2016–17 DePaul Blue Demons women's basketball team

The 2016–17 DePaul Blue Demons women's basketball team represented DePaul University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Blue Demons, led by 31st year head coach Doug Bruno, played their home games at the McGrath–Phillips Arena as members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 27–8, 16–2 in Big East play to win the Big East regular season title. They advanced to the championship game of the Big East women's tournament where they lost to Marquette. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA women's tournament where they defeated Northern Iowa in the first round before losing to Mississippi State in the second round.

2016–17 DePaul Blue Demons women's basketball
Maggie Dixon Classic champions Big East regular season co-champions
NCAA Women's Tournament, second round
Conference	Big East Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 18
AP	No. 19
Record	27–8 (16–2 Big East)
Head coach	Doug Bruno (31st season)
Assistant coaches	Jill M. Pizzotti Candis Blankson Bart Brooks
Home arena	McGrath-Phillips Arena
Seasons ← 2015–16 2017–18 →

2016–17 Big East Conference women's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 19 DePaul*	16	–	2		.889			27	–	8		.771
Creighton	16	–	2		.889			24	–	8		.750
Marquette†	13	–	5		.722			25	–	8		.758
St. John's	11	–	7		.611			22	–	12		.647
Villanova	11	–	7		.611			20	–	14		.588
Georgetown	9	–	9		.500			17	–	13		.567
Providence	4	–	14		.222			12	–	18		.400
Xavier	4	–	14		.222			12	–	18		.400
Seton Hall	4	–	14		.222			12	–	19		.387
Butler	2	–	16		.111			6	–	25		.194
† 2017 Big East tournament winner * Tournament #1 seed As of March 29, 2017 Rankings from AP poll

This was expected to be the Blue Demons' final season at McGrath–Phillips Arena. DePaul plans to move the women's team off campus, though still within its home city of Chicago, into the new Wintrust Arena, currently under construction at the McCormick Place convention center. The arena will also become home to the DePaul men's team.^[1]

In the February 3 game against St. John's, senior guard Brooke Schulte scored her 1,000th career point.^[2]

Previous season

The Blue Devils finished the 2015–16 season 27–9, 16–2 in Big East play to win the Big East regular season title. They advanced to the semifinals of the Big East women's tournament where they lost to St. John's. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA women's basketball tournament, where they defeated James Madison in the first round, Louisville in the second round before losing to Oregon State in the sweet sixteen.

Roster

2016–17 DePaul Blue Demons women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown G 1 Ashton Millender 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Jr Marian Catholic Glenwood, IL G 3 Micaela Kelly 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Fr Martin Luther King Jr. Detroit, MI F 4 Meri Bennett-Swanson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) RS Jr Vernon Hills Vernon Hills, IL G 5 Lauren Prochaska 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Jr Trinity Chicago, IL G 10 Amarah Coleman 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Jr Homewood-Flossmoor Bolingbrook, IL G 14 Jessica January 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Sr Richfield Richfield, MN G 20 Kelly Campbell 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Fr Saint John Vianney Wall, NJ F 21 Chante Stonewall 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Fr University Normal, IL G 22 Brooke Schulte 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Sr Mater Dei Germantown, IL G 24 Tanita Allen 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) So Whitney Young Chicago, IL F 33 Claire McMahon 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Fr Lincoln Way East Frankfort, IL F 34 Jacqui Grant 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Sr Maine South Park Ridge, IL F 35 Mart'e Grays 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Jr Martin Luther King Jr. Detroit, MI G 45 Meghan Waldron 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) RS So Wheaton Warrenville South Wheaton, IL	Head coach Doug Bruno (DePaul) Assistant coach(es) Jill M. Pizzotti (Southeast Missouri State) Candis Blankson (DePaul) Bart Brooks (Dickinson State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
11/01/2016* 7:00 pm	No. 21	Saint Xavier	W 124–67		McGrath-Phillips Arena  Chicago, IL
11/04/2016* 6:00 pm	No. 21	St. Francis (IL)	W 126–56		McGrath-Phillips Arena  Chicago, IL
Non-conference regular season
11/11/2016* 8:00 pm	No. 21	Appalachian State Maggie Dixon Classic semifinals	W 99–58	1–0	McGrath-Phillips Arena (2,055) Chicago, IL
11/12/2016* 8:00 pm	No. 21	UAB Maggie Dixon Classic championship	W 90–80	2–0	McGrath-Phillips Arena (2,055) Chicago, IL
11/19/2016* 7:00 pm	No. 20	Northwestern	W 89–66	3–0	McGrath-Phillips Arena (2,342) Chicago, IL
11/25/2016* 12:30 pm	No. 18	vs. WKU Gulf Coast Showcase quarterfinals	W 77–69	4–0	Germain Arena  Estero, FL
11/26/2016* 4:00 pm	No. 18	vs. No. 5 Baylor Gulf Coast Showcase semifinals	L 72–104	4–1	Germain Arena  Estero, FL
11/27/2016* 4:00 pm	No. 18	vs. No. 11 Syracuse Gulf Coast Showcase 3rd place game	W 108–84	5–1	Germain Arena  Estero, FL
12/01/2016* 6:00 pm, CSNC+/ESPN3	No. 15	at No. 2 Connecticut	L 46–91	5–2	Gampel Pavilion (6,716) Storrs, CT
12/05/2016* 12:00 pm	No. 16	Prairie View A&M	W 94–62	6–2	McGrath-Phillips Arena (3,001) Chicago, IL
12/10/2016* 7:00 pm, CSNC+	No. 16	No. 2 Notre Dame	L 61–75	6–3	McGrath-Phillips Arena (3,001) Chicago, IL
12/15/2016* 8:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 17	at Temple	L 74–84	6–4	McGonigle Hall (721) Philadelphia, PA
12/18/2016* 2:00 pm, ESPN3	No. 17	at Loyola–Chicago	W 107–46	7–4	Joseph J. Gentile Arena (321) Chicago, IL
12/20/2016* 8:00 pm		UT Martin	W 100–68	8–4	McGrath-Phillips Arena (2,122) Chicago, IL
Conference regular season
12/28/2016 1:00 pm, BEDN		at Georgetown	W 76–53	9–4 (1–0)	McDonough Gymnasium (421) Washington, D.C.
12/30/2016 1:00 pm, BEDN		at Villanova	W 80–50	10–4 (2–0)	The Pavilion (635) Villanova, PA
01/02/2017 1:00 pm, CBSSN	No. 23	Providence	W 61–56	11–4 (2–0)	McGrath-Phillips Arena (1,977) Chicago, IL
01/04/2017 7:00 pm, BEDN	No. 23	Creighton	W 79–65	12–4 (4–0)	McGrath-Phillips Arena (2,082) Chicago, IL
01/08/2017 1:00 pm, BEDN	No. 23	at Seton Hall	W 96–65	13–4 (5–0)	Walsh Gymnasium (850) South Orange, NJ
01/10/2017 6:00 pm, BEDN	No. 21	at St. John's	W 78–66	14–4 (6–0)	Carnesecca Arena (565) Queens, NY
01/13/2017 7:00 pm, BEDN/CSNC+	No. 21	Butler	W 100–69	15–4 (7–0)	McGrath-Phillips Arena (2,153) Chicago, IL
01/15/2017 2:00 pm, BEDN	No. 21	Xavier	W 85–69	16–4 (8–0)	McGrath-Phillips Arena (2,311) Chicago, IL
01/21/2017 7:00 pm, BEDN/CSNC+	No. 19	Marquette	L 101–102 OT	16–5 (8–1)	McGrath-Phillips Arena (2,481) Chicago, IL
01/27/2017 7:00 pm, FS1	No. 21	at Creighton	W 60–56	17–5 (9–1)	D. J. Sokol Arena (1,313) Omaha, NE
01/29/2017 11:00 am, BEDN	No. 21	at Providence	W 64–55	18–5 (10–1)	Alumni Hall (578) Providence, RI
02/03/2017 7:00 pm, BEDN/CSNC+	No. 17	St. John's	W 54–51	19–5 (11–1)	McGrath-Phillips Arena (2,312) Chicago, IL
02/05/2017 2:00 pm, BEDN/CSNC	No. 17	Seton Hall	W 86–60	20–5 (12–1)	McGrath-Phillips Arena (2,006) Chicago, IL
02/10/2017 6:00 pm, BEDN/CSNC	No. 18	at Xavier	W 70–43	21–5 (13–1)	Cintas Center (2,770) Cincinnati, OH
02/12/2017 12:00 pm, BEDN	No. 18	at Butler	W 92–62	22–5 (14–1)	Hinkle Fieldhouse (587) Indianapolis, IN
02/19/2017 1:00 pm, FS2	No. 17	at Marquette	L 81–96	22–6 (14–2)	Al McGuire Center (1,733) Milwaukee, WI
02/24/2017 7:00 pm, BEDN	No. 19	Villanova	W 77–50	23–6 (15–2)	McGrath-Phillips Arena (2,368) Chicago, IL
02/26/2016 12:00 pm, FS1	No. 19	Georgetown	W 79–70	24–6 (16–2)	McGrath-Phillips Arena (2,553) Chicago, IL
Big East Women's Tournament
03/05/2017 6:00 pm, FS2	(1) No. 18	vs. (8) Seton Hall Quarterfinals	W 92–60	25–6	Al McGuire Center  Milwaukee, WI
03/06/2017 5:30 pm, FS1	(1) No. 17	vs. (5) St. John's Semifinals	W 59–45	26–6	Al McGuire Center (2,511) Milwaukee, WI
03/07/2017 8:00 pm, FS1	(1) No. 17	vs. (3) Marquette Championship Game	L 78–86	26–7	Al McGuire Center (3,166) Milwaukee, WI
NCAA Women's Tournament
03/17/2017* 11:00 am, ESPN2	(7 O) No. 19	vs. (10 O) Northern Iowa First Round	W 88–67	27–7	Humphrey Coliseum  Starkville, MS
03/19/2017* 1:30 pm, ESPN2	(7 O) No. 19	at (2 O) No. 7 Mississippi State Second Round	L 71–92	27–8	Humphrey Coliseum (6,035) Starkville, MS
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. O=Oklahoma City Region. All times are in Central Time.

Source:^[3]

Rankings

Main article: 2016–17 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings

Regular Season Polls

Poll	Pre- Season	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5	Week 6	Week 7	Week 8	Week 9	Week 10	Week 11	Week 12	Week 13	Week 14	Week 15	Week 16	Week 17	Week 18	Week 19	Final
AP	21	20	18	15	16	17	RV	RV	23	21	19	21	17	18	17	19	18	17	19	N/A
Coaches	21	20	17	14	15	16	22	22	21	20	18	19	17	16	15	18	17	17	19	18

Legend

		Increase in ranking
		Decrease in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
(RV)		Received Votes

References

1. Ecker, Danny (November 16, 2016). "DePaul strikes arena naming rights deal with Wintrust". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
2. DePaul Hangs on To Defeat St. John's
3. "2016-17 DePaul Women's Basketball Schedule". Archived from the original on November 24, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2016.