Blue Demons Win Exhibition Opener
11/4/2001 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
CHICAGO - The DePaul women’s basketball team defeated the Chicago Challengers, 117-60, in the first of their two exhibition games this week. Senior forward Lenae Williams led seven players in double-figures with a game-high 32 points. As a team, the Blue Demons shot a blistering .703 from the field in the second half.
The Blue Demons used an early 12-2 run to break the game open and take a 19-8 lead with just under 13 minutes left in the first half. A pair of three-pointers by Sarah Kustok and three buckets by Williams led the DePaul charge. The Challengers cut the lead to 21-17 at 10:18 on a layup by former Blue Demon Briana Fitzgerald. The four-point deficit was as close as the Challengers would get as DePaul’s lead grew to as much as 17 points throughout the rest of the half.
The second half saw the Blue Demons outscore the Challengers 72-30 en route to a lead of 60 points with just nine seconds left in the game. DePaul used a 34-8 run over eight and a half minutes to take a 82-42 advantage with 10:28 remaining in the game. In the run, Williams dropped in 15 points while Laura Sobieszczyk nailed a pair of three-pointers.
Kustok added 17 points and seven rebounds while freshman Khara Smith tallied a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Sobieszczyk scored 16 points and freshmen Jenni Dant and Lindsay Forsberg had 10 points each. The seventh player in double-figures was Yolanda Lewis with 11 points and four rebounds.
DePaul’s final exhibition game will be Wednesday night when they host RTU Klondaika of Latvia. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the DePaul Athletic Center.
The regular season starts with the Moran Realty Classic on Nov. 16-17. The Blue Demons host Arkansas State, Eastern Washington and Western Michigan.