After lazy start, DePaul finally wakes up

Chicago, IL — The DePaul Blue Demons (8-4) had a monster night from Kelly Campbell, as she had a career-high 16 rebounds in an 85-71 win over IUPUI (8-3) Wednesday night.

DePaul came into the game hoping for a spark, after a closer than expected loss, to the nation's No. 2 team, Notre Dame Fighting Irish. But the difference between a second straight loss or the start of a win streak came from the extra effort plays performed by the Blue Demons.

In the second quarter, Tanita Allen shot a fourth attempt put-back to start a much needed 5-0 run to give DePaul aa seven-point advantage over the Jaguars.

It didn’t stop there. 28 minutes in the game, DePaul had 22 second-chance points off of 15 offensive rebounds.

However, with only minutes left in the third quarter, the Blue Demons started getting lazy and stopped executing defensively as the Jaguars started clawing back in the game, now only down 10.

Across the court, DePaul head coach Doug Bruno was screaming, “ Execute, Execute, Execute!”

“We let them go where they wanted us to go,” Bruno said on his team’s lack of discipline defensively. “We played what they wanted us to play.”

After a much-needed timeout, the Blue Demons started executing the “controllables.”

The Blue Demons out-worked the Jaguars for tonight’s win right before the Christmas break. Four Blue Demons shot in double figures and two rebounded in double digits.

“I am proud of the way they played. We played a great basketball program tonight.” Bruno said, “I want my team to go eat cookies, drink eggnog and enjoy Christmas.”

The final box score for tonight’s game read Amarah Coleman with 20 points, Chante Stonewall had 12 points, and Kelly Campbell finished with 5 points and 16 rebounds. For IUPUI, Marcee Williams led her team with 21 points.

The Blue Demons will start their Big East conference schedule on Dec. 28 against Seton Hall. Tipoff is at 7pm ET at the Phillips- McGrath Arena.