Women's Hoops Open Season with Moran Realty Classic
11/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
DePaul Game Notes
2003 Moran Realty Classic
Nov. 21-22, 2003 - DePaul Athletic Center
Chicago, Ill.
Friday, Nov. 21
Ball State (0-0) vs. Northwestern State (0-0) - 6 p.m.
DePaul (0-0) vs. UW-Milwaukee (0-0) - 8 p.m.
Internet Audio (7:40 p.m. CST Pre-game show)
Saturday, Nov. 22
Consolation Game - 6 p.m.
Championship Game - 8 p.m.
CHICAGO - The DePaul Blue Demons open the 2003-04 campaign with the Moran Realty Classic at the DePaul Athletic Center. Ball State and Northwestern State start the action at 6 p.m. on Friday followed by the Blue Demons and UW-Milwaukee at 8 p.m. The two winners will meet on Saturday at 8 p.m. to decide the tournament’s champion after the 6 p.m. consolation game.
DePaul enters the regular season after a pair of exhibition victories over the National Team of Holland and the Chicago Challengers. The club took care of the foreign team on Nov. 12, 109-74, before knocking off the Challengers, 92-68, last Saturday.
The Moran Realty classic can be heard live this weekend at www.depaulbluedemons.com. Jeff Friedman begins this third season on the headset for the DePaul and will describe at least 21 games live on the internet this season on DePaul’s official athletics website. A 20-minute pre-game show will precede each broadcast and a post-game show will wrap things up after every game.
Season-Opening Notes: Beginning the 30th season of women’s basketball at DePaul University, the Blue Demons are 21-8 all-time in the first game. A year ago, the team traveled to Carbondale and knocked off the Southern Illinois Salukis, 69-60, on Nov. 23. Head coach Doug Bruno is 12-5 in the opener at DePaul. The Blue Demons have won two straight season-openers after dropping three consecutive from 1998-00.
Last Five Season Openers
Nov. 23, 2002 at Southern Illinois (W, 69-60)
Nov. 16, 2001 vs. Eastern Washington (W, 82-57)
Nov. 18, 2000 at Tennessee (L, 54-92)
Nov. 26, 1999 vs. Seton Hall (L, 69-76 - OT)
Nov. 20, 1998 vs. Northwestern (L, 61-62)
Eyeing 300: Heading into this season, DePaul head coach Doug Bruno is needs just one win for his 300th victory with the Blue Demons. He holds 299 career victories with DePaul and will eclipse the 300-win plateau with DePaul’s first win of the 2003-04 season. In 17 seasons with the Blue Demons, he stands at 299-196. Along with being the winningest coach in DePaul women’s basketball history, Bruno has also tallied the most victories among Conference USA coaches at their respective schools. Jeannie Milling is next with 256 wins at UAB while Laurie Pirtle has tallied 255 victories at Cincinnati. Milling leads all C-USA coaches with 417 overall victories.
Bruno's Milestone Wins at DePaul
No. 1: Jan. 7, 1977 - 66-58 vs. North Park
No. 50: Mar. 24, 1989 - 77-69 vs. Notre Dame
No. 91*: Mar. 9, 1991 - 100-85 vs. Valparaiso
No. 100: Jan. 30, 1992 - 78-53 vs. Cincinnati
No. 150: Jan. 4, 1995 - 82-65 vs. Northern Illinois
No. 200: Feb. 14, 1997 - 86-66 at Southern Miss
No. 250: Dec. 23, 2000 - 72-58 at Illinois-Chicago
*set career wins record at DePaul
Checking in on the Moran Realty Teams
Wisconsin-Milwaukee: The Panthers start the season after posting a 15-13 record in 2002-03... in the preseason Horizon League poll, UW-Milwaukee was picked second behind UW-Green Bay... the club returns four starters and seven players from a year ago... center Maria Viall is the league’s Preseason Player of the Year... a year ago, she averaged 18.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game... head coach Sandy Botham is starting her eighth season in Milwaukee and holds a 112-84 record with the Panthers... the series: Friday is the first meeting between the Panthers and Blue Demons.
Ball State: The Cardinals return all five starters and 10 players from last season’s 21-10 team... Johna Goff is the top returning scorer averaging 15.0 points per game in 2002-03... Ball State was picked third in the West Division of the Mid-American Conference behind Western Michigan and Toledo... head coach Tracy Roller is in her third season in Muncie and owns a 45-18 record... the series: DePaul leads the all-time series, 4-0... the two team have not played since Dec. 9, 1987... the Blue Demons posted a 72-68 win in the last meeting.
Northwestern State: The Lady Demons are coming off a 17-11 season in 2003-03... this will be there second appearance in the Moran Realty Classic... they won the tournament title in 1999 by knocking off Seton Hall and James Madison at Alumni Hall... current assistant coach Kia Converse was named MVP of the tourney... La’Terrica Dobin is top returning scorer after averaging 11.7 points per game last season... head coach James Smith is starting his 17th season at Northwestern State and holds a career record of 316-148... the series: a potential matchup on Saturday will be the first meeting between DePaul and Northwestern State.
What’s Back: DePaul returns all but two players from the 2002-03 NCAA Tournament team that posted a 22-10 record. The returners include three starters in Jenni Dant, Sarah Kustok and Ashley Luke and the nine players combined for 84 percent of the scoring, 74 percent of the rebounding and 71 percent of the minutes played. They also shot a combined .461 from the field a year ago. In addition to the three starters, DePaul also returns key reserves Jarietta Benton, Lindsey Deason, Shiesha McCollum, Casmir Patterson, Charlene Smith, Khara Smith and Claudette Towers.
Familiar Face: DePaul junior Charlene Smith will see some familiar faces this weekend as she played her freshman season at UW-Milwaukee. During her rookie year with the Panthers, she played in 26 games. Following that season, she transferred to DePaul and is starting her second season in a Blue Demon uniform.
Preseason Picks: Prior to the start of the season, the Conference USA coaches picked the Blue Demons to finish second behind preseason favorite TCU. The Horned Frogs earned the league’s automatic bid by winning the C-USA Tournament in Memphis after starting as the fifth seed. Charlotte, who won the league regular season title a year ago, was picked fourth just behind Cincinnati. DePaul posted a 10-4 record to earn the third seed in the 2003 conference tourney.
Junior Jenni Dant was named to the league’s preseason All-Conference team after earning second team All-CUSA honors after last season. Houston’s Chandi Jones was named the preseason Player of the Year and was joined on the league’s preseason team by Dant, Sandora Irvin of TCU and Cincinnati’s Valerie King and Debbie Merrill.
2003-04 C-USA Preseason Poll
1. TCU
2. DePaul
3. Cincinnati
4. Charlotte
5. Houston
6. Tulane
7. Louisville
8. Marquette
9. Memphis
10. Saint Louis
11. East Carolina
12. Southern Miss
13. UAB
14. USF
Preseason All-Conference Team
*Chandi Jones, Sr., G/F, Houston
Jenni Dant, Jr., G/F, DePaul
Sandora Irvin, Jr., F, TCU
Valerie King, Sr., G, Cincinnati
Debbie Merrill, Jr., C, Cincinnati
*Preseason Player of the Year
Exhibition Recap: The Blue Demons put up impressive offensive numbers in the two exhibition games last week. On Nov. 12, DePaul posted a 109-74 win over the National Team of Holland and then followed that with a 92-68 win on Saturday against the Chicago Challengers. In the two games, the club averaged 100.5 points per game while shooting a combined .470 from the field. Defensively, the Blue Demons forced 63 turnovers and while making 40 steals. Khara Smith led all scorers with 22.5 points per game and was followed by cousin, Charlene, with 21.5 points per contest. Jenni Dant added 17.0 points per game while Ashley Luke chipped in an average of 16.0 points.
Preseason Picks, Part II: In the Athlon Sports preseason Top 25, the magazine slotted DePaul at No. 18. The Blue Demons are one of two Conference USA programs in the Top 25 as TCU was picked 22nd. The No. 18 ranking is DePaul highest preseason ranking by any magazine as the Blue Demons are coming off their 22-10 record and NCAA Tournament appearance a year ago.
Two-time defending National Champion Connecticut is Athlon’s preseason favorite. The Huskies are followed by Duke, Kansas State, Stanford and Texas. Tennessee, who the Blue Demons play at the DePaul Athletic Center in December, is ranked ninth.
Home Cookin’: In three seasons, the DePaul Athletic Center has proven itself as one of the toughest venues in the Midwest. The Blue Demons have posted a 34-7 (.829) home record over 41 games. In their 29th season, the Blue Demons have an all-time home court record of 277-87 (.761). 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. At the Allstate Arena, the women’s program has posted an all-time record of 19-4, including a 79-65 win over Northern Illinois earlier this season. DePaul returns to Rosemont this season for a game against Southern Illinois in December.
Entering the 2003-04 season, the Blue Demons hold one of the longest home-court winning streaks in the country. DePaul is tied for seventh with Ohio State and Washington with their 14 consecutive home court victories. Connecticut leads the country with a 63-game home court winning streak and is followed by UC Santa Barbara with 23 straight home victories.
Nothing but the Best: The 2003-04 schedule features 13 opponents that played in the postseason a year ago. Among the 13 are 10 teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament last March. The Blue Demons take on Alabama State, Illinois, Tennessee and Valparaiso in non-conference action at the DePaul Athletic Center while traveling to Holy Cross and Manhattan. A year ago, Conference USA sent seven teams to postseason action. Charlotte, Cincinnati, TCU and Tulane joined the Blue Demons in the NCAA Tournament while Marquette and Saint Louis played in the WNIT.
Eyeing 1,000: Preseason All-Conference USA honoree Jenni Dant could become the 18th player in DePaul basketball history to surpass the 1,000-point mark in her career. The junior enters the 2003-04 campaign with 753 points. Last season, Dant led the club in scoring at 14.4 points per game on her way to finishing the season with 460 points. As a freshman, Dant tallied 293 points while averaging 10.1 points per contest. The most recent DePaul player to enter the 1,000-point club was Lenae Williams. She finished her four-year DePaul career ranked second all-time with 2,046 points.
Taking Advantage From Beyond the Arc: The DePaul women’s basketball program has turned the three-point field into a potent offensive weapon. This season will be no different as the Blue Demons return their top two sharpshooters from last season in Sarah Kustok and Ashley Luke. Kustok led Conference USA with a .445 three-point field goal percentage while Luke tied DePaul’s single-season record with 94 three’s last season.
As a team, DePaul has made at least one three-pointer in 207 consecutive games. Over the last four seasons the club has knocked down 888 trifectas compared to just 419 for the opposition. In the last two seasons the Blue Demons have set new single-season records with 230 in 2001-02 and 233 in 2002-03.
In 32 games in 2002-03, the Blue Demons outscored their opponents by 336 points from three-point range. DePaul was 233-646 (.361) from behind the arc while opponents were 121-356 (.340). The squad averaged 7.3 three’s per game while the opposition made 3.8 treys per contest. The .361 team three-point percentage is ranked third on the single-season chart.
Giving to Charity: Along with the accuracy from behind the arc, the Blue Demons also rank among the best in Conference USA from the free throw line. Over the last three season, DePaul has finished either first or second in the league in free throw percentage. The squad finished the 2002-03 campaign ranked second with a .718 (425-592) season percentage. Against Charlotte, the Blue Demons posted a season-best .947 (18-19) from the charity strip. Earlier in the season, they shot .850 (17-20) at Illinois and against Northern Illinois went 25-for-30 (.833).
Prior to finishing second, DePaul was a combined 384-520 (.738) from the free throw line in 2001-02 to rank first among Conference USA schools for the second straight season. In 2000-01, the Blue Demons led Conference USA with a .716 overall mark from the free throw line.
TV Time: As always, the DePaul women’s basketball program will be featured multiple times on national television. This season, the Blue Demons are scheduled for at least five televised games. They will be on the C-USA Network twice with games at TCU on Feb. 22 and Marquette on Feb. 29. The Cincinnati matchup at the DePaul Athletic Center on Jan. 11 will be broadcasted on ESPN2 as will the Marquette game on Feb. 8. FOX Sports Net Chicago will televise the Tulane game on Jan. 25. The Blue Demons are just one of 14 women’s basketball programs in the country scheduled to appear on the ESPN network multiple times this season.
DePaul was no stranger to the cameras last season as 10 games were televised. The Blue Demons posted a 6-4 record in televised games last year and have won 11 of the last 16 televised games. Over the last two seasons, DePaul has won five of six games on C-USA TV including wins over Tulane, TCU, Marquette and Louisville.
Looking Ahead: The DePaul coaching staff signed one of the top recruiting classes in the country as Erin Carney, Allie Quigley and Caprice Smith signed National Letters of Intent to play for the Blue Demons starting next season.
The trio makes up one of DePaul’s top recruiting classes in the program’s 30 years. Overall, Carney, Quigley and Smith are ranked as the nation’s 10th-best recruiting class by the Women’s Basketball News Service and No. 15 by the Blue Star Index.
Carney, a 6-1 forward, leads the St. Francis Gladiators into the state tournament this week. Michigan and Montana are the nation’s only states that play girls high school basketball in the fall. Through 19 games this season, Carney averaged 19.8 points and 17.3 rebounds per game in addition to 4.3 steals per contest. This season, she has put together game highs of 29 points and 25 rebounds in a game. Carney played her first three seasons at Flint Power Catholic High School where she averaged 10.8 points and 7.7 boards per game. She is just 50 rebounds short of 1,000 in her high school career. With Powers, she won the Class B state championship as a sophomore. Her sister, Rachel, is a sophomore guard at the University of Michigan.
Quigley, a three-sport standout, was an honorable mention All-American by Street and Smith in 2003 and is ranked No. 78 on Blue Star’s top 100 seniors. In addition to her honorable mention All-American honors, she also earned All-State mention by the Associated Press, Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune last season after averaging 28 points per game. This summer she was invited to play at the elite Nike Camp in Indianapolis.
Smith, a 6-2 forward, led Trinity to the first Elite Eight appearance in school history last season while averaging 21.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. She also shot .450 (54-120) from three-point range. Following her junior season, she received first team All-State honors from the Chicago Sun-Times, Champaign News-Gazette, Chicago Tribune and the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association. Ranked No. 29 in the Blue Star Index Top 100 seniors and No. 50 by the All Start Girls Report, Smith attended the Nike All-America Camp this past summer and the adidas Top Ten Camp where she was an underclassmen All-Star in 2002. She was also an AAU All-American this summer and played in the USA Youth Development Festival. Street and Smith magazine rates her as an All-America honorable mention.