DePaul University Athletics
Blue Demons Travel To Milwaukee To Face Marquette
1/20/2001 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The DePaul Blue Demons play the Marquette Golden Eagles at the U.S. Cellular Arena in Milwaukee on Sunday afternoon. This will be the final meeting of the regular season for the two teams as DePaul won the first meeting, 70-65, on Dec. 30 at the DePaul Athletic Center. The Blue Demons lead the all-time series, 21-14.
Looking at the Blue Demons
DePaul enters Tuesday's game at 10-6 after defeating Loyola-Chicago, 83-67, on Tuesday night. The Blue Demons are 3-2 in Conference USA play and have won nine of their last 12 games. Three of the Blue Demons' losses have come to opponents ranked in the top 10 in the country. Second-ranked Tennessee defeated DePaul to open the season and the Blue Demons fell to seventh-ranked Iowa State on Dec. 2 and sixth-ranked Purdue on Dec. 21.
Preseason All-Conference USA selection Lenae Williams leads DePaul with 18.3 points per game followed by Candis Blankson (12.3 ppg), Jamie Lewis (7.6 ppg) and Briana Fitzgerald (7.6 ppg).
Lewis and Fitzgerald also lead DePaul with 6.2 and 5.2 rebounds per contest, respectively. Molly Watson has dished out a team-high 50 assists this season.
As a team, the Blue Demons are averaging 73.9 points per game while allowing 68.8 points. They are averaging 16.6 assists per game and just under eight steals per contest.
On the winning side, DePaul is averaging 77.9 points and winning by an average margin of 17.5 points per game. In the six defeats, the Blue Demons are scoring 67.2 points and the margin of defeat is 15.7 points per game.
The Blue Demons won the 450th game in the program's history on Jan. 16 against Loyola-Chicago. With DePaul's victory at Illinois-Chicago on Dec. 23, head coach Doug Bruno reached the 250-win plateau.
The Magic Number
The magic number for a DePaul win or loss this season seems to be 70. In the 10 victories this season, the Blue Demons have held opponents to less than 70 points. On the flipside, DePaul is 0-6 when the opposition has scored 70 or more points.
Looking at Marquette
The Golden Eagles enter Sunday's game with a 6-10 record and 2-3 mark in Conference USA games. Marquette has won two of the last three games with the only loss coming to Louisville on Jan. 14.
Senior Heidi Bowman leads the attack with 15.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest. She is followed by Sarah Zawodny (10.8 ppg) and Kristi Johnson (5.8 ppg).
Head coach Terri Mitchell is in her fifth season with the Golden Eagles after leading them to four straight 20-win seasons and four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. She has compiled a 92-42 record in Milwaukee after serving as an assistant coach with the Golden Eagles.
The Marquette Series
Sunday marks the 36th all-time matchup between the DePaul and Marquette. The Blue Demons lead the series 21-14 while winning three of the last five meetings.
A year ago, each team won on their home floor. Marquette won 59-36 on Dec. 30 and the Blue Demons closed Alumni Hall on Feb. 26 with an 89-71 victory. DePaul won the first matchup of this season, 70-65, at the DePaul Athletic Center.
Series Facts
First Meeting -- Feb. 23, 1978
In Chicago -- DePaul leads 15-4
In Milwaukee -- Marquette leads 10-5
At A Neutral Site -- DePaul leads 1-0
Last DePaul win -- Dec. 30, 2000
70-65 in Chicago
Last Marquette win -- Dec. 30, 1999
59-36 in Milwaukee
Biggest Margin -- DePaul, 96-53
Feb. 25, 1996 in Chicago
Closest Game -- three times
last Marquette, 62-60
Dec. 28, 1997 in Milwaukee
Family Feud
DePaul senior guard Candis Blankson will see a familiar face in the crowd on Sunday as brother Odarty plays for the Marquette men's team. Last Tuesday's game against Loyola-Chicago also had family ties as Ryan Blankson plays for the Ramblers.
Candis responded to her sibling in that game with a season-high 20 points and nine rebounds.
Last Time Out
The Blue Demons secured the label of unofficial Illinois state champions with an 83-67 win over Loyola-Chicago on Tuesday. DePaul completed a 6-0 run over state rivals with an average margin of victory at just over 16 points per game.
The story of the game was DePaul's second-chance points. The Blue Demons scored 32 points on their second try while forcing the Ramblers into 18 turnovers. DePaul turned the ball over just five times.
DePaul held an 11-point lead at 35-24 with 4:15 remaining in the first half. From that point, Loyola went on a 12-4 to close the half and make the score 39-36 in favor of the Blue Demons.
In the second half, the Ramblers narrowed the DePaul lead to 53-52 with just over 13 minutes left in the game. However, the Blue Demons responded with an 18-4 run and built a 15-point lead at the 5:38 mark.
Candis Blankson led four players in double figures with a season-high 20 points. She also added team-highs of nine rebounds and four assists for DePaul. Lenae Williams added 16 points while Sylvia Blakeslee and Briana Fitzgerald combined for 23 points and 15 boards.
Giving To Charity
Over the last three games, the Blue Demons have shot a sparkling .759 (60-79) from the free throw line. They lead Conference USA as a team with a .702 percentage from the stripe.
Lenae Williams leads the league with a .898 (44-49) percentage. Twice this season Williams has gone 6-for-6 and was 8-for-8 in the season-opener at Tennessee. In her career, the junior has made 134-of-167 (.802) free shots.
Williams is not alone with the charity work. Molly Watson is DePaul's all-time leader with a .849 career free throw percentage. Jamie Smith has knocked down 11-of-12 (.917) free throws this season while Laura Sobieszczyk is shooting .808 (21-26) from the stripe.
State Champs?
DePaul's win over Loyola-Chicago on Jan. 16 complete a six-game sweep over state rivals. The Blue Demons started the state tour at Southern Illinois and played five of six straight games against local teams. Their average margin of victory in the six wins was 16.2 points per game.
Games Against State Opponents
Date Opponent Result Dec. 6 at Southern Illinois W, 74-57 Dec. 9 Northern Illinois W, 81-58 Dec. 12 Northwestern W, 91-66 Dec. 16 vs. Illinois W, 65-63 Dec. 23 at Illinois-Chicago W, 72-58 Jan. 16 vs. Loyola-Chicago W, 83-67
Demons in the RPI
In the latest RPI rankings, the Blue Demons were spotted at 66, which ranked them third among Conference USA teams. Listed below are Conference USA RPI rankings.
RPI Ratings Through Jan. 14
RPI S of S Rank Rank Team Record 53 61 Houston 11-6 61 43 Memphis 9-6 66 65 DePaul 9-6 70 86 Tulane 11-6 87 138 UAB 10-5 96 251 Cincinnati 12-4 99 15 Marquette 6-10 102 242 Saint Louis 11-4 108 130 Louisville 9-7 148 35 Charlotte 5-9 156 237 Southern Miss 9-7 219 70 South Florida 3-13
Slow Starters
After posting a 1-2 record to begin the season, the Blue Demons won six of eight December games. The six victories tied the most December wins by a DePaul team. Three other Blue Demon teams accomplished the feat with the 1984-85 and 1996-97 teams notching 6-1 marks while the 1994-95 team went 6-2 in the final month.
Historically, DePaul's most successful month is February when they are 148-69 (.682) all-time. The Blue Demons are also 143-97 (.596) in January while going just 80-69 (.537) in the month of December.
DePaul's most successful month ever was January 1988 when the Blue Demons won 10 of 11 games. That team went on to post a 9-0 mark in February and win the WNIT in March.
Eyeing the Recordbook
DePaul junior Lenae Williams surpassed a pair of career milestones at Illinois-Chicago. The junior set the DePaul three-point field goal record with her 185th career three-pointer in the first half. Williams also reached the 1,000-point plateau. The game-high 23 points and five three-pointers pushed her totals to 188 career three's and 1,010 career points.
She also has her sights set on the career league mark of 212 by Jolinda Lewis, who played at Cincinnati from 1996-98.
C-USA Career 3-pt. Field Goals
Jolinda Lewis, CIN (1994-98) -- 212
Jill Morton, LOU (1997-00) -- 201
Lenae Williams, DPU (1998-) -- 199
LaShonda Smith, USM (1996-98) -- 194
Grace Daley, TUL (1997-00) -- 187
Holly Holland, UAB (1996-00) -- 184
Shannon Layne, USF (1998-) -- 177
Mandy Lueking, SLU (1997-00) -- 164
LaTonya Johnson, MEM (1996-98) -- 160
Anne McDonald, DPU (1996-99) -- 156
Preseason Picks
In the annual Conference USA preseason coach's poll, the Blue Demons were picked as the favorite of the American Division ahead of Marquette. Tulane was selected as the preseason favorite to win the C-USA regular season title.
DePaul junior Lenae Williams was one of five players selected to the league's preseason all-conference team.
C-USA Preseason Coach's Poll
American Division National Division 1. DePaul 1. Tulane 2. Marquette 2. UAB 3. Cincinnati 3. Memphis 4. Charlotte 4. Southern Miss 5. Louisville 5. Houston 6. Saint Louis 6. South Florida
Preseason All-Conference Team
Deanna Jackson - UAB (Player of the Year)
Janell Burse - Tulane
Lenae Williams - DePaul
Tiffany Adkins - Memphis
Tonya Phifer - Charlotte
In The Classroom
The Blue Demons were honored by Conference USA prior to the season for having the highest team GPA during the 1999-2000 school year. DePaul topped the league with a team GPA of 3.17 and was one of five DePaul teams to receive league academic honors.
Individually, Stacy Krumrei, Jamie Smith and Molly Watson received the Conference USA Academic Medal of Honor for having a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or better. Those three were joined on the league's Academic Honor Roll by Sylvia Blakeslee, Candis Blankson, Yolanda Lewis, Jeanene Novick and Laura Sobieszczyk.
Tough Slate
Since 1988-89, DePaul has annually played one of the toughest schedules in the nation and this season will be no different. Eleven of DePaul's 2000-01 games (among nine opponents) will be played against teams that played in the postseason last year.
Three of DePaul's losses have come to teams ranked in the top 10 all season. They started the schedule in Knoxville with second-ranked Tennessee. The Blue Demons lost to seventh-ranked Iowa State on Dec. 2 and sixth-ranked Purdue on Dec. 21.
Along with the Blue Demons, Cincinnati, Houston, Memphis and Tulane are receiving votes in either the AP or ESPN/USA Today poll.
2000-01 Opponents in the Polls
Opponent AP ESPN/USA Today Tennessee 2 2 Iowa State 7 7 Purdue 6 6 AP Votes: Memphis, Illinois, Houston ESPN/USA Today Votes: Cincinnati, Tulane, Illinois, Memphis
New Places, New Faces
The DePaul basketball program, as well as the athletic department, moved across the street into the DePaul Athletic Center last spring. The state-of-the-art facility houses everything the basketball program needs from training facilities to coach's offices.
During the summer, Andre Wakefield and Maggie Dixon joined the DePaul coaching staff. Wakefield, a former Loyola-Chicago and NBA player, returns to collegiate basketball for the first time since coaching at his alma mater from 1980-89. Maggie Dixon, the director of basketball operations, comes to Chicago after playing at the University of San Diego from 1995-99.
Family Ties
Looking Ahead
Head coach Doug Bruno signed five players during the early signing per in November. Of the five newcomers, three are from the Chicago area.
2000-01 Signees
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Hometown |
| Ola Belau | C | 6-5 | Gdansk, Poland |
| - soph. at Labette CC (Parsons, Kan) | |||
| Jenni Dant | G | 5-10 | Lincolnshire, Ill. |
| - Illinois' top defensive player | |||
| Lindsay Forsberg | G | 5-6 | Tulsa, Okla. |
| - led Jenks HS to Class 6A title last year | |||
| Khara Smith | C | 6-2 | Hillside, Ill. |
| - daughter of NBA player Ken Norman | |||
| Claudette Towers | G | 5-9 | Maywood, Ill. |
| - Fenwick HS ranked first in nation by USA Today |
