DePaul Blue Demons
Overall Rank: #22
Conference Rank: #2 Big East
Since joining the Big East in 2013, DePaul has won at least a share of the conference title six of seven times. Conference titles may be tougher to come by now that Connecticut is back in the Big East, but Coach Doug Bruno has proved that no matter what the competition may be, his team will be ready to compete at a high level. If any team in the Big East is going to give the Huskies a serious threat, it will be DePaul. And, even if they fall short, the Blue Demons will be in great shape to reach the NCAA Tournament for the 18th straight time.
2019-20 Record: 28-5, 15-3
Coach: Doug Bruno
Coach Record: 368-135 at DePaul, 717-347 overall
Key Departed Players (starters in bold)
Chante Stonewall, Forward, 17.4 ppg
Kelly Campbell, Guard, 8.8 ppg
Key Returning Players (starters in bold)
Sonya Morris, Junior, Guard, 15.6 ppg
Lexi Held, Junior, Guard, 15.4 ppg
Deja Church, Senior, Guard, 10.8 ppg
Dee Bekelja, Senior, Guard, 7.8 ppg
Jolene Daninger, Junior, Guard, 3.3 ppg
Keke Rimmer, Sophomore, Guard, 3.1 ppg
Kiara Dallmann, Senior, Forward, 2.5 ppg
Maya Stovall, Junior, Guard, 2.3 ppg
Nadege Jean, Sophomore, Forward, 2.0 ppg
Kayla Caudle, Sophomore, Forward, 1.9 ppg
Key New Players
Jorie Allen, Sophomore, Forward, Transfer from Indiana, not eligible
Courtney Fredrickson, Senior, Forward, Grad Transfer from Wisconsin
Kendall Holmes, Freshman, Guard
Darrione Rogers, Freshman, Guard
Projection:
Sonya Morris, Lexi Held and Deja Church will form a very talented and experienced backcourt. All three were double digit scorers last season. Morris and Held are especially dangerous outside shooters and a huge reason why the team ranked second in the country with 11.0 made three-pointers per game in 2019-2020. That is a great trio to build around, but there are concerns. One is at point guard where Kelly Campbell needs to be replaced. Dee Bekelja figures to step into a full-time starting role, but Morris and Held will likely take over a big chunk of the ball handling duties. Campbell not only dished out 6.1 assists per game, but also led the squad with 8.1 rebounds per game. DePaul also lost leading scorer and frontcourt stalwart Chante Stonewall. Kiara Dallmann, Nadege Jean and Kayla Caudle played limited minutes last season, but will look to play a much larger role in 2020-2021. To provide more experience, the Blue Demons brought in Wisconsin graduate transfer Courtney Fredrickson. Fredrickson has not played much due to injuries over the last two years, but she was a part-time starter back in 2017-2018 and averaged 8.9 points per game with the Badgers. Replacing Campbell and Stonewall will dominate the storylines early on in the season, but Coach Bruno will find his rotation and have a squad that can vie for a conference title.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 85.0 (2nd in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 71.8 (313, 10)
Field-Goal Percentage: 42.7 (70, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 46.0 (345, 10)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 11.0 (2, 1)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.9 (39, 2)
Free-Throw Percentage: 78.2 (9, 1)
Rebound Margin: 0.1 (181, 4)
Assists Per Game: 20.1 (4, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.1 (29, 3)
Madness 2020 Women’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#43 Darrione Rogers
