Women's Hoops Move Into Blue Sky Championship
12/29/2004 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Boxscore
HANOVER, N.H. – A game-opening 27-6 run propelled the DePaul women’s basketball team (No. 19 AP/No. 18 USA Today/ESPN/WBCA) to a 75-49 win over Valparaiso in the opener of the Blue Sky Restaurant Classic on Wednesday evening. Khara Smith led the Blue Demons with her seventh double-double of the year on 18 points and 16 rebounds while the club knocked down 10 three-pointers.
All five starters hit a bucket as the Blue Demons jumped to an early 12-0 lead. Following a Smith jumper in the lane, Jenni Dant scored on a lay-up before back-to-back three’s by Jarietta Benton and Allie Quigley. Jenna Rubino finished the flurry with a jumper for the 12-0 advantage in the first three minutes of the game.
The run continued and DePaul led, 30-8, when Rubino knocked down her first three-pointer with 6:42 to go in the half. The period closed with Valparaiso outscoring DePaul, 10-8, for a 38-18 Blue Demon lead at the break. DePaul (9-2) held the Crusaders to a .267 field goal percentage while knocking down 16-of-34 shots.
Rubino got things started in the second half with three long-range bombs and the last giving DePaul a commanding 51-27 lead with just over 14 minutes left in the second half. The team improved the first-half shooting percentage with a 14-for-28 effort in the second period. DePaul led by as many at 27 points when on a lay-up by Lauren Levine with just under seven minutes left in the game.
With the win, the Blue Demons are now 16-0 all-time against Valparaiso. In the last three meetings, DePaul has held the Crusaders to less than 50 points in each game.
Smith added four assists to go with the 18 points and 16 rebounds. Rubino matched a career high with 16 points to go with three rebounds and two assists. The sophomore tallied four of the 10 Blue Demon three-pointers. Benton added 11 points with three long-range shots to go with three steals and three rebounds.
Valparaiso (5-5) was led by Betsy Rietema’s 13 points and four rebounds. The Crusaders entered the game ranked second in the nation with just 11.5 turnovers per game, but DePaul managed to score 18 points off 18 Valparaiso miscues.
DePaul will be going for their second regular-season tournament title of the season on Thursday night against Richmond. The Spiders defeated host Dartmouth in the second game, 58-55, on Wednesday evening. The last time a DePaul team won two tournaments was during the 1987-88 season with titles at Coopers and Lybrand Invitational, hosted by DePaul, and at Stetson’s Lady Hatter Classic.
Following the championship game, the Blue Demons return to the DePaul Athletic Center for a Sunday evening match-up with Holy Cross. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. It is the final non-conference regular-season game as the team travels to Marquette for the Conference USA opener on Sunday, Jan. 9.