DePaul University Athletics
Blue Demons and Huskies Tangle in BIG EAST Semifinals
3/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Game #31
2006 BIG EAST Championship Quarterfinals
#15/15 DePaul (25-5) vs. #7/7 Connecticut (27-4)
Hartford Civic Center - Hartford Conn.
Mar. 6, 2006 - 8 p.m. EST
Game Notes - Live Audio - Live Stats
TV: ESPNU - Radio: XM Satellite Channel 200
BIG EAST Championship Information
HARTFORD, Conn. - The DePaul Blue Demons move on to a conference tournament semifinal for the third time in the last four seasons following a 69-46 win over Pittsburgh on Sunday night. The third-seeded Blue Demons take on the second-seeded Connecticut Huskies in the second semifinal on Monday evening. In two of their previous three Conference USA Tournaments, DePaul advanced to the semifinals, but haven’t won a conference tournament since claiming the 1992 Great Midwest Conference title.
The Connecticut game and all postseason games can be heard live at www.depaulbluedemons.com. Jason Benetti is in his first year on the headset for the Blue Demons and describes all the action this season. Bob Picozzi and Nancy Lieberman will be calling the action for the ESPNU broadcast.
Notes Following the Quarterfinals: DePaul is now 21-13 all-time in conference tournament play... DePaul has won seven straight games since a season-high three-game losing streak... the 46 points by Pittsburgh are the fewest points allowed in a conference tournament game since an 83-45 win over Illinois-Chicago in the first round of the North Star Conference Tournament on Mar. 8, 1990... the Blue Demons have reached the conference tournament semifinals in three of the last four seasons... the team has knocked down at least 10 three-pointers in back-to-back games for the first time this season... Khara Smith tied DePaul’s all-time games played record with her 127th appearance on Sunday... she is tied with Veronica Ross and Beth Hasenmiller... in the last four games, Smith is 22-of-24 (.917) from the free throw line... Allie Quigley surpassed the 900-point plateau... Jenna Rubino took sole possession of 10th all-time with 112 career three-pointers... Caprice Smith’s four three-pointers against the Panthers were a career best... her 4-of-5 effort (.800) from behind the arc ties the sixth-highest single-game percentage in school history... the current seven-game winning streak is the longest since the nine-game streak ended by Connecticut on Jan. 28... DePaul has held the opposition to .350 or less on 11 occasions this season... the Blue Demons have held their opponents to less than 60 points in 15 games this season... the team is 15-0 in those games... DePaul has held the opposition to less than 70 in each of the last eight games.
Connecticut Preview: The Huskies enter the game at 27-4 overall after dispatching Notre Dame, 71-60, on Sunday evening. Connecticut is the second seed in the BIG EAST Championship after finishing the league slate with a 14-2 record. Ann Strother leads four players in double-figures with 13.6 points per game to go along with a team-high 74 three-pointers. She is followed by Mel Thomas with 12.0 points while Barbara Turner adds 11.4 points per game and a team-best 7.1 rebounds per contest. Head coach Geno Auriemma is in his 21st season at Connecticut with a 585-115 record.
The Series: Monday is the third meeting between the two programs with each team claiming a victory. Connecticut won the regular-season meeting in Chicago by a score of 84-75. Barbara Turner led the Huskies with 24 points and eight rebounds while Khara Smith finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds. The loss for DePaul ended a school-record 33-game home-floor winning streak.
It Could Happen: A win would give DePaul just the third season with at least 26 wins... the Connecticut game will be the 128th in Khara Smith’s career for DePaul’s all-time games played record... a win over Connecticut will be DePaul’s first victory over a top 10 team since a 75-59 win over then-No.8 Notre Dame on Dec. 11, 2002... the program’s highest-ranked win ever was a 70-67 win over then-No. 3 Louisiana Tech on Dec. 14, 1996.
Other Games to Watch: Horizon League - Former DePaul assistant Lisa Ryckbosch (1991-02) and the Illinois-Chicago Flames take on UW-Milwaukee in the Horizon League championship on Monday afternoon... a win will give UIC their first NCAA Tournament berth... Patriot League - Former DePaul assistant Maggie Dixon (2001-05) has top-seeded Army playing for their first NCAA Tournament berth on Wednesday night... the Patriot League Coach of the Year led the Black Knights to the regular-season title... she is the younger sister of Pittsburgh men’s basketball coach Jamie Dixon.
In Case You’re Wondering: Khara Smith’s 20 points and six rebounds at West Virginia preceded by the 13-point, six-rebound game at Rutgers marked just the fifth time since the start of the 2003-04 season (90 games) that she’s gone without a double-double in consecutive games. Since the start of her sophomore year, Smith has never played three straight games without a double-double.
The last two-game double-double drought occurred earlier this season at Seton Hall on Jan. 21 (18 pts./9 rebs.) and against Louisville on Jan. 25 (5 pts./12 reb.). As a junior, she went without a double-double on Feb. 20 at Memphis (15 pts./9 rebs.) and Feb. 27 against Marquette (8 pts./9 rebs.). It also happened earlier in the 2004-05 season on Dec. 12 at Tennessee (18 pts./8 rebs.) and Dec. 15 at Northern Illinois (26 pts./9 rebs.).
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 Connecticut game on Monday:
- 52 straight victories at home against unranked opponents
- 38 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
Taking Advantage From Beyond the Arc: Since the start of the 2002-03 season, the club has knocked down 870 trifectas compared to just 495 for the opposition. Over the last six 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 30 games this season, the Blue Demons have outscored their opponents by 189 points from three-point range (6.3 ppg). DePaul is 197-603 (.327) from behind the arc while opponents are a combined 134-418 (.321). The squad averages 6.6 three’s per game while the opposition makes 4.5 treys per contest.
At the Rainbow Wahine Classic, the Blue Demons used the experimental three-point distance of 20’6”. The team posted a combined .306 percentage from behind the extended arc on 15-of-49 shooting in the three games.
March Madness in Chicago: DePaul University and the Allstate Arena are one of eight hosts for the First and Second Rounds of the 2006 NCAA Women’s Championship. The Chicago site is schedule for first round games on Saturday, March 18 followed by a pair of second round games on Monday, March 20.
The Allstate Arena was the site of the Men’s Chicago Regional last season that saw Illinois advance to the Final Four with wins over UW-Milwaukee and Arizona. The facility also served host to the 1996 Women’s Sweet Sixteen.
DePaul holds a 20-4 all-time record at the Allstate Arena and have won their last eight games there including a 102-57 win over Southern Illinois in December 2003. The DePaul men’s program plays their entire home schedule at the arena located in Rosemont, Ill.
