DePaul Blue Demons
Overall Rank: #17
Conference Rank: #1 Big East
DePaul has dominated the Big East since the conference reformed prior to the 2013-2014 campaign. During that stretch the Blue Demons have won at least a share of every regular season conference title. They will get pushed by Marquette this season, but with five of their top six scorers back, DePaul is looking for their sixth straight title.
2017-18 Record: 27-8, 15-3
2017-18 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Doug Bruno
Coach Record: 668-334 at DePaul, 668-334 overall
Key Departed Players (starters in bold)
Amarah Coleman, Guard, 12.5 ppg
Deja Cage, Guard, 4.3 ppg
Lauren Prochaska, Guard, 4.1 ppg
Rachel McLimore, Guard/Forward, 2.0 ppg
Vinisha Sherrod, Guard, 1.2 ppg
Key Returning Players (starters in bold)
Mart’e Grays, Senior, Forward, 14.4 ppg
Ashton Millender, Senior, Guard, 13.6 ppg
Chante Stonewall, Junior, Forward, 10.7 ppg
Kelly Campbell, Junior, Guard, 10.6 ppg
Tanita Allen, Senior, Guard, 9.3 ppg
Dee Bekelja, Sophomore, Guard, 2.8 ppg
Key New Players
Rebekah Dahlman, Senior, Guard, Transfer from Vanderbilt
Jolene Daninger, Freshman, Guard
Lexi Held, Freshman, Guard
Dege Jean, Freshman, Forward
Courtney Krol, Freshman, Guard
Sonya Morris, Freshman, Guard
Maya Syovall, Freshman, Guard
Projection:
Kelly Campbell will again drive the offense after dishing out 5.7 assists per game as a sophomore last season. Campbell is a good scorer too and will keep the defense honest by consistently knocking down three-pointers. She also led the team with 8.6 rebounds. Ashton Millender is the team’s top shooter though. The senior guard connected on 41.4 percent of her 249 attempts from long range. When her shots are falling, which is more often than not, Millender can score in bunches. Tanita Allen should step into a full-time starting spot after averaging 9.3 points per game mostly off the bench last season. Mart’e Grays and Chante Stonewall are back to lead the frontcourt. Grays, a 6-2 senior, led the squad with 14.4 points per game and is extremely dangerous offensively thanks to a consistent outside shot. Stonewall can shoot too and having so many shooters on this team makes them nearly impossible to defend. If DePaul can find some depth, most notably from sophomore Dee Bekelja, Vanderbilt transfer Rebekah Dahlman and top recruit Dege Jean, this group should win the Big East and make a push for the Sweet Sixteen.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 82.9 (6th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 70.8 (294, 10)
Field-Goal Percentage: 44.0 (43, 2)
Field-Goal Defense: 42.9 (316, 9)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 12.1 (1, 1)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 36.4 (37, 3)
Free-Throw Percentage: 73.5 (73, 3)
Rebound Margin: 2.4 (119, 2)
Assists Per Game: 20.7 (4, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.7 (63, 5)
Madness 2018 Women’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#116 Nadege Jean
