Blue Demons Cruise Past Saint Peter's
12/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
JERSEY CITY, N.J. – After falling behind midway through the second-half, the DePaul women’s basketball team took control with a 25-2 run in a 86-61 win at Saint Peter’s on Tuesday night. Khara Smith led the Blue Demons with 32 points and 13 rebounds while Allie Quigley dropped in a career-high 24 points with five three-pointers.
The Blue Demons jumped out to an early 16-8 lead behind 10 points by Quigley. Quigley’s second three-pointer of the game forced Saint Peter’s to take a time out. Coming out the break, the Peahens scored four points to cut the lead to 16-12.
Saint Peter’s came within two points at 18-16 before the Blue Demons scored three straight buckets to up the advantage to 24-16. The flurry was capped by a blocked shot by Claudette Towers who finished the play with a lay-up on the other end off a no-look pass from Jenna Rubino.
A Jenni Dant put back pushed the Blue Demons ahead 36-25 with just over four minutes left in the first half. The Peahens closed the first period with a 10-5 run as the two teams went into intermission with DePaul leading, 41-35.
Saint Peter’s (4-4) closed to within two points early in the second half on a pair of free throws by Tiffany Jones. Smith scored the first six points for the Blue Demons followed by a Jarietta Benton basket in the paint for a 49-45 lead.
Back-to-back jumper by Jones gave the Peahens their first lead, 50-49, with just under 14 minutes left in the game. DePaul (8-2) responded with an 8-0 run forcing a Saint Peter’s time out with the Blue Demons leading, 57-50.
Coming out of the break, Quigley and Benton paired up on back-to-back three’s to increase the score to 63-50. Jones ended the 14-0 run with a jumper at 10:36.
DePaul kept the pressure on as the offensive outburst turned into a 25-2 run capped by Smith’s two free throws and breakaway lay-up to give the visitors a 74-52 lead. In the second half, the Blue Demons combined to shoot .630 from the field after totaling a team mark of .380 in the first stanza.
Smith finished with a season-high 32 points along with the 13 rebounds. She also added a season-high five blocked shots. Quigley’s 24 points joined her eight assists and five boards while Jenni Dant added a double-double on 10 points and 10 assists. Benton scored eight points with five rebounds while Caprice Smith chipped in six points and eight rebounds off the bench.
The Blue Demons’ nine blocked shots matched the fifth-highest single-game total in school history. Dant’s 10 assists were the most by a DePaul player since Ashley Luke totaled 10 assists against Marquette last season.
Following the holiday break, DePaul plays at the Blue Sky Classic hosted by Dartmouth College. The two-day tournament has the Blue Demons taking on Valparaiso followed by host Dartmouth and Richmond. The tournament takes place in Hanover, N.H., Dec. 29-30.