Bruno Goes for 400 Against Missouri State
12/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
#17/21 DePaul vs. Missouri State
Sunday, Dec. 2, 2007 | 2 p.m.
McGrath Arena | Chicago, Ill.
CHICAGO - Head coach Doug Bruno aims for his 400th win with the Blue Demons as DePaul hosts Missouri State on Sunday afternoon. DePaul, ranked No. 17 in this week’s AP poll and 21st in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches top 25, tangle with the Lady Bears at McGrath Arena with a 2 p.m. start. Missouri State stands at 0-5 in the early portion of the season while DePaul enters the game at 5-0.
The Blue Demons enter the game as one of two undefeated BIG EAST teams as Connecticut stands at 6-0.
Following the Missouri State game, the Blue Demons host Loyola-Chicago on Dec. 8 at McGrath Arena. The Sunday afternoon contest with the Lady Bears is the second of a four-game homestand for DePaul. Following the UIC and Missouri State games, the Blue Demons host Loyola-Chicago on Dec. 8 and Chicago State on Dec. 12. Last Sunday’s game at Illinois State marked the start of a stretch that has DePaul playing six of seven games against teams from the state of Illinois.
1 For 400: A win over Missouri State on Sunday would be No. 400 for Doug Bruno at DePaul. Bruno would become the 40th active coach with 400 collegiate victories. He is the third coach this season to eclipse the 400-win mark following Patrica Cage-Bibbs at North Carolina A&T on Nov. 23 and Texas’ Gail Goestenkors on Nov. 25.
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 (132 games), the Blue Demons have held 64.4 percent of their opponents to less than 70 points (85-of-132)... in that span, DePaul is 76-9 (.894) 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-plus seasons, the Blue Demons are 77-25 (.755)... in the last 37 home games against conference opponents, DePaul has posted 34 victories (.919 winning pct.)... DePaul hasn’t scored 100 points since a 103-64 win over Charlotte on Jan. 16, 2005 (87 games)... over the last seven-plus seasons (225 games), DePaul has scored at least 80 points in 79 games... the Blue Demons hold a 75-4 (.949) 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 34 seasons of play at DePaul, the women’s basketball program is 594-352 (.628)... 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.
Opponent 6 - Missouri State Lady Bears: Missouri State enters Sunday’s game looking for the first win of the season... the Lady Bears have dropped five straight to open the campaign, including a 63-59 loss to UT-San Antonio on Thursday... they have also lost to Texas, UW-Green Bay, Arkansas State and Arkansas-Little Rock... Missouri State returns six players and four starters from last season’s 7-21 team... Tahnee Balerio leads the team with 14.2 points per game while Tiff Terwelp adds 7.0 points and a team-high 9.2 rebounds per contest... head coach Nyla Milleson is in her first season at Missouri State.
The Series - DePaul leads 2-0: Sunday marks just the third all-time meeting between the two programs... the Blue Demons have won both games in each of the last two seasons... a year ago at Missouri State, Caprice Smith scored 23 points and added nine rebounds to lead DePaul to a 78-57 victory... the first meeting at McGrath Arena was a 84-74 win for the Blue Demons on Dec. 28, 2005.
It Could Happen: A win would mark the sixth 6-0 start in school history... the Blue Demons have started the season at 6-0 in three of the last four campaigns... a win would be No. 400 for Doug Bruno at DePaul... Allie Quigley needs one point to take sole possession of 11th all-time in scoring and 18 points to pass Mfon Udoka (1994-98 - 1,569) and into 10th all-time... Quigley also needs four three-pointers to become the second player in school history with 200 three’s... Caprice Smith needs seven points to pass Anne McDonald (1995-99 - 1,022) for 19th all-time.
Demon Doings: Notes following the 74-35 win against Illinois-Chicago on Nov. 29:
- DePaul has won 26 straight, 40 of the last 41, and 47 of the last 49 games against opponents from Illinois.
- The Blue Demons also continued streaks of: 23 straight home wins over non-conference opponents, 32 consecutive victories against UIC and 43 in-a-row against Horizon League programs.
- The 35 points allowed were the fewest allowed since a 68-35 win over UIC on Jan. 13, 1992.
- The 5-0 start is the eighth in school history and the third in the last four seasons.
- Caprice Smith moved into 20th all-time with 1,016 points.
- Allie Quigley moved into seventh all-time with 327 assists... she is also now tied for 11th all-time with 1,552 career points.
- The Blue Demons now lead the series, 34-5, with 32 consecutive wins over the Flames.
Home Cookin’: Through seven-plus 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 87-11 record in the arena’s first 98 games. Now in the 34th season, the Blue Demons have an all-time home court record of 351-95 (.787). 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 33-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-plus years, the team is 70-4 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 in Jan. 2006. Maybe more impressive is that the Blue Demons average margin of victory during that span is 22.7 points per game.
The Blue Demons have also posted 66 victories in the last 67 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.
In 87 games against unranked opponents at McGrath Arena, DePaul has posted 82 victories. The Blue Demons enter Sunday’s game against Missouri State with a 23-game winning streak against non-conference opponents. DePaul last non-conference home loss was a 96-89 overtime decision to No. 2 Tennessee on Dec. 17, 2003.
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 Sunday’s game against Missouri State:
- 79 consecutive games with a three-pointer
- 26 straight wins against opponents from Illinois, 39 of the last 40, and 46 wins in the last 48 games
- five straight NCAA Championship appearances
- 93 consecutive starts for Allie Quigley
- 23 wins in-a-row at home against non-conference opponents
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 has totaled 1,552 points for a tie for 11th all-time and was joined on the 1,000-point list by Caprice Smith exactly one year later on Nov. 25, 2007. Smith eclipsed the mark at Illinois State to become the 22nd player in school history with 1,000 career points. She has totaled 1,016 career points in her 102 career games to rank 20th all-time at DePaul.
TV Time: The BIG EAST Conference totals a league-record 101 combined appearances this season featuring each of the league’s 16 programs. For the second straight year every game of the league tournament will be televised and the CSTV “Game of the Week” package will single out the BIG EAST as the nation’s only conference with a weekly women’s basketball night on CSTV. DePaul is scheduled to make at least eight regular-season television appearances starting on Jan. 2 against defending NCAA Champion Tennessee on ESPNU. The Blue Demons will also be seen on ESPNU in games against Pittsburgh on Jan. 6 and Notre Dame on Feb. 24. The BIG EAST TV Network will carry the Jan. 19 game at Marquette while the Jan. 22 game at Notre Dame will be on CSTV. Louisville visits McGrath Arena on Feb. 10 for an ESPN2-televised game. While the final home game of the regular season against Connecticut will be seen on CLTV in Chicago with the CPTV (Connecticut Public Television) feed. Recently, West Virginia Public Broadcasting announced a nine-game television package with the DePaul-West Virginia game in Morgantown on Feb. 16 on WV PBS.