Blue Demons Look To Go 6-0
12/10/2003 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Game #6
DePaul (5-0) at Manhattan (3-2)
Dec. 10, 2003 - 7 p.m. EST
Draddy Gymnasium - Riverdale, N.Y.
Game Notes
Internet Audio (Manhattan broadcast)
RIVERDALE, N.Y. - The DePaul women’s basketball team plays the second of two games in New England on Wednesday night at Manhattan. The Blue Demons and Jaspers tangle at 7 p.m. EST in Draddy Gymnasium. It is the first meeting between the two programs. DePaul opened the trip with an 86-73 win at Holy Cross on Saturday.
DePaul enters the game with a perfect 5-0 record and averaging 92.0 points per game while Manhattan is 3-2, dropping consecutive conference games at Fairfield and Loyola (Md.).
Noting the Blue Demons: The 2003-04 campaign is the 30th season of women’s basketball at DePaul University... Wednesday’s game will be the 820th in program history... the victory at Holy Cross was the 500th in the program’s history... a win would give the club just the third 6-0 start in the program’s history... a DePaul team started 6-0 in 1985-86, and ‘94-95... the ‘85-86 squad produced the best start in school history at 9-0... the club has 92 steals through five games while forcing 145 turnovers... despite winning by an average of 22.8 points per game, opponents are outshooting DePaul, .493 to .466... at Holy Cross, DePaul trailed at halftime for the first time this season... at the free throw line, DePaul has made 76 free shots while opponents have attempted 70... the Blue Demons have won three straight season-openers after dropping three consecutive from 1998-00 and are 22-8 all-time in first games.
Khara Smith Named C-USA Player of the Week: Sophomore forward Khara Smith was named the Conference USA Player of the Week after leading the Blue Demons to wins over Northwestern, Illinois and Holy Cross last week. In the three wins, she tallied two double-doubles while averaging 22.6 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. She is the first DePaul player to earn the weekly honor this season. As a freshman, she was named player of the week on two occasions.
Smith started the week with 18 points, six boards and four assists in DePaul’s 82-57 win over at Northwestern. She followed that up with 24 points, 13 boards and three blocked shots against Illinois. Smith saved her best game for last as she tallied career-high’s of 26 points and 16 rebounds in DePaul’s 86-73 win at Holy Cross. Twenty of the 26 points came in the second half against the Crusaders. For the week, she posted a .571 field goal percentage.
Puttin’ It On the Board: The Blue Demons have kept the scoreboard operators busy as they have registered 94, 109, 82, 89 and 86 points in their first five games this season. The 460 combined points are the highest total to start the season in program history.
DePaul opened the 1994-95 campaign with 459 total points. The Blue Demons put together wins of 99-81 over Loyola-Chicago, 101-47 over Long Island, 96-87 against Mississippi State, 89-57 over Army, and a 74-67 win over Auburn.
Against the State: The DePaul women’s basketball program has seen recent success against opponents from the state of Illinois. Over the last 20 games against Illinois, Illinois-Chicago, Loyola-Chicago, Northern Illinois, Northwestern and Southern Illinois, the Blue Demons have posted 19 victories. In games this season against Northwestern and Illinois, the club is a perfect 2-0.
A year ago in Champaign, the Illini snapped a 14-game winning streak against state opponents for DePaul with the 71-67 decision on Dec. 4. In addition to the 14-game streak ended last year, DePaul has won 26 of the last 28 games against state opponents. Currently, the Blue Demons have five straight wins over Illinois schools following the 89-81 victory against Illinois on Dec. 4.
Demon Doings: Notes following DePaul’s 89-81 win at Holy Cross on Dec. 6.
- The win was the 500th in DePaul women’s basketball history.
- DePaul trailed at the half for the first time this season.
- Two players scored at least 20 for the third straight game.
- Khara Smith’s 26 points and 16 rebounds gave her the fourth double-double of the season and 14th of her career.
- DePaul scored 39 points off 27 Holy Cross turnovers.
- Dating back to last season, the Blue Demons have won eight of their last 10 games.
- Smith was the first player in 46 games to score at least 25 points in a game and first in 16 games with at least 15 rebounds
- The club shot a season-best .833 (15-18) from the free throw line.
All in the Family: Cousins Charlene and Khara Smith have been an offensive force since joining the club a year ago. Khara, a sophomore, has four double-doubles in five games this season and averages 20.0 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. Charlene, a junior, is second on the club with 18.6 points per game and is second on the team with 17 steals. The two have combined for 42 percent of the scoring in five games this season.
Swarming: Despite all of the offensive numbers, the DePaul defense has been devastating to their opponents. Through five games in 2003-04, the Blue Demons have made 92 steals while forcing 145 turnovers. DePaul has converted the 145 mishaps into 148 points (29.6 ppg). At Northwestern, DePaul took adavantage of 30 Wildcat turnovers for 39 points and used 27 Holy Cross mistakes to generate 39 points. On the flip side, the opposition is shooting a combined .493 (141-286) from the field while the Blue Demons are hitting .466 (171-366) of their shots.
Home Cookin’: In four seasons, the DePaul Athletic Center has proven itself as one of the toughest venues in the Midwest. The Blue Demons have posted a 37-7 (.841) home record over 44 games. In their 30th season, the Blue Demons have an all-time home court record of 280-87 (.763). 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. DePaul returns to Rosemont this season for a game against Southern Illinois on Dec. 14.
Currently, the Blue Demons hold one of the longest home-court winning streaks in the country. DePaul is tied for seventh with Washington at 17 consecutive home court victories. Connecticut leads the country with a 67-game home court winning streak and is followed by UC Santa Barbara with 27 straight home victories.
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
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. Through 66 career games, the junior has 841 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 is 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 212 consecutive games. Over the last four seasons the club has knocked down 707 trifectas compared to just 356 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 seasons, 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. 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.
Through the first three games this season, the club has struggled from the charity stripe with a combined .623 (43-69) percentage. However, in the last two games, the Blue Demons are a combined 33-for-40 (.825) from the line. In addition to the accuracy, the Blue Demons have used the theory of make more free throws than the opponents attempt to ensure success. DePaul has made 76 free shots in five games while the opposition has attempted just 70.
Eyeing 300: With DePaul’s first win this season, DePaul head coach Doug Bruno earned his 300th victory with the Blue Demons. In his 18th season with the Blue Demons, he stands at 304-196. 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. Laurie Pirtle is next with 260 wins at Cincinnati while Jeanne Milling has tallied 258 victories at UAB. Milling leads all C-USA coaches with 419 overall victories.
Recapping the Moran Realty Classic: The Blue Demons captured their third straight Moran Realty Classic title with wins over UW-Milwaukee and Northwestern State. DePaul opened the tournament with a 94-62 win over the Panthers and a 109-73 victory over Northwestern State in the championship game.
On Friday against UW-Milwaukee, DePaul opened the game with a 14-2 run in the second half. The lead grew to as many as 32 points as 10 players scored and 12 grabbed at least one rebound. Ashley Luke led five players in double-figures with 18 points while Khara Smith added 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Against the Lady Demons, records fell as the Blue Demons set a new DePaul Athletic Center record with 109 points. The club also tied the program’s single-game record with 15 three-pointers and set a new program mark with 39 three-point attempts. DePaul led by 27 points with 15 minutes left and held a game-high 42-point advantage with 6:06 left in the game. Jenni Dant led five players in double-figures with 19 points and was named co-MVP of the tournament with Charlene Smith. Khara Smith and Luke also earned All-Tournament honors.
Moran Realty Classic All-Tournament Team
Jenni Dant, DePaul (co-MVP)
Charlene Smith, DePaul (co-MVP)
Ashley Luke, DePaul
Khara Smith, DePaul
Diamond Cosby, Northwestern State
Maria Viall, UW-Milwaukee
Jessica Reiter, Ball State
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’s 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.
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.
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.
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.
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. Michigan and Montana are the nation’s only states that play girls high school basketball in the fall. Through 19 games, Carney averaged 19.8 points and 17.3 rebounds per game. 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.
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.
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. She is ranked No. 29 in the Blue Star Index Top 100 seniors and No. 50 by the All Start Girls Report.