DePaul Blue Demons
Overall Rank: #19
Conference Rank: #1 Big East
DePaul has reached the NCAA Tournament 17 straight times. All of those have been under the leadership of Coach Doug Bruno. Despite the loss of three starters, the Blue Demons return six players who averaged at least ten minutes per game last season. This may not be Coach Bruno’s deepest or most experienced team, but they have the talent to win the Big East and win a game or two in the tournament.
2018-19 Record: 26-8, 14-4
2018-19 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Doug Bruno
Coach Record: 326-127 at DePaul, 674-337 overall
Key Departed Players (starters in bold)
Mart’e Grays, Forward, 14.4 ppg
Ashton Millender, Guard, 13.1 ppg
Rebekah Dahlman, Guard, 6.5 ppg
Tanita Allen, Guard, 5.6 ppg
Key Returning Players (starters in bold)
Chante Stonewall, Senior, Forward, 14.3 ppg
Kelly Campbell, Senior, Guard, 7.5 ppg
Lexi Held, Sophomore, Guard, 8.3 ppg
Dee Bakelja, Junior, Guard, 4.9 ppg
Sonya Morris, Sophomore, Guard, 4.9 ppg
Maya Stovall, Sophomore, Guard, 2.4 ppg
Jolene Daninger, Sophomore, Guard, 1.4 ppg
Key New Players
Kayla Caudle, Freshman, Forward
Nadege Jean, Freshman, Forward
Hannah Purcell, Freshman, Forward
Keke Rimmer, Freshman, Guard
Marisa Warren, Freshman, Guard
Deja Church, Junior, Guard, Transfer from Michigan, not eligible
Projection:
Chante Stonewall and Kelly Campbell are the new senior leaders of this team. Stonewall, a 6-1 forward, averaged 14.3 points and 6.6 rebounds last season. She plays like a forward defensively and on the glass, but Stonewall is also a very good outside shooter and connected on 31.9 percent of her 135 attempts from beyond the arc. Campbell is a good shooter too. The 5-9 guard hit 33.9 percent of her long range attempts and also led the Blue Demons in assists, steals and rebounds. Campbell is not much of a scorer when it comes to attacking the basket, but she does lots of things for this team and will be the leader on the floor. Dee Bakelja, who averaged just over 12 minutes per game, is the only other upperclassman on the roster. A trio of sophomores should be ready to step up and help pick up the slack though. Lexi Held was the most consistent three-point shooter on a team that is loaded with shooters. DePaul will hope that she can keep up that pace while taking more shots in 2019-2020. Sonya Morris and Maya Stovall both earned some starts in their debut seasons with the Blue Demons and will use that experience to play a larger role this year. If Coach Bruno can find some depth, especially in the frontcourt, from the five freshmen, this will be a DePaul team that could be very dangerous by March.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 81.1 (8th in nation, 2nd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 72.9 (327, 10)
Field-Goal Percentage: 42.2 (87, 6)
Field-Goal Defense: 45.9 (345, 10)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 11.0 (3, 1)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 33.3 (88, 5)
Free-Throw Percentage: 77.5 (9, 1)
Rebound Margin: 2.5 (105, 3)
Assists Per Game: 19.0 (6, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 14.3 (90, 6)
