Sunday, March 8
Wintrust Arena
5:00 P.M. CT
DePaul University
27-5,15-3Big East
83
vs
80
Seton Hall
19-12,11-7Big East
1
2
3
4
F
Seton Hall
24
22
21
13
80
DePaul
24
26
20
13
83
Held's Clutch Scoring Sends DePaul into BIG EAST Title Game
3/8/2020 8:38:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Sophomore's 20 second-half points leads DePaul past Seton Hall 83-80
CHICAGO – When teams that are nearly mirror images of one another transform 94 feet of hardwood into a fast-moving shootout showdown, the pyrotechnics are bound to light up the South Loop.
That's what delighted and also compelled a sometime-nervous audience at Wintrust Arena Sunday as No. 1 seed DePaul closed out an 83-80 victory over Seton Hall in the BIG EAST tournament semifinals.
The Blue Demons (27-5) advance to Monday night's 7 p.m. championship game against the winner of No. 2 Marquette and No. 3 St. John's with a national TV audience following along on FS1. DePaul will be shooting for a three-peat title.
Lexi Held scored 20 of her team-high 22 points in the second half including eight of DePaul 13 points in the critical fourth quarter. Chante Stonewall came through with some clutch scoring and finished with 18 points and seven rebounds.
Kelly Campbell's 16 points in the first half carried the team along with 15 from Stonewall. Campbell finished with those 16 and added five assists. Sonya Morris contributed 14 points and six assists while Deja Church filled the stat sheet with eight points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
DePaul entered the fourth quarter protecting a narrow three-point lead. Dee Bekelja and Held hit big three-pointers as the drama built with every possession. It was a one-point game when Held converted to make it 76-73.
Seton Hall (19-12) came right back with a score. Church scored inside to make it 78-75 at the 3:35 mark as both teams played terrific down the stretch with no stops in play. Finally with the clock at 2:34, a stop in play resulted in a media timeout as both teams were glad to catch their breath and re-set for a furious finish.
Held's three-pointer with 2:16 to and pair of foul shots at the 1:29 mark provided an 83-77 lead. The Pirates came right back with a three-pointer.
The Blue Demons opened the third quarter looking to build on a 50-46 halftime lead. Held began to heat up, hitting a pair of shots from deep and also scoring on a driving layup as the home team opened up a 58-51 gap at the media timeout.
Held and Morris scored back-to-back in growing the lead to 62-53, and it was 62-55 at the second media timeout. Kiara Dallmann was getting extended playing time as the 6-foot, 2-inch junior begins to feel more comfortable in her new surroundings after transferring from Iowa Western junior college.
The Blue Demons led by 11 when Seton Hall took off on a 16-6 run to draw within 68-67, leaving DePaul partisans a little nervous in their seats. Church's layup made it 70-67 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
DePaul came out of the starting gate fast, hitting six of its first seven shots after the opening tip in racing out to a 13-5 lead. Campbell hit a three-pointer and a layup---the two cornerstones of coach Doug Bruno's high-powered attack.
Seton Hall recovered from the initial onslaught and scored four in a row to draw within 13-9 at the first quarter media timeout. Early on, it was apparent the Pirates were looking to attack inside with their star forward Shadeen Samuels.
Two more Pirate baskets and it was 13-13 when Bruno called timeout. That interlude didn't cool off Campbell who knocked down two more shots from beyond the arc for a 21-18 DePaul lead. The senior point guard made four of her first five shots including three of four from three-point land.
Stonewall's basket near the end of the first quarter was countered by a Seton Hall score as both teams finished the first 10 minutes deadlocked at 24.
After Seton Hall briefly took the lead 26-24 with the opening salvo of the second quarter, it was time for "DePaulball" as the home team rattled off a 10-0 run. Stonewall had six of the 10 points along with a beautiful feed to Kiara Dallmann for a layup, prompting Pirate coach Tony Bozzella to call timeout.
Stonewall made it 36-26 out of the timeout. Seton Hall fired back with a 9-2 burst to close within 38-35. A pair of threes by Morris helped the Blue Demons maintain a 45-39 advantage. It was 45-41 when the irrepressible Campbell struck again with a pair of technical free throws followed by another three-pointer for a 50-41 margin.
Back came the Pirates, scoring the last five points before halftime and DePaul went to the locker room leading 50-46.
Campbell had 16 points in the first half and Stonewall scored 15---the epitome of the team's senior leadership. Morris had nine as the Blue Demons were 7-of-18 from deep.
Postgame Notes
That's what delighted and also compelled a sometime-nervous audience at Wintrust Arena Sunday as No. 1 seed DePaul closed out an 83-80 victory over Seton Hall in the BIG EAST tournament semifinals.
The Blue Demons (27-5) advance to Monday night's 7 p.m. championship game against the winner of No. 2 Marquette and No. 3 St. John's with a national TV audience following along on FS1. DePaul will be shooting for a three-peat title.
Lexi Held scored 20 of her team-high 22 points in the second half including eight of DePaul 13 points in the critical fourth quarter. Chante Stonewall came through with some clutch scoring and finished with 18 points and seven rebounds.
Kelly Campbell's 16 points in the first half carried the team along with 15 from Stonewall. Campbell finished with those 16 and added five assists. Sonya Morris contributed 14 points and six assists while Deja Church filled the stat sheet with eight points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
DePaul entered the fourth quarter protecting a narrow three-point lead. Dee Bekelja and Held hit big three-pointers as the drama built with every possession. It was a one-point game when Held converted to make it 76-73.
Seton Hall (19-12) came right back with a score. Church scored inside to make it 78-75 at the 3:35 mark as both teams played terrific down the stretch with no stops in play. Finally with the clock at 2:34, a stop in play resulted in a media timeout as both teams were glad to catch their breath and re-set for a furious finish.
Held's three-pointer with 2:16 to and pair of foul shots at the 1:29 mark provided an 83-77 lead. The Pirates came right back with a three-pointer.
The Blue Demons opened the third quarter looking to build on a 50-46 halftime lead. Held began to heat up, hitting a pair of shots from deep and also scoring on a driving layup as the home team opened up a 58-51 gap at the media timeout.
Held and Morris scored back-to-back in growing the lead to 62-53, and it was 62-55 at the second media timeout. Kiara Dallmann was getting extended playing time as the 6-foot, 2-inch junior begins to feel more comfortable in her new surroundings after transferring from Iowa Western junior college.
The Blue Demons led by 11 when Seton Hall took off on a 16-6 run to draw within 68-67, leaving DePaul partisans a little nervous in their seats. Church's layup made it 70-67 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
DePaul came out of the starting gate fast, hitting six of its first seven shots after the opening tip in racing out to a 13-5 lead. Campbell hit a three-pointer and a layup---the two cornerstones of coach Doug Bruno's high-powered attack.
Seton Hall recovered from the initial onslaught and scored four in a row to draw within 13-9 at the first quarter media timeout. Early on, it was apparent the Pirates were looking to attack inside with their star forward Shadeen Samuels.
Two more Pirate baskets and it was 13-13 when Bruno called timeout. That interlude didn't cool off Campbell who knocked down two more shots from beyond the arc for a 21-18 DePaul lead. The senior point guard made four of her first five shots including three of four from three-point land.
Stonewall's basket near the end of the first quarter was countered by a Seton Hall score as both teams finished the first 10 minutes deadlocked at 24.
After Seton Hall briefly took the lead 26-24 with the opening salvo of the second quarter, it was time for "DePaulball" as the home team rattled off a 10-0 run. Stonewall had six of the 10 points along with a beautiful feed to Kiara Dallmann for a layup, prompting Pirate coach Tony Bozzella to call timeout.
Stonewall made it 36-26 out of the timeout. Seton Hall fired back with a 9-2 burst to close within 38-35. A pair of threes by Morris helped the Blue Demons maintain a 45-39 advantage. It was 45-41 when the irrepressible Campbell struck again with a pair of technical free throws followed by another three-pointer for a 50-41 margin.
Back came the Pirates, scoring the last five points before halftime and DePaul went to the locker room leading 50-46.
Campbell had 16 points in the first half and Stonewall scored 15---the epitome of the team's senior leadership. Morris had nine as the Blue Demons were 7-of-18 from deep.
Postgame Notes
- Held's 22 points is a career high in her BIG EAST tournament play.
- DePaul is 6-1 in the semifinals since the BIG EAST realigned in 2013-14.
- After realignment, Bruno's program is tops among all men's and women's teams with a 108-20 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 eight games this season.
- Bruno's team was 14-of-35 (40 percent) from behind the arc on Sunday and has finished in double digits for three-pointers in 20 games this season.
- His team dished out 25 assists on 31 baskets---numbers that warm the coach's heart in his shoot-it-or-share-it concept.
- 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 664. 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 970. JoAnn Feiereisel is No. 6 at 984.
- Stonewall has scored in double figures the last 26 games in a row and 31 of 32 on the season.
- Stonewall is tied for No. 12 with Beth Hasenmiller in career scoring with 1,600 points. No. 11 is Chanise Jenkins (1,605) and No. 10 is JoAnn Feiereisel (1,630). Jenni Dant is No. 9 with 1,633. No. 8 is Sally Anderson with 1,722.
Team Stats
SHU
DePaul
FG%
.493
.449
3FG%
.304
.400
FT%
.333
.700
RB
43
36
TO
12
11
STL
4
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALLGuard
/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Guard
/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Forward
/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALLGuard
/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALLForward
/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALLDemon Docs: Welcome Head Coach Jill M. Pizzotti
Tuesday, April 29
Episode 19: Jill M. Pizzotti, Women's Basketball Head Coach
Wednesday, April 16
Jill M. Pizzotti Introductory Press Conference
Tuesday, April 15
DePaul Women's Basketball: Jill Pizzotti Introductory Press Conference
Thursday, April 10