DePaul University Athletics
Blue Demons Close Road Weekend at TCU
2/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Game #26
#12/#11 DePaul (22-3, 10-2 C-USA) vs. #17/#19 TCU (21-4, 10-2 C-USA)
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum - Fort Worth, Texas
Sunday, Feb. 22, 2004 - 2 p.m.
Game Notes
Internet Audio (pre-game show begins at 1:40 p.m.)
TV - C-USA TV Network (FOX Sports Net Chicago)
FORT WORTH, Texas - The No. 11 DePaul women’s basketball team wraps up the weekend swing through Texas with a Sunday afternoon game at No. 17 TCU. The Blue Demons stand at 22-3, matching the program’s best record over 25 games in 30 seasons of women’s basketball at DePaul University. DePaul and TCU are tied for second place in the Conference USA standings with identical 10-2 records.
DePaul enters the game at No. 12 in the latest Associated Press poll and No. 11 in the ESPN/USA Today/WBCA Coaches rankings. The club entered the weekend leading the nation in scoring and steals. DePaul averages 88.2 points and 14.6 steals per contest. The Blue Demons dropped a 84-75 decision at No. 18 Houston on Friday night.
The Horned Frogs enter the game with a 21-4 overall record and 10-2 mark in C-USA action following a 56-47 win on Friday night against Marquette. They are at No. 17 in the AP rankings and 19th in the latest USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Coaches poll.
Sunday’s game can be seen in Chicago on FOX Sports Net Chicago as part of the C-USA Television Network. Don Russell and Amy Prichard call all of the action from Daniel-Meyer Coliseum. The game can also be heard live at www.depaulbluedemons.com. Jeff Friedman is in his third season on the headset for the Blue Demons and will describe at least 23 games this season on DePaul’s official athletics website. A 20-minute pre-game show precedes each broadcast and a post-game show wraps things up after every game.
Noting the Blue Demons: The 2003-04 campaign is the 30th season of women’s basketball at DePaul University... the team is averaging an NCAA-high 88.2 points per game... they have scored at least 90 points in 11 games and 100 points five times... the five 100-point games are a single-season school record... DePaul has scored at least 50 points in a half on 14 occasions this season... in the last three games DePaul is averaging just 74.0 points per game... at least four players have scored in double-figures in 17 games... Khara Smith has earned Conference USA Player of the Week honors four times this season and was named to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 20 Candidates list... she is the nation’s only player to rank in the top 30 in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and steals... DePaul’s former 10-game win streak was the longest since a 17-gamer from Jan. 11-Mar. 3, 1988... there have been just five winning streaks of at least 10 games in school history... DePaul is 9-2 on the road and victorious in 17 of the last 21 regular season C-USA games... over the last two seasons, the Blue Demons are 27-1 at home with the lone loss coming in overtime to No. 2 Tennessee in December... in those 28 games, DePaul is 25-1 at the DePaul Athletic Center and 2-0 at the Allstate Arena... with the Dec. 14 win over Southern Illinois at the Allstate Arena, the Blue Demons are 20-4 all-time in Rosemont... the victory at Holy Cross was the 500th in the program’s history... the club has 364 steals while forcing 586 turnovers... the team single-season steal record is 493 by the 1988-89 squad... DePaul has trailed at halftime three times this season (at Holy Cross, at Charlotte, at Houston)... at the free throw line, DePaul has made 421 free shots while opponents have attempted 403... the team single-season record for free throws made is 527 in 1986-87.
Checking on the Horned Frogs: TCU enters the game at 21-4 overall and tied with DePaul at 10-2 in Conference USA. The club has won five straight and eight of their last nine. Sandora Irvine leads TCU with 15.5 points and 11.8 rebounds per game while Ebony Shaw adds 11.6 points per contest. Head coach Jeff Mittie is in his fifth season as head coach of the Horned Frogs. He holds a 257-106 career record in 12 career seasons and is 106-47 in Fort Worth.
The Series: Sunday is just the third all-time meeting between the two teams with each club winning on their home floor. A year ago in Chicago, Sarah Kustok scored a career-high 20 points to lead DePaul to a 76-68 win at the DePaul Athletic Center. Jenni Dant added 18 points while Ashley Luke and Khara Smith chipped in 12 points apiece. The Blue Demons took a 44-26 halftime lead and held off the Horned Frogs down the stretch. Ebony Shaw led the Horned Frogs with 21 points and Sandora Irvin added 15 points.
Demon Doings: Notes following the 84-75 loss at Houston on Friday:
- Houston snapped DePaul’s four-game winning streak.
- The Lady Cougars also took control of first place in the C-USA standings.
- The Blue Demons trailed by 19 points in the second half before closing the gap to six points in the final minute.
- Khara Smith registered her 18th double-double with 27 points and 11 rebounds.
- Charlene Smith scored a career-high 27 points while Jenni Dant just missed a double-double with 14 points and nine boards. Dant held Chandi Jones to less than 20 points ending her 11-game streak of scoring at least 20 in a game.
- At least two players have scored 20 or more in a game for DePaul 11 times this season.
- The Blue Demons are 17-4 in their last 21 regular-season C-USA games.
- DePaul now leads the series, 7-5, over Houston with each team winning on their home floor in the last five meetings.
Eyeing 1,000: At USF on Jan. 18, Jenni Dant became the 18th player in DePaul basketball history to surpass the 1,000-point mark in her career with a three-pointer at USF. Through 86 career games, the junior has 1,124 points. She is averaging a career-best 14.8 points per game this season after leading the club in scoring at 14.4 (460 points) points per game a year ago. As a freshman, Dant tallied 293 points while averaging 10.1 points per contest. Before Dant, the most recent DePaul player to enter the 1,000-point club was Lenae Williams.
Up next on the 1,000-point horizon is Khara Smith. The sophomore needs just 11 points to become the 19th player in school history with 1,000 career points. Smith’s average of 16.2 points per game over her first 61 career games give her 989 career points.
Outstanding On and Off the Court: Sarah Kustok and Ashley Luke were recently honored for their efforts both on and off the court by being named to the Academic All-District V second team. The two were of 10 players selected to the district first and second teams covering Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ontario and Manitoba.
Both players have played in all 25 games this season while being the top two three-point shooters for the Blue Demons. Kustok averages 7.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting .404 from behind the arc. Luke is one of four averaging double-figures with 12.3 points per game. She leads the club with 121 assists and 69 three’s. Kustok is set to graduate from DePaul with a Communications degree while Luke is majoring in Physical Education.
Khara Smith Named to Wooden Award Midseason List: DePaul sophomore forward Khara Smith was one of 20 players named to the Midseason All-American list for the inaugural Women’s Wooden Award. Smith was added to a list that includes Duke’s Alana Beard, Connecticut’s Diana Taurasi and Penn State’s Kelly Mazzante. Entering the weekend, Smith is the only player in the nation ranked in the top 30 in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and steals. Through 25 games, Smith has a C-USA-high 18 double-doubles to go with 21.6 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. In March, the Wooden Award Committee will select 15 players for the official ballot with the 2004 Award ceremony taking place on April 10 in Los Angeles.
20-20 Vision: With all of the points being scored this season, a player has scored at least 20 points on 30 occasions. Khara Smith leads the way with 15 games of at least 20 while Charlene Smith has checked in with eight, Jenni Dant has six and Ashley Luke has totaled a pair of 20-point outings. Nine times this season two players have tallied at least 20 in a game and twice there have been three with 20 or more. On the flip side, there have been seven games where no player has reached 20. Ironically, in four of those games the Blue Demons have totaled 94, 109, 106 and 99 points. The club set a DePaul Athletic Center record in the 109-73 win over Northwestern State after posting a 94-62 win against UW-Milwaukee in the season-opener. The 106 points were scored at Illinois-Chicago while the Blue Demons tallied 99 points at Manhattan.
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 46-8 (.852) record in the arena’s first 54 games. In their 30th season, the Blue Demons have an all-time home court record of 290-88 (.767). 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 20-4. DePaul returned to Rosemont this season with a 102-57 win over Southern Illinois on Dec. 14.
Tennessee snapped DePaul’s 18-game home court winning streak with the 96-89 overtime decision on Dec. 17. In 30 seasons of women’s basketball at DePaul University there have been 12 streaks of at least 10 straight home victories. The longest streak was a 20-game run from Feb. 4, 1978 to Feb. 19, 1979. The 18-gamer over the last year is the second-longest streak in school history followed by a 15-game home court win streak from Mar. 5, 1994 to Feb. 26, 1995. Over the last two years, the team is 27-1 at home with the lone loss coming to Tennessee on Dec. 17. Heading into next season, the Blue Demons hold a nine-game home winning streak.
In the Rankings: In the latest edition of the NCAA statistics, the Blue Demons rank among the nation’s leaders in a variety of categories. Through games of Feb. 16, DePaul leads the nation in steals and scoring offense, is second in winning percentage, sixth in three-point field goals per game and scoring margin, seventh in assists per game, and 14th in field goal percentage. Khara Smith is the only player in the country ranked among the nation’s top 30 in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and steals. The sophomore is third in field goal percentage, fifth in rebounding, eighth in scoring and 30th in steals per game. Ashley Luke is 15th in three-point field goals per game and Jenni Dant ranks 22nd in steals per game.
In the C-USA rankings for all games through Feb. 15, DePaul ranks first in scoring offense, scoring margin, field goal percentage, three-point field goals made, offensive rebounds, assists, steals, turnover margin and assist/turnover ratio. Khara Smith leads the league in double-doubles and field goal percentage, and is ranked second in rebounding and third in steals. Dant is second in the league in steals and third in free throw percentage. Luke ranks second in three’s per game and fourth in assists per contest. The team sports four of the top 21 C-USA scorers with Khara Smith second, Charlene Smith at seventh, Dant at No. 15 and Luke ranked 21st.
Player of the Week Times Four: Sophomore forward Khara Smith was named the Conference USA Player of the Week for the fourth time this season after a pair of huge games against Saint Louis and Memphis. After sitting out of practice with the flu during the week, she scored 32 points with nine rebounds against Saint Louis on Friday night. Smith returned on Sunday with her 17th double-double of the season on 27 points and 14 rebounds against Memphis. For the week, she averaged 29.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game while shooting .765 from the field.
Following the opening weekend of league play, she earned Player of the Week honors for the third time this season. Smith started the weekend by matching her then-career high with 26 points against the Cardinals. She also pulled down 15 boards while going 11-for-13 from the field. On Sunday, she bettered her Friday performance with a career-best 35 points and 10 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the season. She averaged 30.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game while shooting .767 (23-30) from the field.
On Dec. 8, she earned the league honor after leading the Blue Demons to wins over Northwestern, Illinois and Holy Cross. In the three wins, she tallied two double-doubles while averaging 22.6 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. For the week, she posted a .571 field goal percentage with eight steals and eight assists.
On Dec. 22, she picked up her second honor of the year after shooting .735 (25-34) from the field in games against Tennessee, Alabama State and Valparaiso. She averaged 19.0 points, nine rebounds and three steals in the three games.
Smith is the first DePaul player to earn the weekly honor this season and is one of two league players to be recognized four times this season. As a freshman, she was named player of the week on two occasions.
Program-Best Ranking: With the 22-3 record, the Blue Demons are placed at No. 12 in the latest Associated Press poll. It is the highest AP ranking in DePaul and Conference USA history. DePaul entered the poll on Dec. 22 at No. 22 and moved to their highest ranking in school history at No. 13 before losing at Charlotte on Jan. 31. The No. 13 slot was the program’s highest ranking surpassing the previous high of No. 15 during the 1995-96 campaign. A year ago, DePaul held the No. 25 slot for two weeks in January before a pair of losses at Saint Louis and Memphis knocked them out of the rankings. The Blue Demons have received votes in every poll this season. In program history, DePaul has been ranked a total of 37 weeks with a record of 37-28 as a ranked team.
In addition to the AP recognition, DePaul stands at No. 11 in the ESPN/USA Today/WBCA Coaches top 25. It also marks the highest ranking in program and C-USA history. The Blue Demons made their coaches poll debut on Dec. 23 at No. 21 and remained there for three weeks. A year ago, the club was ranked as high as 20th in the coaches poll.
All in the Family: Cousins Charlene and Khara Smith have been an offensive force since joining the club a year ago. The two are among team, C-USA and national leaders in scoring, rebounding and steals. Khara, a sophomore, has 18 double-doubles this season and averages team-high’s of 21.6 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. Charlene, a junior, is second on the club with 17.6 points per game and leads the team with 110 free throws. The cousins also rank second and third in steals with Khara swiping 74 and Charlene totaling 65 steals. The two have combined for just over 44 percent of the scoring this season (980 total points).
In the C-USA opener against Louisville, the two Smith’s combined for 52 points on 26 points each. Khara grabbed 15 boards while Charlene was 10-for-11 from the free throw line with four rebounds. At UAB, the duo totaled 54 of DePaul’s 88 points and in the Southern Miss game each tallied a double-double while combining for 37 points and 23 rebounds. At Houston, the combo each player scored 27 while they combined for 19 boards. In C-USA games, Khara is averaging 23.7 points per game while Charlene is checking in with 18.7 points per contest.
Speaking of Family: Siblings and coaches Maggie and Jamie Dixon are a combined 45-5 this season. Jamie, the men’s head coach at Pittsburgh, has the No. 4 Panthers holding a 23-2 record in his first season leading the Panthers. Maggie, an assistant at DePaul, has the Blue Demons at 22-2 and ranked No. 11. This weekend, Pittsburgh travels to West Virginia for a Saturday contest while the Blue Demons go on the road to Houston and TCU. Jamie played at TCU from 1983-87 where the Horned Frogs won a pair of Southwest Conference championships.
Puttin’ It On the Board: The Blue Demons have kept the scoreboard operators busy as they are averaging 88.2 points per game this season. DePaul has topped the century mark five times and scored at least 90 points in 11 games. In school history, a DePaul team has scored at least 100 points in a game 29 times without a loss. The five 100-point games this season are a single-season record surpassing the four occasions in 1994-95 and 1995-96. DePaul’s 2,205 combined points are the highest total through 25 games in program history. The single-season team scoring record is 2,589 points in 1995-96.
In the NCAA rankings through games of Feb. 16, Louisiana Tech is second with an average of 84.0 points per game. TCU’s 1,924 total points rank second to DePaul’s nation-best 2,130 points. The 88.2 average is the highest team average since Grambling’s 92.2 points per game during the 1994-95 season.
Swarming: Despite all of the offensive numbers, the DePaul defense has been devastating to their opponents. Through 25 games, the Blue Demons have made 364 steals while forcing 586 turnovers. DePaul has converted the 586 mishaps into 652 points (26.1 ppg). At Northwestern, DePaul took advantage of 30 Wildcat turnovers for 39 points and used 27 Holy Cross mistakes to generate 39 points. Against Tulane, DePaul took advantage of 26 Green Wave miscues to score 36 points. In back-to-back games, the Blue Demons outscored Illinois-Chicago, 43-6, and Southern Illinois, 44-9, in points off turnovers.
Taking Advantage From Beyond the Arc: The DePaul women’s basketball program has turned the three-point field goal 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. The two returners have combined for 111 three’s which are 18 more than all DePaul opponents combined.
As a team, DePaul has made at least one three-pointer in 232 consecutive games. Over the last four seasons the club has knocked down 873 trifectas compared to just 428 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 25 games this season, the Blue Demons have outscored their opponents by 285 points from three-point range (11.4 ppg). DePaul is 188-549 (.342) from behind the arc while opponents are 93-315 (.295). The squad averages 7.5 three’s per game while the opposition makes 3.7 treys per contest.
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 struggled from the charity stripe with a combined .623 (43-69) percentage. Over the next 18 games, the Blue Demons combined to go 329-for-428 (.769) from the line. DePaul struggled against Marquette on Feb. 8 with a season-low .333 (4-12) free throw percentage, but bounced back against Saint Louis to go 16-for-20 (.800). The Blue Demons have also used the theory of making more free throws than the opponents attempt to ensure success. DePaul has made 421 free shots while the opposition has attempted 403.
Against Louisville in the C-USA opener, the team made 20 straight before finishing the game 20-of-21 from the line. On Feb. 2 at East Carolina, DePaul went 21-for-22 from the charity stripe. Currently, the club is ranked second in the league and holds a combined .727 (421-559) percentage. The team single-season record is .738 set during the 2001-02 campaign.
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 88-61 win over Cincinnati on Jan. 11 was broadcasted on ESPN2. FOX Sports Net Chicago televised the 99-60 victory over Tulane on Jan. 25 and the 61-59 win over Marquette on Feb. 8 was broadcasted regionally on ESPN2. 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 14 of the last 19 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.
