Blue Demons Cruise to Moran Championship
11/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Boxscore
CHICAGO – Five players in double-figures was too much in the championship game of the Moran Realty Classic on Saturday night at the DePaul Athletic Center. Jenni Dant led the Blue Demons with 19 points in the club posted a 109-73 decision over Northwestern State. Dant and Charlene Smith were named co-MVP’s of the tourney while the Blue Demons set a DePaul Athletic Center scoring record against the Lady Demons.
DePaul (2-0) built an early six-point lead before Northwestern State chipped away and led, 12-10, on a jumper by Diamond Cosby. On the Blue Demons’ next possession, Ashley Luke hit a three-pointer to regain the lead and DePaul led the rest of the game.
The Blue Demons led by 10 with five minutes left in the first half and extended to 46-31 on a free throw by Khara Smith with 33 seconds until intermission. In the first half, DePaul took 25 three-pointers on their way to a single-game record of 39 attempts. The club knocked down 15 treys to match the single-game record set Feb. 15, 2002 against Louisville.
Northwestern State (1-1) cut the advantage to 14 points early in the second stanza, but DePaul answered and opened up a 27-point advantage with just under 15 minutes left and never looked back. The lead grew to a game-high 42 points on a jumper by Jenna Rubino with 6:06 left and Shiesha McCollum’s bucket put the Blue Demons at the 100-point mark a minute later.
Dant led DePaul with 19 points while Khara Smith posted her second double-double in as many games this season with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Charlene Smith and Ashley Luke added 16 points each with six and five assists, respectively. Sarah Kustok was the fifth starter in double-figures with 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
DePaul eclipsed the 100-point mark for the 25th time in the program’s 30-year history. The 109 points is the most scored in the DePaul Athletic Center’s history and is the highest point-total for the team since scoring 109 against Memphis on Feb. 22, 1996.
The Blue Demons take the short trip to Evanston for a Dec. 1 game against Northwestern. Tipoff at Welsh-Ryan Arena is set for 7 p.m. and the game can be heard live at www.depaubluedemons.com.
2003 Moran Realty Classic
Friday, Nov. 21
Northwestern State 82, Ball State 80
DePaul 94, UW-Milwaukee 62
Saturday, Nov. 22
Consolation: UW-Milwaukee 78, Ball State 73
Championship: DePaul 109, Northwestern State 73
All-Tournament Team
Jenni Dant, DePaul (co-MVP)
Charlene Smith, DePaul (co-MVP)
Khara Smith, DePaul
Ashley Luke, DePaul
Diamond Cosby, Northwestern State
Maria Viall, UW-Milwaukee
Jessica Reiter, Ball State