DePaul University Athletics
DePaul Wraps Up Exhibition Schedule with Michigan Tech
11/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
CHICAGO The DePaul women's basketball team plays its final exhibition game on Friday evening against Michigan Tech at McGrath Arena. DePaul topped Saint Xavier, 111-70, on Tuesday night in the first preseason contest. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. with the DePaul men's team taking on Trinity Christian at 7:30 p.m.
Michigan Tech, located in Houghton, Mich., is a NCAA Division II program that posted a 19-9 overall record last season. The Huskies return four starters and 80 percent of their scoring from a year ago while head coach John Barnes begins his fifth season in 2007-08. DePaul is the lone Division I exhibition opponent for Michigan Tech this season. They play in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference and were picked to finish third in the North Division of the GLIAC preseason poll.
Exhibition #1 Recap: After playing to a 49-49 tie at halftime, the DePaul women's basketball team outscored Saint Xavier by 41 points in the second half for a 111-70 win in exhibition play on Tuesday night. Allie Quigley led five players in double-figures with a game-high 24 points.
A 28-4 run over a nine-minute span in the second half saw the DePaul lead balloon to 82-58. After a Saint Xavier three-pointer, Quigley started the game-deciding run with two free throws. The run saw six points each from Quigley, Missy Mitidiero and Natasha Williams while Smith added five points and Taylor Pikes hit a three-pointer. Williams finished the run with a three-point play to put the Blue Demons up by 24 points with 9:09 left in the game.
Quigley added seven rebounds, five assists and four steals while Mitidiero went 4-for-6 from behind the arc to finish with 14 points and seven assists. Deirdre Naughton added 13 points, four assists and three steals and Smith totaled 12 points and three boards. Williams rounded out the double-figure scoring with 11 points and five rebounds. Overall, DePaul outrebounded Saint Xavier by a 52-34 margin.
What’s Back: The Blue Demons shoot for the program’s sixth straight NCAA Championship appearance as 83 percent of the scoring and 86 percent of the rebounding return this season. DePaul brings back nine players from last season and have two transfers eligible for play in 2007-08.
All-BIG EAST honorees Allie Quigley and Caprice Smith lead the returners as Quigley led the team with 15.8 points and 100 assists while Smith averaged 15.3 points and a team-high 8.5 rebounds per contest. Quigley was a second team All-BIG EAST member last season and Smith picked up honorable mention recognition.
Erin Carney, Missy Mitidiero and Sam Quigley each started at least 12 games last season. Mitidiero started 22 games and led the team with 61 three-pointers. Quigley started 14 of the last 16 games of her freshman campaign while Carney totaled a dozen starts and was second on the team with 7.6 rebounds per game.
Other top returners include Erin Cattell, Felicia Chester, Holly Medley and China Threatt. Cattell started seven games last season while averaging 20.0 minutes per game and Chester was redshirted after her freshman season was cut short at five games due to injury. Medley saw action in all 32 games while Threatt made six starts and averaged 6.9 points and 2.4 assists per game.
Bruno Leads USA Basketball to World Championship: DePaul women’s basketball coach Doug Bruno capped his summer USA Basketball coaching stint by leading the nation’s U19 team to the FIBA U19 World Championship for Women. The Americans captured the gold medal with a 99-57 win over Sweden and finished the world tournament with a perfect 9-0 record.
This summer was Bruno’s second leading a USA Basketball squad as he guided the U18 Team to gold at the 2006 FIBA Americas U18 Championships for Women. The U18 Championship in Colorado Springs, Colo., qualified the United States for the 2007 U19 World Championship for Women.
In addition to Bruno claiming gold for the United States in the FIBA U19 World Championship for Women, DePaul men’s basketball coach Jerry Wainwright led the men’s U19 team to a silver medal at the FIBA U19 World Championship for Men in Novi Sad, Serbia in late July.
Welcome to Lincoln Park: A total of three new players are on the roster this season. The DePaul basketball program signed Taylor Pikes to a National Letter of Intent and she joins the Blue Demons this season. 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.
Along with Pikes, DePaul welcomes Rachel Pierson and Elise Morrison to the 2007-08 roster. Pierson must sit out this season under NCAA transfer guidelines while Morrison is immediately eligible as a graduate student. Pierson will have two seasons of eligibility after sitting out the 2007-08 campaign. She redshirted at Iowa State in 2005-06 and played in 35 games a year ago. Morrison played two full seasons at Dartmouth where she earned Ivy League Rookie of the Year recognition following the 2003-04 season.
The Blue Demons also have transfers Deirdre Naughton and Natasha Williams eligible in 2007-08. The duo sat out last season 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.
Noting the Blue Demons: With a school-record 250 three-pointers in 2006-07, DePaul has made at least 200 three’s in a season in eight straight years... the 2002-03 squad held the previous program record with 233 three’s in a season... since the start of the 2003-04 season (127 games), the Blue Demons have held 64.6 percent of their opponents to less than 70 points (82-of-127)... in that span, DePaul is 73-9 (.890) when holding opponents to less than 70 points... in 2006-07, the Blue Demons were 6-10 when allowing more than 70 points and 13-3 when holding the opposition to less than 70... in the last three seasons, the Blue Demons are 72-25 (.742)... in the last 37 home games against conference opponents, DePaul has posted 34 victories (.919 winning pct.)... DePaul hasn’t scored 100 points in two-plus seasons (82 games) since a 103-64 win over Charlotte on Jan. 16, 2005... over the last seven seasons (220 games), DePaul has scored at least 80 points in 77 games... the Blue Demons hold a 73-4 (.948) record in those games... Pittsburgh handed DePaul its only loss in 2006-07 when scoring at least 80... the Panthers topped the Blue Demons, 87-80, on Feb. 24 at the Petersen Events Center... in 33 seasons of play at DePaul, the women’s basketball program is 590-351 (.627)... with two games in each of its two BIG EAST Tournaments, DePaul is just one of four teams to play in multiple conference tourney games... Connecticut, Rutgers and Pittsburgh have also played at least two games in each of the last two BIG EAST Championships.
Looking for Six: DePaul has tallied five straight NCAA Championship appearances and 12 NCAA visits overall. Last season’s fifth consecutive appearance set a school record for consecutive NCAA’s. DePaul earned four straight NCAA berths from 1990-93 followed by a three-year run from 1995-97. The program is 7-12 all-time in NCAA action and 4-5 during the five-year streak, including the 2006 NCAA Regional Semifinal in San Antonio, Texas.
Taking Advantage from Beyond the Arc: Since the start of the 2003-04 season, the club has knocked down 912 trifectas compared to just 546 for the opposition. Including the 2006-07 season, the team has totaled at least 200 three-pointers in each of the last eight seasons. 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. Including the Houston game, the Blue Demons have tallied a three-pointer in 333 of the last 334 games.
In 32 games last season, the Blue Demons outscored their opponents by 267 points from three-point range (8.3 ppg). DePaul was 250-723 (.346) from behind the arc while opponents were a combined 161-544 (.296). The squad averages 7.8 three’s per game while the opposition makes 5.0 treys per contest. The trio of Missy Mitidiero, Allie Quigley and Jenna Rubino combined for 167 three’s this season - six more than the 161 for all of DePaul’s opponents combined. With each player knocking down at least 50 three-pointers this season, DePaul was the nation’s only school featuring three players with 50-plus trifectas.
All Alone: With four assists against Rutgers on Mar. 4, 2007, Allie Quigley became the first player in school history with 1,400 points, 300 assists and 150 three-pointers. She finished her junior season with 1,458 points, 303 assists and 191 three-pointers.
By leading the Blue Demons in scoring, assists and steals, she joined Barbra Atsaves and Kim Williams as the only players in program history to lead the team in scoring, assists and steals.
Entering her senior season, she is ranked among all-time leaders in three-pointers (2nd-191), three-point percentage (4th-.394), three-point attempts (4th-485), free throw percentage (t5th-.815), scoring average (t9th-15.0), field goal attempts (10th-1,251) and points (12th-1,458).
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 2007-08 season:
- 74 consecutive games with a three-pointer
- 23 straight wins against opponents from Illinois, 37 of the last 38, and 44 wins in the last 46 games
- five straight NCAA Championship appearances
- 88 consecutive starts for Allie Quigley
Sister Act: The DePaul roster features one set of sisters in 2007-08 with Allie and Sam Quigley. Allie is a senior guard while Sam is a sophomore guard on the Blue Demon roster. A year ago, DePaul featured two sets of sisters with the Quigley’s and Rachael and Erin Carney. Rachael Carney finished her DePaul career last season while Erin enters her senior season in 2007-08. There will still be Carney sisters playing in Chicago as Elizabeth Carney plays for Saint Xavier University on the city’s Southside. She is a sophomore for the Cougars as Saint Xavier reached the NAIA Sweet 16 last season.
1K Club: Allie Quigley passed the 1,000-point mark against Northern Illinois on Nov. 25, 2006, to become the 20th player in school history to reach the mark. Quigley enters her senior season with 1,458 points for 12th all-time and will be joined early in the season by Caprice Smith. Smith begins her senior campaign with 983 career points.
Against the State: DePaul has seen recent success against opponents from the state of Illinois. Over the last 38 games against Chicago State, Illinois, Illinois-Chicago, Illinois State, Loyola-Chicago, Northern Illinois, Northwestern and Southern Illinois, the Blue Demons have posted 37 victories. The Blue Demons defeated Illinois State, Northern Illinois, Illinois-Chicago, Loyola-Chicago and Chicago State last season.
DePaul has won 44 of the last 46 games against state opponents and currently holds a 23-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.
Home Cookin’: Through seven full seasons, McGrath Arena - formerly known as the DePaul Athletic Center - has proven itself as one of the toughest venues in the nation. The Blue Demons have posted an 84-11 record in the arena’s first 95 games. Now in the 33rd season, the Blue Demons have an all-time home court record of 348-95 (.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 14 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 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 five years, the team is 67-4 at home with the two of the four losses to teams ranked in the top five. DePaul lost in overtime to 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 22.8 points per game.
The Blue Demons have also posted 63 victories in the last 64 games over unranked opponents. West Virginia ended DePaul’s 58-game streak over unranked opponents with a 74-63 decision on Jan. 9. During the 58-game streak, there were 54 victories at McGrath Arena and four wins at the Allstate Arena. Prior to the West Virginia loss, 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.