 halftime lead into the locker room.
Three-pointers by Bekelja, Campbell and Church enabled the Blue Demons to build a 31-point lead midway through the third quarter. Maya Stovall hit DePaul's 11th three-pointer of the game, and combined with a pair of Bekelja free throws, the home team took a 74-45 lead into the final 10 minutes.
Three-pointers by Bekelja and Stovall sparked a 10-2 surge early in the fourth quarter and established an 84-48 lead. Bruno began resting his players with the potential of two more games in the next two days.
Postgame Notes
In their 2020 postseason debut, the Blue Demons flew up and down the Wintrust Arena court during a 97-59 victory over Providence before an enthusiastic partisan crowd and an FS2 national TV audience.
The Associated Press' No. 18 nationally ranked team and No. 16 in the coaches poll will play the winner of the Butler-Seton Hall quarterfinal at 5 p.m. on Sunday in the BIG EAST semifinals televised nationally on FS1.
Leading the way for DePaul (26-5) was Deja Church with 16 points and nine rebounds while Chante Stonewall also scored 16 points. Dee Bekelja came through with 14 points off the bench and Lexi Held added 11. Kelly Campbell contributed nine points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals. Sonya Morris scored eight points.
Providence (13-19) opened the game with a zone defense, and it didn't take long for DePaul to find the seams. Held hit a pair of three-pointers and Campbell buried one from deep forcing the Friars into a man-to-man alignment.
After Held and Campbell went back-to-back from behind the arc, the Blue Demons led 13-5 at the first quarter media timeout.
A Stonewall three-point play followed by her layup provided a 22-11 lead. Kiara Dallmann's free throws gave DePaul a 24-14 advantage after the first quarter.
Providence came within 24-18 early in the second quarter when the Blue Demons mounted a 15-2 run highlighted by back-to-back-to-back threes from Church, Campbell and Morris. That made it 39-20 at the media timeout.
Scoring from Stonewall, Church and Dee Bekelja down the stretch of the first half padded the margin. Coach Doug Bruno and his team took a 47-24 halftime lead into the locker room.
Three-pointers by Bekelja, Campbell and Church enabled the Blue Demons to build a 31-point lead midway through the third quarter. Maya Stovall hit DePaul's 11th three-pointer of the game, and combined with a pair of Bekelja free throws, the home team took a 74-45 lead into the final 10 minutes.
Three-pointers by Bekelja and Stovall sparked a 10-2 surge early in the fourth quarter and established an 84-48 lead. Bruno began resting his players with the potential of two more games in the next two days.
Postgame Notes
- DePaul outrebounded the Friars 46-29 and converted 15-of-36 attempts from three-point land---nearly 42 percent.
- This is the seventh-straight BIG EAST semifinal appearance for the Blue Demons who are now 38-0 all-time in BIG EAST quarterfinal games.
- Since BIG EAST realignment (2013-14), Bruno's program is tops among all men's and women's teams with a 107-20 record in conference play. The Villanova men's team is second.
- DePaul has scored 90 or more points 10 times this season.
- The Blue Demons have forced 20 or more turnovers in all but seven games this season. Providence had 19 on Saturday.
- The Blue Demons have finished in double digits for three-pointers in 19 games this season.
- DePaul went into the game ranked second in the nation in scoring, three-pointers and turnover margin, fourth in assists and steals, sixth in assist-turnover ratio, seventh in turnovers forced and eighth in free throw percentage. Campbell leads the nation in assist-turnover ratio and is sixth in assists. Stonewall is No. 14 in field goals and No. 18 in shot attempts.
- In the latest NCAA RPI, DePaul is ranked No. 20.
- The final NCAA women's basketball tournament committee reveal of top 16 seeds placed DePaul at No. 16. The top 16 seeds announced on the NCAA tournament selection show March 16 will host the NCAA First and Second Rounds.
- Campbell is No. 4 in career assists with 659. 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 966. JoAnn Feiereisel is No. 6 at 984.
- Stonewall has scored in double figures the last 25 games in a row and 30 of 31 on the season.
- Stonewall is No. 14 with in career scoring with 1,578 points, passing up Mfon Udoka (1,569) and Keisha Hampton (1,574). Debra Robinson is No. 13 with 1,592 and Beth Hasenmiller is No. 12 with 1,600. No. 11 is Chanise Jenkins (1,605) and No. 10 is JoAnn Feiereisel (1,630).
Team Stats
PROV
DEPAUL
FG%
.436
.531
3FG%
.313
.441
FT%
.545
.778
RB
25
42
TO
16
13
STL
8
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
Guard
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Guard
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Forward
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Guard
/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALLForward
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Guard
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