DePaul University Athletics
Blue Demons Travel to UAB
1/8/2002 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
DePaul (8-6, 1-0) at UAB (8-6, 0-1)
Bartow Arena (8,500) - Birmingham, Alabama
Jan. 11, 2002 - 7 p.m.
Heading South
The DePaul women's basketball team plays the first of two Conference USA road games with a Friday night contest at UAB. The Blue Demons are looking to go 2-0 in league play for the first time since the 1995-96 season when they won their first six C-USA games. The Blue Demons lead the series, 11-5, and have won six of the last eight matchups.
UAB enters the game at 8-6 overall and 0-1 in C-USA action after losing, 73-64, at South Florida on Sunday. They have dropped three straight games to Boston College, Ball State and South Florida.
The Blue Demons also stand at 8-6, but are 1-0 after knocking off Marquette, 64-60, in Milwaukee on Sunday. Following this game, the Blue Demons wrap up the five-game road swing at South Florida on Sunday afternoon. DePaul's first home league game is Jan. 18 against the Memphis Tigers.
Friday's game marks DePaul and UAB's first appearance on the Conference USA TV Network. Don Russell and Amy Prichard will call the action in Birmingham. The Blue Demons' other appearances on the C-USA Network will be against Tulane later this month and at TCU in February.
Catch Women's Hoops on the Internet
Beginning on Jan. 18, the DePaul Athletic Department will broadcast at least five women's basketball on the school's official athletics website. Jeff Friedman will call all the action as DePaul takes on the Memphis Tigers. Other games scheduled to be broadcasted on www.depaulbluedemons.com are Saint Louis, Tulane, Louisville and Cincinnati. Click here for more information about the internet broadcasts.
If You Read One Thing, Read This
DePaul's record of 8-6 could be a bit deceiving as five of the Blue Demons' losses have come to teams ranked in the top 25 at game time. Of the five defeats, three are to teams that were ranked in the top seven in the country at gametime.
In their three top seven defeats to Iowa State, Purdue and Tennessee, the Blue Demons lost by an average margin of just 6.7 points per game. DePaul dropped a 79-75 decision at No. 6 Iowa State on Nov. 21. In the span of three days in December, the Blue Demons lost, 63-61, to No. 7 Purdue and 80-66, to No. 2 Tennessee.
Looking at the Blue Demons
The Blue Demons have received votes in either the AP or USA Today/ESPN poll nine of the 10 weeks this season... the Blue Demons are just one of two Conference USA programs to play at least four ranked opponents so far this season (Marquette is the other)... no other league school has played more than two... Lenae Williams has three more three-pointers than all of DePaul's opponents combined... the Blue Demons are averaging 8.1 three-point field goals per game while opponents have just 2.9... opponents are shooting .248 from behind the arc... the Blue Demons are being outrebounded by 6.5 boards per contest... DePaul finished the Loyola game on Nov. 29 with just five players as two of the seven available fouled out... the Blue Demons have won 13 consecutive games against teams from the state of Illinois and 20 of the last 21... five of the six loses this season are to teams ranked in the top 25 at gametime and three are to top seven programs... Williams' 41 points against then-No. 6 Iowa State was a career-high and the second-highest single-game total in school history... the team set new program marks with 14 three's on 37 attempts... Williams tied her own school record with eight treys against the Cyclones... Jamie Smith is now fifth all-time at DePaul with 84 career blocked shots... her 36 blocks this season are tied for seventh on the single-season chart... Laura Sobieszczyk is currently shooting a DePaul single-season best .466 (27-58) from three-point range... DePaul opened the season by winning the Moran Realty Classic... the Blue Demons are now 16-4 (.800) all-time at the DePaul Athletic Center.
The UAB Series
Entering the 17th all-time meeting, DePaul leads the series, 11-5. In Birmingham, the Blue Demons have lost four of the seven games, but have split the last four meetings. A year ago, DePaul won the only matchup in DePaul, 61-60.
The Lady Blazers enter the game at 8-6 having lost three straight games. Head coach Jeannie Milling is in her 15th season at UAB and 25th overall. She owns a 244-183 record with the Lady Blazers. Natasha Thomas leads the team with 18.2 points and 11.3 rebounds per game while tallying a Conference USA-best 10 double-doubles.
Taking Advantage From Beyond the Arc
Entering Friday's game the Blue Demons are averaging just over five more three-point field goals per game than their opponents. As a team, the Blue Demons have made 114 three's compared to just 41 for the opposition.
In eight of the last nine games, opponents have totaled no more than four three-pointers in a game. Over that span, the opposition is a combined 21-for-99 (.212) from long range.
Individually, Lenae Williams has more three's with 44 than all Blue Demon opponents combined. The DePaul defense is holding opponents to a .248 (41-165) overall mark from behind the arc.
The Friendly Confines
In their second season playing at the DePaul Athletic Center, the Blue Demons hold a 16-4 home-court record. The program won over 75 percent of their home games in 26 seasons across the street at Alumni Hall.
This season opened with a pair of victories in the Moran Realty Classic followed by wins over Toledo and Illinois. A year ago, DePaul was 12-2 with both loses coming in overtime games. The two losses this season came against No. 7 Purdue and No. 2 Tennessee. The Purdue loss also snapped the Blue Demons' 11-game DePaul Athletic Center winning streak.
In Conference USA action, Memphis, Saint Louis, Southern Miss and Tulane come to Chicago in January. February home games include Cincinnati, Louisville and Marquette. The 2002 Conference USA Tournament will be at the DePaul Athletic Center, Mar. 1-4.
Giving to Charity
Through 14 games this season, DePaul is a combined 167-238 (.702) from the free throw line while Lenae Williams has made 51-of-65 (.785) free attempts. Earlier this season, she was a perfect 10-for-10 at Northwestern. Those two marks rank the Blue Demons fourth in the league rankings and Williams sixth among all players.
Last season, the Blue Demons led Conference USA with a .716 overall mark from the free throw line. In league play, DePaul shot .733 and were 241-326 (.739) over their last 19 games. Williams ranked second in the league with an .827 (86-104) percentage from the stripe.
Injury Report
After missing the first nine games of the season, freshman forward Khara Smith suffered a torn ACL in her right knee at Notre Dame on Dec. 31 and will be out for the remainder of the season. Smith missed the nine games after she was diagnosed with a stress fracture in her left foot just before the first game of the season. At the time of her knee injury, she was averaging 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. In DePaul's two exhibition games, she registered a pair of double-doubles.
Prior to the start of practice, senior forward Latasha White injured her right knee and will miss the 2001-02 season. Last season, the junior college transfer averaged 1.3 points and 1.4 rebounds while playing in 21 games. Both Smith and White will sit out this season under medical hardships.
Yolanda Lewis missed two games after suffering a concussion against Maryland. Lewis was ran over by a Terrapin and hit her head on the floor. With that, DePaul played two games with just seven players available. Against Loyola, the Blue Demons finished the game with five players and Lenae Williams had four fouls.
Lenae Williams Picks Up C-USA Honor
DePaul senior forward Lenae Williams was named the Conference USA Co-Player of the Week after leading the Blue Demons to three wins over Northwestern, Loyola-Chicago and Toledo. The senior forward continued her strong start to the 2001-02 campaign by averaging 28 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.0 steals per game in those three contests. Houston's Chandi Jones joined Williams in the league's weekly honor.
13 Straight Against the State
The Blue Demons have won 13 consecutive games against opponents from the state of Illinois over the last three seasons. This month, DePaul knocked off Illinois and Northern Illinois after defeating Northwestern and Loyola in November. A year ago, the club went a perfect 6-0 against state programs.
DePaul's last loss came on Dec. 10, 1999, when Illinois posted a 74-64 win over the Blue Demons in Champaign.
In addition to winning 13 consecutive games, DePaul has also won 20 of the last 21 contests with state schools. Over the stretch of 21 games, DePaul has defeated Loyola and Northern Illinois four times and Illinois, Illinois-Chicago, and Northwestern three times each. They have also knocked off Southern Illinois twice and Chicago State once.
Strength of Schedule
Doug Bruno calls this year's schedule the toughest ever at DePaul and CNNSI.com calls it the toughest in the Midwest. A glance at the '01-02 slate reveals three of the last four national champions, the two finalists from a year ago and 15 teams that played in the postseason last March.
The current top 25's have a DePaul flavor as five opponents from the latest AP and USA Today/ESPN polls are featured. A total of 10 opponents are either ranked in the ESPN/USA Today poll or receiving votes for the top 25. DePaul has received votes for either poll in nine of the 10 polls this season.
Regional Recognition
Prior to the start of the season, CNNSI.com ranked DePaul's 2001-02 schedule as the toughest in the Midwest. The slate features three teams currently in the AP top 10 and five teams in the ESPN/USA Today top 25. In addition to the team recognition, freshman guard Jenni Dant was listed as one of the "Five New Faces to Watch" in the region and was the only player of the five not from either the Big Ten or Big 12 conferences.
True Student-Athletes
Earlier this year, the Blue Demons were rewarded for their hard work in the classroom by being named to the WBCA Academic Top 25. The Blue Demons were ranked in the top 20 for the second time in the last three seasons. DePaul finished 13th in NCAA Division I basketball after placing 20th following the 1998-99 season. DePaul and UW-Green Bay were the only two schools that played in the postseason last season. The Blue Demons reached the second round of the WNIT while the Phoenix lost in the WNIT first round.
