DePaul University Athletics
Women's Hoops Travels to Saint Louis and Charlotte
1/25/2001 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Looking at the Blue Demons
DePaul enters the weekend at 10-7 after falling at Marquette, 53-48, last Sunday. The Blue Demons are 3-3 in Conference USA play and have won nine of their last 13 games. Three of the Blue Demons' losses have come to opponents ranked in the top 10 in the country. Third-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 18.1 points per game followed by Candis Blankson (12.0 ppg), Briana Fitzgerald (7.9 ppg) and Jamie Lewis (7.6 ppg).
Lewis and Fitzgerald also lead DePaul with 6.2 and 5.1 rebounds per contest, respectively. Molly Watson leads four players with at least 40 assists with a team-high 54 this season.
As a team, the Blue Demons are averaging 72.4 points per game while allowing 67.9 points. They are averaging 16.5 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 seven defeats, the Blue Demons are scoring 64.4 points and the margin of defeat is 14.1 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. When holding the opposition to less than 70 points, the Blue Demons are 10-1. On the flipside, DePaul is 0-6 when the opposition has scored 70 or more points.
The only flaw in the formula is last weekend's loss at Marquette. The Blue Demons held the Golden Eagles to 53 points, which is the second-lowest total by a DePaul opponent this season. However, Marquette held the Blue Demons to a season-low 48 points.
Looking at Saint Louis
The Billikens enter Friday's game with an 11-6 record and 2-4 mark in Conference USA games. Saint Louis has dropped three straight and four of the last five after winning 10 of their first 12 games.
Sophomore Christan Shelton leads the attack with 12.5 points per game and is followed by Star Jackson (9.1 ppg) and April McKinney (8.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg).
Head coach Jill Pizzotti is in her sixth season as head coach at Saint Louis. She holds a career record of 67-88 and made stops as an assistant at Indiana, Northern Kentucky and Southeast Missouri State.
The Saint Louis Series
Friday marks the 23rd all-time matchup between the Blue Demons and Billikens. The Blue Demons have won 19 of the 22 games in the series, including four of the last five.
A year ago, DePaul swept the season series winning, 67-42, in St. Louis and, 71-54, in Chicago. DePaul is 8-1 in games at Saint Louis and 10-1 in games in Chicago. The two teams first met during the 1978-79 season.
Looking at Charlotte
The 49ers enter this weekend's play at 5-11 overall and 1-5 in league games. Charlotte has lost two in a row and six of the last seven.
Preseason All-Conference USA selection Tonya Phifer leads the team with 17.3 points and 3.1 assists per game. Sophomore Alicia Abernathy is averaging 8.3 points and a team-high 5.9 rebounds per contest.
Head coach Ed Baldwin is in his 13th season with the 49ers and owns a career record of 170-184. Prior to assuming head coaching duties at Charlotte, he was an assistant at North Carolina State from 1985-88.
The Charlotte Series
DePaul leads the all-time series 8-3 heading into Sunday's game. The Blue Demons have won the last three meetings and four of the last six matchups.
Prior to Conference USA play, the two teams met just once during the 1987-88 season. DePaul is 4-1 all time in Charlotte and 3-1 in Chicago.
Last Time Out
Looking for their first Conference USA win on the road, the DePaul Blue Demons lost at Marquette, 53-48. DePaul entered the game averaging 73.9 points per game, but were held to a season-low 48 points in the loss.
After falling behind 11-7 with just over 16 minutes left in the first half, the Blue Demons went on an 11-0 run to build an 18-11 advantage. The DePaul lead got to as much as nine points at 22-13 with 7:53 remaining. DePaul finished the first half with a 29-22 lead despite not shooting a free throw while Marquette was 9-for-11 in the first 20 minutes.
In the second half, Marquette tied the game at 33 and then extended the run to build a 39-35 advantage with 10:17 left in the ballgame. DePaul scored the game's next six points to go ahead 41-39 at the seven-minute mark, but that would be the last time the Blue Demons held the lead. From that point, Marquette held the Blue Demons to just seven points while scoring 14.
Marquette's final 13 points came on the free throw line. For the game the Golden Eagles were 28-of-36 from the charity stripe while DePaul went 4-for-7.
Lenae Williams led three players in double-figures with 15 points while Briana Fitzgerald added 13 and Sylvia Blakeslee had 10 points. Blakeslee also led the Blue Demons with eight rebounds and held Marquette's Heidi Bowman scoreless. Bowman entered the game averaging 15.4 points per game for the Golden Eagles.
Giving To Charity
Over the last four games, the Blue Demons have shot a sparkling .744 (64-86) from the free throw line. They are ranked second in Conference USA as a team with a .699 percentage from the stripe. The Blue Demons are tops in the league with a .729 percentage in conference games.
Lenae Williams is second in the league with a .865 (42-52) 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 135-of-170 (.794) free shots.
Williams is not alone with the charity work. Molly Watson is DePaul's all-time leader with a .849 (118-139) 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.
Illinois State Champs
DePaul's win over Loyola-Chicago on Jan. 16 completed 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 WBCA/Summerville RPI rankings, the Blue Demons were spotted at 74, which ranked them third among Conference USA teams. Listed below are the latest Conference USA RPI rankings.
Three of DePaul's non-conference opponents are ranked in the top 10. Top-ranked Tennessee leads the way followed by Iowa State (6th) and Purdue (10th).
RPI Ratings Through Jan. 21
RPI S of S Rank Rank Team Record 58 90 Tulane 13-6 61 93 Houston 12-6 74 74 DePaul 10-7 76 227 Cincinnati 14-4 80 45 Memphis 9-8 92 21 Marquette 7-10 95 141 UAB 11-6 100 139 Louisville 11-7 114 182 Saint Louis 11-6 155 240 Southern Miss 10-8 158 40 Charlotte 5-11 217 59 South Florida 3-14
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 143-98 (.593) 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. Williams moved into a tie for second on the league all-time list after knocking down a pair of three's at Marquette on Jan. 21.
C-USA Career 3-pt. Field Goals
Jolinda Lewis, CIN (1994-98) 212 Jill Morton, LOU (1997-00) 201 Lenae Williams, DPU (1998-) 201 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.
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 third-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 3 3 Iowa State 7 7 Purdue 6 6 AP Votes: Illinois, Cincinnati, Memphis, UAB, Houston ESPN/USA Today Votes: Cincinnati, Tulane, Houston, Illinois
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 |
