Women's Hoops Opens with Moran Realty Classic
12/5/2002 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
2002 Moran Realty Classic
December 6-7, 2002
DePaul Athletic Center – Chicago, Ill.
Friday, December 6
6 p.m. – Boston University vs. Montana State
8 p.m. – DePaul vs. Loyola-Chicago
Saturday, December 7
6 p.m. – Consolation Game
8 p.m. – Championship Game
(For ticket information, call 773-325-SLAM)
Moran Madness
The DePaul Blue Demons open the home portion of the schedule with the annual Moran Realty Classic. DePaul hosts local foe Loyola on Friday night and will face either Boston University or Montana State on Saturday. The Blue Demons enter the game at 3-2 after falling at Illinois, 71-67, on Wednesday night.
The Ramblers stand at 1-3 after defeating Eastern Illinois, 72-59, on Tuesday. Loyola opened the season with three straight losses at Saint Louis, against Minnesota and at Bradley.
The Loyola-DePaul series is the second-longest in Blue Demon history. The Blue Demons and Ramblers have played 34 times prior to Friday. DePaul’s longest-running series is with Marquette at 38 contests.
Noting the Blue Demons
DePaul’s roster features eight of the 12 players as either freshmen or sophomores... the club is trailing opponents by 6.0 points per game in the first half, but have a margin of 9.8 in the second stanza... five players are averaging at least nine points per game... three have at least 5.0 rebounds per contest... prior to the Illinois game, the Blue Demons assisted 72.5 percent (37-of-51) of the field goals... the club totaled just seven helpers on 22 buckets against the Illini... DePaul has started three of the five games with a three-pointer... the season-opening five-game road trip is the longest to start the season in program history... the 1980-81 campaign opened with four straight road games... the Blue Demons play five of the next seven games at home... the Northern Illinois game on Dec. 18 will be the firs appearance since 1996 at the Allstate Arena... the program is 18-4 all-time in Rosemont... after defeating Southern Illinois, DePaul is 21-8 all-time in season openers... head coach Doug Bruno is 12-5 in first games.
State Streak Ends
The Blue Demons streak of 14 consecutive victories against opponents from the state of Illinois ended on Wednesday night at Illinois. So far, the Blue Demons are 1-1 this season. Last season, DePaul knocked off Illinois, Loyola-Chicago, Northern Illinois and Northwestern. In 2000-01, the club went a perfect 6-0 against state programs.
Prior to Wednesday, DePaul’s last loss was Dec. 10, 1999, when Illinois posted a 74-64 win over the Blue Demons in Champaign.
DePaul has won 21 of the last 23 contests with state schools. Over the stretch of 23 games, DePaul has defeated Loyola and Northern Illinois four times and Illinois, Illinois-Chicago Northwestern and Southern Illinois three times each. They have also knocked off Chicago State once. The lone two losses are to Illinois in Champaign.
Last Time Out - Illinois 71, DePaul 67
DePaul’s run of 14 straight wins against schools from the state of Illinois ended in Champaign on Wednesday night with a 71-67 loss to Illinois. With the loss, the Blue Demons stand at 3-2 while Illinois improved to 4-0. Jenni Dant led four players in double-figures for DePaul with 15 points.
The game started with each team trading baskets. Illinois’ Angelina Williams scored six points to keep the Illini a point behind DePaul at 7-6 just under 16 minutes left in the first half. Illinois took their first lead of the game on a lay-up by Britt Leonard at 14:43, but Laura Sobieszczyk answered with DePaul’s first three to take back the lead for the Blue Demons.
After a turnover by Illinois, Kustok converted a three-point play that upped the lead for the Blue Demons to 15-10. Tiffanie Guthrie ended the DePaul run with a pair of free throws at the 13-minute mark.
Gutherie gave Illinois a brief lead at 18-17 before the Blue Demons broke down the Illinois pressure and scored two lay-ups for a 21-18 advantage at the 8:20 mark of the first stanza. After a pair of Illinois buckets, Ashley Luke’s three-pointer put DePaul back on top, 24-22. The Fighting Illini scored 14 of the game’s next 16 points to go into the intermission leading, 36-26. DePaul was scoreless during the run until Lindsay Forsberg hit a pair of free throws with 20 seconds left in the half.
The second stanza started with both teams trading baskets before the Blue Demons put together a six-point run to pull to within five points at 49-44 with 11:53 left in the game. Charlene Smith, Dant and Jamie Smith hit consecutive buckets during the run. After two Jamie Smith free throws, Brett Leonard ended the run with a free shots that made the score 51-46.
Charlene Smith’s three-point play at 7:16 cut the lead back to five points before the Fighting Illini ran off four straight to go back ahead 63-54. A Dant free throw brought DePaul to within four before Cindy Dallas scored twice with just over four minutes left in the game.
With 2:26 left in the game, Dant hit a jumper at the free throw line to bring DePaul within four points again at 69-65.
After Guthrie missed a pair of free throws, Charlene Smith drove the length of the floor and hit a tough lay-up to cut the lead to two points with one minute remaining on the clock. On Illinois’ next possession, the Blue Demons forced a bad pass. With under 30 seconds left in the game, DePaul couldn’t find anything offensively and Luke’s pass was intercepted by Guthrie. Guthrie knocked down both free throws to seal the game for Illinois.
Dant led DePaul with 15 points while Luke and Charlene Smith chipped in 12 points apiece. Jamie Smith added 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds. DePaul plays their first home game of the season on Friday night when they host Loyola in the first round of the Moran Realty Classic. Boston University and Montana State kick off the action at 6 p.m.
Recapping the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic
After a tourney-opening loss to No. 11 North Carolina, the Blue Demons bounced back and claimed fifth place in the eight-team event. DePaul defeated Fordham, 92-73, and Denver, 55-44, in the consolation bracket.
Sophomore forward Jenni Dant was named to the All-Tournament team after leading the Blue Demons with 13 points and five rebounds per game. She joined a host of the nation’s top players as a member of the eight-player squad.
In a rematch of last year’s national championship game, Connecticut defeated Oklahoma. UConn’s Diana Taurasi was named the tourney’s MVP.
Khara Smith Named Conference USA Player of the Week
Redshirt freshman forward Khara Smith was named Conference USA Player of the Week following her double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds at Southern Illinois last Saturday. The 6-2 forward scored 12 points in the second half and grabbed eight boards to lead DePaul in the come-from-behind win. She also added five steals while playing just 24 minutes.
She is the first league player to earn the honor this season. Lenae Williams was named C-USA Player of the Week twice last season for DePaul.
Nothing but the Best
The Blue Demons will once again play one of toughest schedules in the nation. In Hawaii, the Blue Demons lost to No. 11 North Carolina. In Dec., they host No. 9 Notre Dame and 21st-ranked George Washington. In Jan., DePaul travels to Knoxville to take on Tennessee. The Conference USA slate includes TCU and Cincinnati.
Preseason Picks
In the annual Conference USA Preseason Poll, chosen by the league’s 14 coaches, the Blue Demons are picked to finish seventh. Prior to last season, Bruno’s squad was picked seventh, but entered the league tournament as the fourth seed. Houston’s Chandi Jones was named the league’s Preseason Player of the Year.
Opening Tournaments
The highlight of the non-conference schedule is a trip to Hawai’i over Thanksgiving. The Blue Demons were one of eight teams in the 24th annual Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic, Nov. 29-Dec. 1. DePaul lost in the opener to No. 11 North Carolina before defeating Fordham and Denver to claim fifth place. Connecticut defeated Oklahoma to win the tourney title.
In addition to the tournament in Hawaii, DePaul will host the annual Moran Realty Classic in December. The Blue Demons host local foe Loyola-Chicago while Montana State and Boston University travel to Chicago for the two-day event, Dec. 6-7. Boston University and Montana State open play on Friday followed by DePaul and Loyola. The consolation and championship games will be played on Saturday evening at the DePaul Athletic Center.
Taking Advantage From Beyond the Arc
In five games, the Blue Demons have outscored their opponents by 42 points from three-point range. So far, DePaul is 35-120 (.292) from behind the arc while opponents are 21-46 (.457).
Including this season and the last three years, the squad has made 690 (7.6/gm) compared to 396 (3.3/gm) for the opposition.
In ‘01-02, the Blue Demons averaged over four more three-point field goals per game than their opponents. As a team, the Blue Demons made 230 three’s compared to just 105 for the opposition. The team total was ranked first on the single-season chart and the team three-point percentage of .353 is third.
Home Cookin’
In just two seasons, the DePaul Athletic Center has proven itself as one of the toughest venues in the Midwest. The Blue Demons have posted a 21-7 (.750) home record over two years. In 28 seasons, the Blue Demons have an all-time home court record of 263-87 (.751). Over 26 seasons at Alumni Hall, the women’s basketball program won over 75 percent of their games with a 242-80 all-time record.
TV Time
At least five games will be televised this season, including three on the Conference USA Television Network. DePaul will appear on the league network in games against TCU and Marquette and at Louisville. The Charlotte game on Feb. 14 will be televised on FOX Sports Net Chicago. The C-USA Network will broadcast the tournament semifinals while the championship game will be carried live from The Pyramid in Memphis on ESPN2, Mar. 9. DePaul’s first televised appearance will be Dec. 11, when they play Notre Dame. The contest will be televised back in South Bend.
Giving to Charity
The Blue Demons consistently rank among Conference USA leaders and this season is no different. Currently, the squad ranks third with a .739 (82-111) season percentage. At Illinois, the Blue Demons posted a season-best .850 (17-20) percentage from the line. Khara Smith is 15-for-19 while Jamie Smith is 13-of-16.
DePaul was a combined 384-520 (.738) from the free throw line last season to rank first among Conference USA schools for the second straight season. The mark was also the second-best single-season percentage in league history. Over the final 15 contests, the squad shot a combined .770 (217-282).
In 2000-01, 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.
Looking Ahead
DePaul signed two players to a National Letter of Intent in the early signing period. Both newcomers next season are from the Chicago area. Head coach Doug Bruno signed 5-9 guard Ciara (pronounced Sierra) Johnson from Trinity High School and 6-1 guard Jenna Rubino out of Lincoln-Way East.
Entering her senior season at Trinity, Johnson was rated by the Chicago Sun-Times as one of the top 10 Underrated Players in the state of Illinois. As a junior, she averaged 11.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game while shooting over 60 percent from the field.
A McDonald’s All-American nominee, Rubino returns for her senior year at Lincoln Way-East after averaging 14.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.1 steals per game a year ago. Prior to this season, she was named to the “Tremendous 26” which recognizes the top 13 girls and boys players in Illinois.