Williams' Double-Double Paces DePaul Past Northern Illinois
12/22/2001 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Boxscore
DeKALB, Ill. - All-American candidate Lenae Williams tallied her first double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds while junior center Jamie Smith grabbed 11 boards in blocked eight shots to lead DePaul (7-5) over Northern Illinois, 71-51, on Saturday night. With the win, the Blue Demons snapped their three-game losing skid with one non-conference game left before Conference USA action.
With the victory, the Blue Demons ran their streak of wins against state schools to 13 straight. They have also won 20 of their last 21 games against Illinois programs.
After taking a 34-31 lead at the half, the Blue Demons clamped down on the Huskies and held them to just 20 second half points. Northern Illinois (5-5) was able to only shoot .212 from the field in the second half and was 1-for-9 from three-point range in the game. DePaul was able to put up 37 points in the second stanza and shot .460 from the field for the game.
Williams' three with 11:21 left in the game put DePaul up 48-38 only to see the Huskies claw back to within three before the Blue Demons went on a 14-2 run. Jenni Dant and Claudette Towers capped the run with back-to-back steals and layups to force Northern Illinois to take a time out. At that point, DePaul led 62-47 with just under four minutes in the game.
Williams finished the game with six three-pointers to tie a Chick Evans Field House and Northern Illinois opponent record. She also led the team with five assists. Smith's eight blocked shots was one shy of equaling the DePaul school record set by Amy Lundquist on Dec. 19, 1996 against Auburn.
Other players in double-figures included Dant with 15 points and Laura Sobieszczyk with 11 and two assists. Dant was 7-for-8 from the field and tallied five steals, four assists and three rebounds. Khara Smith finished with eight points and Sarah Kusok scored seven points.
Up next for DePaul is their final non-conference game of the season at Notre Dame. The New Year's Eve game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. Eastern time tipoff at the Joyce Center in South Bend. The Conference USA opener will be Jan. 6 when the Blue Demons travel to Marquette.