DePaul Blue Demons
Overall Rank: #24
Conference Rank: #2 Big East
Life in the revamped Big East Conference has been very good to DePaul as they have won four straight regular season conference titles. The Blue Demons play a very exciting style of basketball, which sets them up to be able to outscore most of the teams on their schedule year in and year out. This season will bring about a bit of reloading as DePaul lost Brooke Schulte, Jessica January, and Jacqui Grant from last year’s team. Patience will be a virtue early in the season for Blue Demon fans as it will take a little bit of time for everything to come together.
2016-17 Record: 27-8, 16-2
2016-17 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Doug Bruno
Coach Record: 641-326 at DePaul, 681-356 overall
Key Departed Players (starters in bold)
Brooke Schulte, Guard, 16.2 points per game
Jessica January, Guard, 15.0 points per game
Jacqui Grant, Forward, 11.8 points per game
Key Returning Players (starters in bold)
Ashton Millender, Junior, Guard, 12.8 points per game
Amarah Coleman, Senior, Guard, 11.2 points per game
Lauren Prochaska, Senior, Guard, 4.2 points per game
Tanita Allen, Junior, Guard, 9.2 points per game
Kelly Campbell, Sophomore, Guard, 7.0 points per game
Mart’e Grays, Junior, Forward, did not play last season
Chante Stonewall, Sophomore, Forward, 5.4 points per game
Deja Cage, Sophomore, Guard, 2.7 points per game
Claire McMahon, Sophomore, Forward, 2.4 points per game
Key New Players
Rebekah Dahlman, Graduate Student, Guard
Dee Bekelja, Freshman, Guard
Jolene Daninger, Freshman, Guard
Rachel McLimore, Freshman, Guard/Forward
Vinisha Sherrod, Freshman, Guard
Projection:
Ashton Millender and Amarah Coleman should lead a very balanced offensive attack this season for DePaul. Millender had her sophomore season cut short due to an injury, but when she did play was able to knock down three-point shots at a 38.8 percent clip. Coleman and Tanita Allen are going to be key players at the defensive end of the court as Coleman can cause havoc by forcing turnovers. Allen was the Big East Sixth Woman of the Year and provides that instant spark to keep the Blue Demons rolling at both ends of the court. Dee Bekelja leads a group of five new players that will be expected to compete for playing time right away and help offset the lost production of Schulte, January, and Grant. Look for another run at Big East regular season championship and about a number six seed in the NCAA Tournament for DePaul this season.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 80.7 (10th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 67.7 (248, 8)
Field-Goal Percentage: 43.7 (46, 2)
Field-Goal Defense: 40.9 (226, 6)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 9.3 (7, 1)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 33.1 (106, 4)
Free-Throw Percentage: 68.5 (196, 7)
Rebound Margin: 5.2 (47, 2)
Assists Per Game: 19.5 (5, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.7 (53, 6)
Madness 2017 Women’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#165 Dee Bekelja
