Blue Demons Aim for Seventh Straight Win
12/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
#17/18 DePaul (6-1) vs. Northwestern (6-3)
Dec. 13, 2006 | Noon
McGrath Arena | Chicago, Ill.
Game Notes: DePaul | Opponent Information: Northwestern
Internet Audio: DePaul | Live Stats: Demons Live
CHICAGO - DePaul returns to non-conference action with the final home game against a non-BIG EAST opponent on Wednesday afternoon against Northwestern. The Blue Demons opened BIG EAST play on Dec. 7 with an 87-73 win over then-No. 19/21 Rutgers.
The Blue Demons enter the game at 6-1 with six straight wins. DePaul stands at 17th in this week’s AP poll and No. 18 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25. Northwestern is 6-3 overall and not ranked in either poll.
Wednesday’s game begins a run of three games in six days and a total of five contests over the next nine days. Following the Northwestern game, DePaul travels to Detroit for a Friday night game against the Titans and wrap up the weekend with a Sunday afternoon game at Illinois-Chicago. The Blue Demons leave for San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Monday and play Loyola-Chicago on Wednesday and TCU on Thursday in the San Juan Shootout.
Noting the Blue Demons: In the last three games, the Blue Demons are a combined 42-of-50 (.840) from the free throw line... DePaul’s three road opponents this season have a combined .846 home-court winning percentage since the start of the 1998-99 season... Oklahoma is 91-19 (.827) in that span at the Lloyd Noble Center while UW-Green Bay is 83-11 (.883) at the Phoenix Sports Center and Missouri State is 116-23 (.835) at Hammons Student Center... in the four of the six wins, opponents have scored less than 70 points... since the start of the 2003-04 season (102 games), the Blue Demons have held 69 percent of their opponents to less than 70 points (70-of-102)... in that span, DePaul is 64-6 (.914) when holding opponents to less than 70 points... four players have scored in double-figures in three of the seven games this season... DePaul has knocked down at least 10 three-pointers in a game on three occasions... the 2005-06 squad combined for at least 10 three’s in three games... the Blue Demons have been ranked in each of the last 60 ESPN/USA Today polls and the last 43 AP top 25’s... in the last two-plus seasons, the Blue Demons are 59-13 (.819)... in the last 30 home games against conference opponents, DePaul has posted 29 victories (.967 winning pct.)... 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... the Blue Demons have won seven consecutive regular-season tournaments... over the last six-plus seasons (195 games), DePaul has scored at least 80 points in 71 games... the Blue Demons hold a 68-3 record in those games... in the 33rd season of play at DePaul, the women’s basketball program is 577-339.
Opponent 7 - Northwestern Wildcats: Northwestern enters the Wednesday matinee with a 6-3 record and losers of two straight. Missouri handed the Wildcats a 78-59 decision on Dec. 10 following a 70-54 loss to Northern Illinois on Dec. 2. A.J. Glasauer leads the team with 13.9 points per game while Melissa Miller adds 7.0 points and a team-high 8.4 rebounds per game. Head coach Beth Combs is in her third season at Northwestern and holds a 17-50 record with the Wildcats.
The Series - Northwestern leads 13-10: Wednesday is the 24th meeting between the two programs with the Wildcats holding a 13-10 advantage. Despite the deficit in the all-time series, the Blue Demons have won seven straight against their neighbors from Evanston. DePaul’s last loss to Northwestern was a 62-61 decision at Alumni Hall on Nov. 20, 1998. All-time against the Big Ten, DePaul is 32-49 with seven victories in their last eight games against league opponents. A year ago, the Blue Demons knocked off Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin.
Against the State: DePaul has seen recent success against opponents from the state of Illinois. Over the last 34 games against Illinois, Illinois-Chicago, Illinois State, Loyola-Chicago, Northern Illinois, Northwestern and Southern Illinois, the Blue Demons have posted 33 victories. The Wildcats represent the third of six in-state opponents this season. DePaul knocked off Illinois State to win the DePaul Invitational and topped Northern Illinois on Nov. 25. The Northwestern game is followed by a Dec. 17 date at Illinois-Chicago, a Dec. 20 game against Loyola-Chicago in Puerto Rico and a Dec. 30 contest at Chicago State.
DePaul has won 40 of the last 42 games against state opponents and currently holds a 19-game winning streak against Illinois schools. The last loss to a state program was on Dec. 4, 2002, as Illinois defeated the Blue Demons in Champaign by a 71-67 score.
It Could Happen: The game is the 600th for Doug Bruno at DePaul... a win would give the Blue Demons one of the top six starts in school history through seven games... a win would be the eighth straight against Northwestern and 20th in-a-row against schools from Illinois... a loss to the Wildcats would be the first since a 62-61 defeat on Nov. 20, 1998... Allie Quigley needs one three-pointer for sole possession of fourth all-time... Jenna Rubino needs 20 points to become the 21st player in school history with 1,000 career points.
Conference-Opening Notes: DePaul is 1-1 all-time in BIG EAST openers... the team started each of the last two BIG EAST campaigns on Dec. 7... the Blue Demons dropped a 79-77 loss in overtime at USF before knocking off Rutgers, 87-73.
Quigley Named Player of the Week: Following a career-high 37 points against Rutgers, DePaul junior Allie Quigley was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week. The guard totaled 37 points with a career-high seven three-pointers to lead the Blue Demons to an 87-73 victory over No. 19/21 Rutgers. She went 11-of-20 from the field, 7-of-11 from behind the arc and 8-of-10 from the free throw line while adding five rebounds and two assists in 34 minutes played. The 37 points were just six shy of setting the school’s single-game record, was one of the top 13 single-game scoring performances in school history and the most points scored since Dec. 4, 2001 when Lenae Williams’ notched 39 points against Illinois. The seven three’s put Quigley in a tie for third on the single-game chart – just one shy of tying the school record.
Naismith Award Announces Preseason Top 50: Fifty of the country’s top collegiate women’s basketball players were named as pre-season candidates for the Naismith Trophy presented by Cingular Wireless, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced. DePaul’s Allie Quigley is second player in program history - joining Khara Smith - to be named to the Naismith Award list. She is also one of nine BIG EAST student-athletes on the preseason list. The Top 50 list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s Board of Selectors, comprised of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country. The board based its pre-season criteria on player performances from last season and expectations for the 2006-07 season. In January, the Board of Selectors will narrow its pre-season list to the Top 30 players in the nation. Those players, and others who distinguish themselves throughout the season, will be eligible for the final ballot in March.
Demon Doings: Notes following the 87-73 win against Rutgers on Thursday night:
- DePaul has won 29 of the last 30 home conference games. The lone loss was an 84-75 decision to Connecticut last season.
- The Blue Demons are 6-1 or better to start the season for the ninth time in school history.
- DePaul’s 12 three’s marked the third game this season with at least 10 three-pointers in a game. The Blue Demons took the entire 2005-06 season to tally three 10-plus three-point games.
- Allie Quigley’s 37 points were a career high. Quigley is 11-for-16 from the three-point line in the last two games. She also moved into a tie for fourth all-time with 156 career three’s. DePaul’s last 30-point game was a 31-point effort by Khara Smith vs. Charlotte (Jan. 16, 2005) - 56 games. Quigley’s seven three-pointers were the most by a DePaul player in McGrath Arena history and a career single-game high. The seven three’s tie for third all-time on DePaul’s single-game chart – just one shy of the school-record eight.
- Caprice Smith registered her fourth career double-double and gathered a career-high 16 rebounds.
- The series is now tied at 1-1. DePaul now has at least one victory against all 15 BIG EAST opponents. The loss for Rutgers ended a streak of 24 straight BIG EAST regular-season victories. The loss was also the first in conference play for the Scarlet Knights against one of the five newest members of the BIG EAST.
Seven Tourney Titles: DePaul has totaled seven straight regular-season tournament titles starting with the 2002 Moran Realty Classic. A year ago, the Blue Demons claimed the DePaul Invitational and Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic. DePaul also claimed the Moran Realty Classic (hosted by DePaul) in 2003 and 2004 and also earned championship hardware at Dartmouth’s Blue Sky Restaurant Classic in 2004. The most recent tourney championship was the 2006 DePaul Invitational with wins over Yale and Illinois State at McGrath Arena.
DePaul Invitational Recap: The Blue Demons knocked off Yale and Illinois State to claim the 2006 DePaul Invitational. On Friday night, DePaul opened up a 35-34 halftime lead with a 51-point second half against Yale. China Threatt came off the bench for a game-high 18 points to lead four players in double-figures as the Blue Demons defeated the Bulldogs, 86-60. The Blue Demons claimed the championship on the following evening with a 90-64 win over Illinois State. Allie Quigley dropped in 26 points along with eight assists as DePaul combined to shoot .529 from the field. Quigley was named the tourney MVP and was joined on the All-Tournament team by Caprice Smith and Threatt.
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.
Home Cookin’: In six-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 78-9 record in the arena’s first 87 games. Now in the 33rd season, the Blue Demons have an all-time home court record of 342-93 (.786). 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-plus years, the team is 61-2 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 23.5 points per game.
The Blue Demons have also posted 57 straight home victories over unranked opponents. During the 57-game streak over unranked opponents, there have been 53 victories at McGrath Arena 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.
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 Wednesday’s game against Northwestern:
- 57 straight victories at home against unranked opponents
- 49 consecutive games with a three-pointer
- 19 straight wins against opponents from Illinois and 33 of the last 34
- seven consecutive regular-season tournament championships
- four 20-win seasons in-a-row and four straight NCAA Championship appearances
- 72 consecutive starts for Jenna Rubino and 63 in-a-row for Allie Quigley
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.
Sister Act: The DePaul roster features two sets of sisters in 2006-07. Sam Quigley joins the program this season for the roster’s second Quigley. Senior Rachael Carney and junior Erin Carney are in their second season together while Sam and junior Allie Quigley are playing together at the collegiate level for the first time. The two duos on the DePaul roster are two of 21 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.
1K Club: Allie Quigley became the newest member of DePaul’s 1,000-point club against Northern Illinois on Nov. 25. She enters the Northwestern game with 1,085 points to rank 17th all-time. Jenna Rubino is set to become the 21st player with 1,000 points as she has 980 points in 102 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 609 career points.
Taking Advantage From Beyond the Arc: Since the start of the 2003-04 season, the club has knocked down 729 trifectas compared to just 433 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 seven games this season, the Blue Demons have outscored their opponents by 57 points from three-point range (8.1 ppg). DePaul is 67-179 (.374) from behind the arc while opponents are a combined 48-133 (.361). The squad averages 9.6 three’s per game while the opposition makes 6.9 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.
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.
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. All games on CSTV and the BIG EAST TV Network will be streamed live at www.bigeast.tv. The online schedule includes DePaul games at Villanova and Louisville and the regular-season finale at McGrath Arena against Notre Dame.
Looking Forward: The DePaul basketball program signed Taylor Pikes to a National Letter of Intent in the early signing period. Pikes joins the Blue Demons next season and is set to play her senior season at Martin Luther King High School in Chicago. Pikes, at 6’1”, can play both the guard and forward positions. She averaged 20 points, 12 rebounds and two assists as a junior at King while earning second team All-State honors. Pikes also picked up All-City recognition and was named by the Chicago Sun-Times as one of the city’s top six juniors last season. She was also recognized as one of Chicagoland’s top 50 players by the Chicago Tribune. Along with Pikes, the Blue Demons also have transfers Deirdre Naughton and Natasha Williams eligible next season. Both players are sitting out the 2006-07 campaign under NCAA transfer rules. Naughton was on the ACC All-Freshmen team after averaging 15.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game at Wake Forest last season. Williams played her first two collegiate seasons at Minnesota and averaged 8.2 points and 3.8 boards per contest as a sophomore in 2005-06.
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.