Blue Demons Host DePaul Invitational at McGrath Arena
11/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
2006 DePaul Invitational
Nov. 17, 2006
Illinois State (1-1) vs. Stony Brook (0-1) | 5:30 p.m.
#23/22 DePaul (0-1) vs. Yale (0-1) | 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 18, 2006
Consolation Game | 5:30 p.m.
Championship Game | 7:30 p.m.
McGrath Arena | Chicago, Ill.
Live Stats | Game Notes: DePaul
Opponent Information: Illinois State | Stony Brook | Yale
CHICAGO - DePaul begins the home portion of the 2006-07 schedule with the DePaul Invitational this weekend at McGrath Arena. The Blue Demons host Illinois State, Stony Brook and Yale with the Seawolves and Redbirds squaring off at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. DePaul and Yale close the opening night action at 7 p.m. The two winners play for the championship at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday following the consolation game at 5:30 p.m.
The Blue Demons, tied for 23rd in this week’s AP poll and ranked No. 22 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25 stand at 0-1 following a 105-71 loss at No. 3 Oklahoma last weekend.
Prior to the State Farm Tip-Off Classic in Norman last weekend, the Blue Demons tallied a pair of exhibition victories over Lewis University and the Chicago Challengers. DePaul topped Lewis, 93-83, on Nov. 1 before defeating the Challengers, 92-67, on Nov. 4.
Following this weekend’s action, the Blue Demons host Northern Illinois on Nov. 25 before traveling to UW-Green Bay on Nov. 29.
Season-Opening Notes: Beginning the 33rd season of women’s basketball at DePaul University, the Blue Demons are 24-9 all-time in the first game. Prior to this year’s loss at Oklahoma, the Blue Demons won five straight season-openers from 2001-05. A year ago, the Blue Demons posted a 97-52 win over Harvard in the first round of the DePaul Invitational. The 45-point margin of victory was the second-highest season-opening advantage in school history. In DePaul’s first game in 1974, the Blue Demons posted a 62-17 win over Mundelein. Head coach Doug Bruno is 15-6 in the season’s first game at DePaul.
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 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.
Noting the Blue Demons: 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-plus seasons (189 games), DePaul has scored at least 80 points in 68 games... the Blue Demons hold a 65-3 record in those games... in the 33rd season of play at DePaul, the women’s basketball program is 571-339.
It Could Happen: Five three-pointers by Allie Quigley would move her into a tie for eighth all-time (Melanee Ehrhardt, 144, 1986-90)... five three-point attempts also puts Quigley in ninth all-time... a win would be the 55th straight at home over a unranked opponent.
Demon Doings: Notes following the 105-71 loss at Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon:
- The loss ended a five-year streak of winning the season-opener. The Blue Demons are now 24-9 all-time in the first game of the season.
- Erin Carney’s 19 rebounds were a career-high. She has two career games of 15-plus rebounds and seven career games with double-figure rebounds.
- The game was the first since a 100-66 loss to Tennessee on Dec. 17, 1999 that DePaul has allowed 100 or more points. An opponent has reached the century mark 12 times in program history
- Missy Mitidiero made her first collegiate start.
- The meeting was the first between the two programs. DePaul is now 6-11 all-time against teams from the Big 12 Conference.
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.
BIG EAST Preseason Picks: The league’s 16 coaches slated the Blue Demons at No. 3 in the BIG EAST preseason poll. DePaul was picked to finish fourth prior to the start of last season and took the No. 3 seed in the BIG EAST Championship with an 11-5 league record. Connecticut was selected as the favorite in 2006-07 with 11 first-place votes followed by Rutgers and DePaul. Junior guard Allie Quigley was one of 11 players named to the All-BIG EAST preseason team. USF’s Jessica Dickson was named the Preseason Player of the Year.
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 this weekend:
- 54 straight victories at home against unranked opponents
- 43 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 and four straight NCAA Championship appearances
- 66 consecutive starts for Jenna Rubino and 57 in-a-row for Allie Quigley
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.
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.
Home Cookin’: In six 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 four 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.
1K Club: Allie Quigley needs 42 points and Jenna Rubino needs 70 points to become the 20th and 21st players in school history with 1,000 career points. Quigley, a junior, has totaled 958 points in 66 career games while Rubino, a senior, has 930 points in 96 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 509 career points.
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. The two duos on the DePaul roster are two of 20 sets of sisters playing on a NCAA Division I team this season. DePaul is the only team in the country with two sets of sisters on the roster.
Taking Advantage From Beyond the Arc: Since the start of the 2003-04 season, the club has knocked down 670 trifectas compared to just 392 for the opposition. Over the last seven years, the team has totaled at least 200 three-pointers in each season. With a 0-for-8 showing against Houston on Feb. 11, 2005, DePaul’s streak of games with a three-pointer ended at 259 games. At the time, it was the nation’s seventh-longest active streak.
In 34 games last season, the Blue Demons outscored their opponents by 231 points from three-point range (6.8 ppg). DePaul was 222-692 (.321) from behind the arc while opponents were a combined 145-458 (.317). The squad averaged 6.5 three’s per game while the opposition made 4.3 treys per contest.
At Oklahoma in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic, the Blue Demons used the experimental three-point distance of 20’6”. DePaul went 8-for-28 (.286) as a team. The Blue Demons have played in two events in the last two seasons where the experimental distance was used. At the 2005 Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu, the team posted a combined .306 percentage from behind the extended arc on 15-of-49 shooting in the three games.
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.
Against the State: DePaul has seen recent success against opponents from the state of Illinois. Over the last 31 games against Illinois, Illinois-Chicago, Loyola-Chicago, Northern Illinois, Northwestern and Southern Illinois, the Blue Demons have posted 30 victories. In 2004-05 against Northwestern, Illinois, Illinois-Chicago, Southern Illinois and Northern Illinois, the club was a perfect 5-0. Last season, the Blue Demons topped Northern Illinois, Loyola-Chicago and Northwestern.
DePaul has won 35 of the last 37 games against state opponents and currently hold a 16-game winning streak against Illinois schools. The Blue Demons take on Northern Illinois, Illinois-Chicago, Loyola-Chicago, Chicago State this season while Illinois State could be a potential opponent on Saturday in the DePaul Invitational.