CHICAGO — The Golden Eagles didn’t have the best end to 2019, dropping their BIG EAST opener 89-71 to I-94 rival No. 16 DePaul Sunday. Here’s a quick breakdown of the loss that broke Marquette’s five-game win streak:
Game MVP: For DePaul senior forward Chante Stonewall, who leads the league in field goals and steals, Sunday was not her best shooting day. Despite recording 20 points on 7-for-15 shooting, she was 1-for-5 from the 3-point range.
“We don’t win this game without Chante Stonewall’s total energy and effort,” DePaul head coach Doug Bruno said. “Chante didn’t have a great scoring second half. She had a great scoring first half. … That’s how important she is: Even when she’s not making baskets, she’s very, very important to what we’re doing here.”
However, the 6-foot-1 forward contributed five steals and four rebounds that helped spark her team’s energy.
“She’s obviously one of the best players in our league,” Marquette head coach Megan Duffy said. “It’s such a hard matchup, she’s so athletic. She starts hitting those outside shots too, it’s really tough. We tried to make it difficult, put different people on her … in a rivalry game, first game in conference, you need your stars to step up, and she was tremendous today.”
Key stats:
- Redshirt junior Lauren Van Kleunen had all six of Marquette’s points up until the 5:13 mark in the first quarter. She didn’t score again the rest of the half.
- In the first quarter, Marquette out-rebounded DePaul 18-6 and contained the Blue Demons to shooting just 16.7% and making one 3-pointer.
- DePaul’s offense was on fire in the second quarter, shooting 11-for-17 from the field and 57% from 3-point range. The Blue Demons outscored the Golden Eagles 32-21.
- Marquette shot 8-for-11 from the floor in the third quarter.
- DePaul totaled 16 steals, and seven of them were in the first quarter.
Notes:
- The Blue Demons are looking for their sixth regular-season title in the last seven years and their third consecutive BIG EAST Tournament win.
- Marquette vs. DePaul is one of the best rivalries in the BIG EAST for women’s basketball. The teams have met three consecutive seasons in the conference championship game.
- After the win today, the Blue Demons are now 45-27 in the all-time series.
- DePaul is 23-6 against MU at home, but the Golden Eagles lead the series 20-11 in Milwaukee.
- Marquette beat DePaul last February 93-87 at McGrath-Phillips Arena.
Quote of the day: At the end of the press conference, Bruno was wishing the media a happy new year. “Not only do they light up the fireworks at Navy Pier, they also light them up on the Chicago River. It’s really fantastic to look down the Chicago River at the fireworks. The best place to look at them from is Lizzie McNeill’s Irish Pub.”
Next up: Marquette (9-3, 0-1 BIG EAST) continues play in the new decade and faces Creighton Jan. 3 in Omaha, Nebraska. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. Central Standard Time.
This story was written by Zoe Comerford. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @zoe_comerford.
