DePaul University Athletics
DePaul Takes on Pitt to Start BIG EAST Play
1/5/2008 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
#15/15 DePaul vs. Pittsburgh
Sunday, Jan. 6 | 1 p.m.
McGrath Arena | Chicago, Ill.
CHICAGO - DePaul opens its third BIG EAST run with the Pittsburgh Panthers on Sunday afternoon at McGrath Arena. The Blue Demons finished the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 102-68 loss to No. 3/3 Tennessee on Wednesday night. DePaul started the season with 10 straight victories, but have dropped two of the last three games. Both losses came to teams ranked in the nation’s top 20. Prior to the Tennessee loss, DePaul dropped a 91-81 decision to No. 19/19 Texas on Dec. 28 in San Diego, Calif.
DePaul, ranked No. 15 in both of this week’s AP poll and ESPN/USA Today Coaches top 25 meet the Panthers who are receiving votes in both polls. Pitt is 10-3 through 13 non-conference games this season. The game can be seen live on ESPNU starting at 1 p.m. CT.
Following Sunday’s action, the Blue Demons go on the road for the first time in conference play on Jan. 12 at Providence. St. John’s visits McGrath Arena on Jan. 15 before road games at Marquette on Jan. 19 and Notre Dame on Jan. 22.
BIG EAST 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, last season.
Noting the Blue Demons: In the last two games, the Blue Demons are 27-for-33 (.818) from the free throw line... DePaul started the season with a team .604 (113-187) free throw percentage in the first 11 games... DePaul’s 10-game winning streak to start the season was the seventh winning streak of at least 10 games in program history... the Blue Demons have also put together at least one 10-game winning streak in four of the last five campaigns... the 90-58 win at Northern Illinois on Dec. 17 was the 950th game in program history... 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 (140 games), the Blue Demons have held 65.0 percent of their opponents to less than 70 points (91-of-140)... in that span, DePaul is 82-9 (.901) when holding opponents to less than 70 points... in 2007-08, the Blue Demons are 2-2 when allowing more than 70 points and 9-0 when holding the opposition to less than 70... in the last three-plus seasons, the Blue Demons are 83-27 (.755)... in the last 37 home games against conference opponents, DePaul has posted 34 victories (.919 winning pct.)... over the last seven-plus seasons (233 games), DePaul has scored at least 80 points in 86 games... the Blue Demons hold an 81-5 (.942) record in those games... DePaul’s four straight games with at least 90 points this season is the longest 90-plus run since Jan.-Feb. 1997... DePaul defeated Houston, 101-73, on Jan. 31, UNC Charlotte, 91-76, on Feb. 2, South Florida, 91-66, on Feb. 7, and UAB, 100-60, on Feb. 9... in 34 seasons of play at DePaul, the women’s basketball program is 600-354 (.629)... 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 14 - Pittsburgh Panthers: Pitt enters BIG EAST play at 10-3 and with four straight victories... the Panthers knocked off James Madison, 69-61, and Wagner, 85-41, to win the Wagner Holiday Classic on Dec. 28-30... Shavonte Zellous leads the team with 18.3 points per game while Marcedes Walker averages a double-double of 14.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per contest... Pitt is receiving votes in both national polls and started the season ranked 20th in the AP and 21st in the Coaches top 25... the Panthers were picked to finish fourth in the preseason BIG EAST poll... head coach Agnus Berenato is in her fifth season at Pittsburgh.
The Series - Series tied 2-2: The two sides have split four all-time meetings... three of the games have been in BIG EAST play with DePaul holding a 2-1 lead... a year ago at the Petersen Events Center, the Panthers handed the Blue Demons an 87-80 defeat... Caprice Smith scored 23 points and Allie Quigley totaled 20, but Pitt erased a 47-40 halftime deficit by outscoring DePaul, 47-33, in the second half... Shavonte Zellous led Pitt with 25 points while Marcedes Walker added 22 points and 10 rebounds.
It Could Happen: Missy Mitidiero needs two three-pointers to become the 12th player in school history with 100 career three’s... Allie Quigley needs 16 points to move into fifth all-time and needs two assists for fourth in the record book... a loss would mark just the fourth occurance in eight seasons (103 games) at McGrath Arena with back-to-back home defeats.
Demon Doings: Notes following the 102-68 loss to No. 3/3 Tennessee on Jan. 2:
- The 34-point margin of defeat is the largest for DePaul in McGrath Arena.
- The loss ends DePaul’s 26-game home winning streak against non-conference opponents.
- Three of DePaul’s 12 all-time losses at McGrath Arena have been to Tennessee... the Blue Demons are 90-12 in their eighth season in the facility.
- Allie Quigley surpassed the 1,700-point plateau... she has totaled 1,707 points in 110 career games... Quigley extended her streak of games in double-figures to 23 consecutive games dating back to last season.
- DePaul is now 5-7 all-time at McGrath Arena against team ranked in the top 25.
- Tennessee’s .603 field goal percentage marks the first time in 253 games DePaul allowed an opponent to shoot better than 60 percent... Oregon was 32-for-46 (.696) on Dec. 22, 1999.
- The 102 points allowed were the most since a 105-71 loss at Oklahoma on Nov. 12, 2006... Tennessee was the last opponent to score 100 in Chicago with a 100-66 victory at Alumni Hall on Dec. 17, 1999.
- Tennessee has won all 17 meetings in the series.
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 a 90-12 record in the arena’s first 102 games. Now in the 34th season, the Blue Demons have an all-time home court record of 354-96 (.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 the 34th season of women’s basketball at DePaul University there have been 15 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 Blue Demons’ 11-game winning streak dating back to last season ended on Jan. 2 with the 102-68 loss to No. 3/3 Tennessee.
Over the last five-plus years, the team is 73-5 at home with the three of the five 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. Tennessee, ranked third in both polls, served DePaul its fifth defeat. Maybe more impressive is that the Blue Demons average margin of victory during that span is 23.2 points per game.
The Blue Demons have also posted 68 victories in the last 69 games over unranked opponents. West Virginia ended DePaul’s 58-game streak over unranked opponents with a 74-63 decision on Jan. 9, 2007. 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 90 games against unranked opponents at McGrath Arena, DePaul has posted 85 victories.
BIG EAST Preseason Picks: Connecticut, the 2006-07 regular season BIG EAST Champion, was picked as the preseason favorite in the annual coaches poll. DePaul was slotted at No. 7 while Rutgers, West Virginia and Pittsburgh followed the Huskies.
Angel McCoughtry of Louisville was named the Preseason Player of the Year after being named BIG EAST Player of the Year last season. She was a unanimous selection and was joined by Connecticut’s Maya Moore as the Preseason Freshman of the Year. Allie Quigley was picked up honorable mention Preseason All-BIG EAST recognition after picking up second team All-BIG EAST honors as a sophomore and junior. The Preseason All-BIG EAST team was headlined by unanimous selections Essence Carson of Rutgers, Olayinka Sanni of West Virginia, Marcedes Walker of Pittsburgh and Louisville’s McCoughtry.
Taking Advantage from Beyond the Arc: Since the start of the 2004-05 season, the club has knocked down 803 trifectas compared to just 493 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 346 of the last 347 games. The Texas game on Dec. 28 marked the 85th straight contest with at least one three-pointer.
In 13 games this season, the Blue Demons have outscored their opponents by 126 points from three-point range (9.7 ppg). DePaul is 106-304 (.349) from behind the arc while opponents are a combined 64-210 (.305). The squad averages 8.2 three’s per game while the opposition makes 4.9 treys per contest. The trio of Missy Mitidiero, Deirdre Naughton and Allie Quigley have combined for 74 three’s this season - 10 more than the 64 for all of DePaul’s opponents combined.
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 Pittsburgh:
- 87 consecutive games with a three-pointer
- 30 straight wins against opponents from Illinois, 43 of the last 44, and 51 wins in the last 53 games
- five straight NCAA Championship appearances
- 101 consecutive starts for Allie Quigley
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.
