DePaul Hosts Lewis in First Exhibition Game

DePaul vs. Lewis
Wednesday, Nov. 1 - 6 p.m.
McGrath Arena - Chicago, Ill.

Live Audio | 2006-07 TV/Radio Schedule

2006-07 Preseason Prospectus  | 2006-07 Media Guide

CHICAGO – The DePaul women’s basketball team plays the first of two exhibition games on Wednesday evening.  The Blue Demons host Lewis University from suburban Romeoville at 6 p.m. in a DePaul exhibition doubleheader at McGrath Arena.  Jerry Wainwright and the DePaul men’s team hosts St. Ambrose of Davenport, Iowa, in the second game.

You’re Listening Live: A minimum of 20 games are set to be broadcasted online at depaulbluedemons.com.  In conjunction with SportsJuice.com, the DePaul athletics department opens the broadcast schedule on Wednesday, Nov. 1, with an exhibition games against Lewis.  The regular-season broadcast schedule begins on Nov. 17 when the Blue Demons take on Yale in the opening night of the DePaul Invitational.  In his first season on the mic, Dave Bernhard calls all of the action live from courtside.

Lewis Preview: The Flyers, a NCAA Division II member, return 13 players and four starters from last season's 19-11 team... the Flyers reached the second round of the Great Lakes Regional in the NCAA Tournament... Mary Moskal is the top returning scorer after averaging 16.1 points to go along with 6.4 rebounds per game... head coach Lynn Platt is in his fifth season leading the Flyers.

What’s Back: The Blue Demons return 10 players and a combined four starters from last season’s 27-7 Sweet Sixteen squad. The returners accounted for 68 percent of the scoring last season while three of the top four scorers are back for the 2006-07 campaign. Second team All-BIG EAST members Allie Quigley and Jenna Rubino are the top returners. Quigley averaged 15.0 points per game while Rubino scored 12.3 points per contest. The two sharpshooters combined for 113 three-pointers last season. Along with Quigley and Rubino, DePaul welcomes back part-time starters in 2005-06 Erin Carney and Caprice Smith. Carney started the first 21 games of the season while Smith started four times, including the final three games of the season.

Other top returners include Rachel Carney, Erin Cattell and Holly Medley. Carney is expected to push for the starting guard spot vacated by graduated senior Claudette Towers. Carney, a senior guard, averaged 16 minutes per game as a junior after playing her first two seasons at Michigan. In her only start of the season at Providence, she totaled season-high’s of 39 minutes and six assists. Cattell, a sophomore forward, started the final seven games of the regular season in 2005-06. As a starter in nine games, she averaged 5.6 points, 2.9 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game. Medley, a sophomore guard, averaged 14.5 minutes per game in the final 11 contests of her freshman season while shooting .415 (17-41) from the field and .450 (9-20) from three-point range. She played in 23 games, averaging 3.4 points and 2.0 rebounds per game as a rookie.

Remembering Ray and Maggie: DePaul’s 2006-07 uniform features a commemorative patch remembering Ray Meyer and Maggie Dixon. Meyer, known as “Coach,” led the DePaul men’s program to 724 victories over his 42 seasons. Meyer passed away in March 2006 at the start of the NCAA Tournament. After attending the wake for Meyer, the Blue Demons went and defeated Tulsa, 71-67, at the Allstate Arena to advance to the first Sweet Sixteen in women’s basketball history. Dixon served as an assistant coach at DePaul from 2001-05. Instrumental in DePaul’s recent success, Dixon was in San Antonio with the players she recruited for DePaul as they played LSU in the Sweet Sixteen. Following the Final Four in Boston, Dixon passed away tragically at the age of 28. The patch features a red, white and blue basketball with “Coach” in the center between “Ray” for Ray Meyer and “Maggie” for Maggie Dixon.

Hits and Bits: In the last two seasons, the Blue Demons are 53-12... the 53 victories are the highest two-season total as is the two-year winning percentage of .815... DePaul is one of 19 programs that have reached postseason play in at least 15 of the last 18 seasons... they are also one of 14 teams to reach at least the second round in each of the last three NCAA Championships... joining the Blue Demons on the list of 14 second-round regulars are Baylor, Boston College, Connecticut, Duke, Georgia, LSU, Maryland, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue, Stanford, Tennessee and Vanderbilt... the 2005-06 season was the first year that DePaul didn’t score 100 points in a game since the 1999-00 season... entering the 2006-07 season, the Blue Demons have won six consecutive regular-season tournaments... over the last six seasons (188 games), DePaul has scored at least 80 points in 68 games... the Blue Demons hold a 65-3 record in those games.

New Name, Same Gym: In July, the DePaul Athletic Center was renamed the Sullivan Athletic Center while the gymnasium was christened McGrath Arena. The Sullivan Athletic Center was named after former DePaul athletics director Gene Sullivan. McGrath Arena takes its name from Frank McGrath, legendary DePaul assistant men’s basketball coach and administrator.

Home Cookin’: In five-plus seasons, the DePaul Athletic Center, now named McGrath Arena, has proven itself as one of the toughest venues in the nation. The Blue Demons have posted a 74-9 record in the arena’s first 83 games. Entering the 33rd season, the Blue Demons have an all-time home court record of 336-93 (.783). 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 22-4.

In 30-plus seasons of women’s basketball at DePaul University there have been 13 streaks of at least 10 straight home victories. The longest streak was the 33-game run that started on Dec. 19, 2003 with a 99-63 win over Alabama State and ended on Jan. 28, 2006 with an 84-75 defeat to then-No. 5/4 Connecticut. The victory over Houston on Feb. 11, 2005, broke the former record of 20 games from Feb. 4, 1978-Feb. 19, 1979.

Over the last three-plus years, the team is 57-2 at home with the two losses to a pair of teams ranked in the top five. DePaul lost in overtime to then-No. 2 Tennessee on Dec. 17, 2003 before the Connecticut loss last season. Maybe more impressive is that the Blue Demons average margin of victory during that span is 24.3 points per game.

The Blue Demons have also posted 54 straight home victories over unranked opponents. During the 54-game streak over unranked opponents, there have been 50 victories at the DePaul Athletic Center and four wins at the Allstate Arena. Tulane handed DePaul their last home loss to an unranked team on Mar. 2, 2002, with a 88-83 decision in the quarterfinals of the C-USA Tournament.

Sweet in the Classroom and on the Court: In addition to making the program’s first NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2005-06, the Blue Demons also accumulated the nation’s 11th-highest team grade-point average. DePaul’s team GPA of 3.361 placed them 11th in the country and was tops among the BIG EAST’s 16 women’s basketball programs. The No. 11 slot was the highest in program history, surpassing a No. 13 ranking for the 2000-01 season and No. 20 spot following the 1998-99 campaign. DePaul was the lone Sweet Sixteen program both on and off the court.

1K Club: Allie Quigley needs 48 points and Jenna Rubino needs 88 points to become the 20th and 21st players in school history with 1,000 career points. Quigley, a junior, has totaled 952 points in 65 career games while Rubino, a senior, enters the 2006-07 season with 912 points in 95 career games. The duo also ranks among the top five fastest players in DePaul history to reach 100 career three-pointers. Quigley hit her 100th career three-pointer in her 44th career game to rank third while Rubino knocked down her 100th three in the 80th game to rank as the fifth-fastest player to 100 trifectas. Following Quigley and Rubino, the next Blue Demon on the 1,000-point horizon is junior Caprice Smith with 495 career points.

Four Going on Five: DePaul is looking to make the program’s fifth straight NCAA Championship appearance and fifth consecutive season with at least 20 victories. Last season saw the Blue Demons reach the NCAA Regional Semifinals for the first time in school history. Entering the 33rd season in school history, DePaul has totaled 11 NCAA Championship appearances and 15 campaigns of at least 20 wins. A 20-win season in 2006-07 will match the program’s longest streak of five consecutive years of 20 victories set from 1985-90.

25 for 400: Head coach Doug Bruno enters his 21st season at his alma mater. He needs 25 wins to reach the 400-victory plateau with the Blue Demons. Bruno notched his 300th DePaul victory to start the 2003-04 season with a 94-62 decision over UW-Milwaukee.

Sister Act: The DePaul roster features two sets of sisters in 2006-07. Samantha Quigley joins the program this season for the roster’s second Quigley. Senior Rachael Carney and junior Erin Carney start their second season together while Samantha and junior Allie Quigley are playing together at the collegiate level for the first time this season.

State Farm First: The Blue Demons open the schedule with the program’s first appearance in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic. DePaul takes on Oklahoma in Norman in the second game of the annual doubleheader. The ESPN2-broadcasted event opens with Rutgers and Georgia in the first game.

Return to San Juan: DePaul also travels to Puerto Rico for the San Juan Shootout in December to take on Loyola-Chicago and TCU. DePaul played in the inaugural San Juan Shootout in 1993 with six teams from the United States joining a pair of Puerto Rican squads. The Blue Demons opened the 1993 edition with a win over Nebraska before falling to Western Kentucky and Purdue. The Hilltoppers went on to win the inaugural classic. Hosted by Sport Tours International, the San Juan Shootout started as a men’s tournament with four NCAA Division I programs joining four Puerto Rican team in 1987.

Streaking: Dating back to last season and in some cases, the last couple of seasons, the Blue Demons have put together various streaks. Listed below are some current active streaks heading into the 2006-07 season:

- 54 straight victories at home against unranked opponents

- 42 consecutive games with a three-pointer

- 16 straight wins against opponents from Illinois and 30 of the last 31

- six consecutive regular-season tournament championships

- four 20-win seasons in-a-row

Shoes to Fill: DePaul will look to replace three-time All-American Khara Smith. Smith finished her career ranked in the top six all-time at DePaul in 12 of 17 statistical categories. She also totaled 77 double-doubles and career records of 131 games played, a .592 career field goal percentage and 1,369 rebounds.

Welcome to Lincoln Park: DePaul welcomes six newcomers to Lincoln Park for the 2006-07. Freshman Felicia Chester, China Threatt, Kayla Guidry and Samantha Quigley join transfers Deirdre Naughton and Natasha Williams. Chester, a 6’2” forward, led Incarnate Word Academy in St. Louis to its first Missouri state title since 1995 and a 29-game win streak. Threatt, a 5’9” guard, finished third in the voting for Michigan Miss Basketball while Guidry, a 5’8” guard, picked up All-District honors while leading Peabody High School deep into the Louisiana state playoffs. Quigley, a 5’6” guard, earned All-State honors from both the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune. Naughton and Williams will sit out the 2006-07 season under NCAA transfer guidelines. Naughton, a 5’10” guard, picked up ACC All-Freshman team honors after averaging 15.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game at Wake Forest. Williams, a 6’3” forward, was named Minnesota’s Most Improved Player after averaging 8.2 points with 35 blocked shots. In two seasons in Minneapolis, she played in 51 career games with averages of 5.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.

TV Time: The BIG EAST Conference totals 82 combined appearances this season with every game of the league tournament televised for the first time. DePaul is scheduled to make six regular-season television appearances starting at Oklahoma on ESPN2. The Blue Demons will also be seen on ESPNU, CSTV and the BIG EAST TV Network.

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