DePaul University Athletics
Women's Basketball Hosts Saint Xavier in Exhibition Game
10/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
CHICAGO The DePaul women's basketball team tunes up for the 2008-09 regular season with a pair of exhibition games at McGrath Arena. The two-game set starts on Friday night against Saint Xavier from Chicago's Southside before a Nov. 7 exhibition game against the University of Chicago. Tipoff against Saint Xavier is scheduled for 7 p.m. at McGrath Arena.
Saint Xavier went 23-9 last season while earning a spot in the NAIA National Tournament. The Cougars enter the 2008-09 season ranked No. 13 in the preseason NAIA Top 25. Saint Xavier returns three starters, including NAIA All-American junior forward Erin Hannemann a team that finished first in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) with a 8-2 mark and qualified for the NAIA National Tournament for the sixth straight season. DePaul is one of four NCAA Division I teams the Cougars face in exhibition play joining Northern Illinois, UIC and Chicago State.
What’s Back: The Blue Demons aim for their seventh straight NCAA Championship appearance in 2008-09. DePaul finished last year with a 20-12 record for the program’s 16th 20-win season and the fifth in the last six campaigns. DePaul is just one of 17 programs to play in each of the last six NCAA Tournaments and the run is a program record passing the four-year NCAA streak from 1990-93.
With the loss of five seniors from last season, DePaul returns just 53 percent of its scoring from a year ago. However, two of the top three scorers are back with junior Deirdre Naughton averaging 15.1 points and senior Natasha Williams averaging 10.0 points per game. Naughton also led the Blue Demons with 67 three-pointers and was an honorable mention All-BIG EAST honoree as a sophomore. Williams led DePaul with 6.5 rebounds per game and 47 blocked shots while the team brings back 51 percent of the rebounding from last season.
Other returning players include seniors Erin Cattell and Holly Medley along with junior China Threatt and sophomores Felicia Chester, Taylor Pikes and Sam Quigley. Threatt and Quigley missed part and all of last season with knee injuries. Threatt played 26 games before her injury at Rutgers while Quigley missed the entire 2007-08 campaign. Pikes, the only true freshman a year ago, averaged 3.7 points and 3.9 rebounds in just over 11 minutes per game, and Chester was second on the team with 24 blocked shots. Cattell saw action in 28 games while Medley played in 25 contests.
What’s New: The Blue Demons welcome a six-member class of newcomers this season consisting of five freshmen and one transfer. Junior Rachel Pierson sat out the 2007-08 season after transferring from Iowa State. She played in 35 games for the Cyclones as a redshirt freshman in 2006-07. The freshmen class includes Keisha Hampton of Philadelphia, Danielle Havel from Carmel, Ind., Maureen Mulchrone and Deanna Ortiz of Chicago, and Courtney Webb from Benton Harbor, Mich. DePaul added Jennifer Juergens in September 2008 and she will sit out the 2008-09 season under NCAA guidelines. The Bourbonnais, Ill,. native has two seasons of eligibility starting with the 2009-10 campaign.
Who, When and Where: The Blue Demons open the season in Albuquerque, N.M. in the Basketball Travelers Tip-Off Tourney. DePaul faces Alcorn State, Idaho State and host New Mexico in the three-day round-robin tournament, Nov. 15-17. The home portion of the schedule opens with the annual DePaul Invitational, Nov. 21-22, at McGrath Arena. The Blue Demons host Southern, Hartford and nationally-ranked Duke. The Blue Demons visit defending NCAA Champion Tennessee and also travel to Loyola-Chicago, Missouri State and Illinois-Chicago. Home non-conference games include Illinois State, Southern Illinois, Northwestern, Northern Illinois and UW-Green Bay. A total of 13 2008-09 opponents played in the NCAA Tournament last season.
The Blue Demons face five teams that at least reached the Sweet 16 a year ago in the first six conference games. The league-opening stretch starts with two Sweet 16 opponents in a road game at Louisville followed by a home game against Notre Dame. DePaul then goes on the road at Pittsburgh (Sweet 16) and Connecticut before hosting Providence and Rutgers. The Huskies advanced to the Final Four last season after defeating Rutgers in an Elite Eight matchup.
Following the opening three-week stretch, the Blue Demons host Georgetown, Marquette, Seton Hall, USF and West Virginia while traveling to Cincinnati, Notre Dame, St. John’s, Syracuse and Villanova. All 16 BIG EAST teams venture to Hartford, Conn., for the 2009 BIG EAST Championship, Mar. 6-10.
Noting the Blue Demons: DePaul enters the 2008-09 season with a 609-364 (.626) all-time record... the 2008-09 campaign is the 35th season of women’s basketball at DePaul University... the Blue Demons have put together at least one 10-game winning streak in four of the last five campaigns... with a record-setting 252 three-pointers in 2007-08, DePaul has made at least 200 three’s in a season in nine straight years... since the start of the 2003-04 season (159 games), the Blue Demons have held 62.3 percent of their opponents to less than 70 points (99-of-159)... in that span, DePaul is 86-13 (.869) when holding opponents to less than 70 points... in the last four seasons, the Blue Demons are 92-37 (.713)... in the last 45 home games against conference opponents, DePaul has posted 37 victories... over the last eight seasons (252 games), DePaul has scored at least 80 points in 92 games... the Blue Demons hold an 87-5 (.946) record in those games... in the same span, DePaul is 40-1, including 38 straight wins, when scoring at least 90 points.
Taking Advantage from Beyond the Arc: Since the start of the 2004-05 season, the club has knocked down 949 trifectas compared to just 607 for the opposition. An 0-for-8 showing against Houston on Feb. 11, 2005, ended DePaul’s streak with a three-pointer 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 365 of the last 366 games.
In 32 games last season, the Blue Demons outscored their opponents by 222 points from three-point range (6.9 ppg). DePaul was 252-714 (.353) from behind the arc while opponents were a combined 178-540 (.330). The squad averaged 7.9 three’s per game while the opposition made 5.6 treys per contest. The trio of Missy Mitidiero, Deirdre Naughton and Allie Quigley combined for 183 three’s last season - five more than the 178 for all of DePaul’s opponents combined.
The Blue Demons totaled at least 10 three-pointers in eight games and held a 6-2 record in those games. DePaul concluded the regular-season with a record 16 three’s in the 97-74 win at Seton Hall. The 81-80 win at #11/11 West Virginia saw the team drop in 14 long rangers to tie for fourth (fourth time) on DePaul’s single-game chart. Deirdre Naughton led the team last season with 67 three’s to tie for seventh on DePaul’s season chart.
Marching Along: DePaul has tallied six straight NCAA Championship appearances and 13 appearances overall. The current six-year streak is the longest in program history ahead of DePaul earning four straight berths from 1990-93. That four-year run was followed by three straight appearances from 1995-97. The program is 7-13 all-time in NCAA action and 4-6 since 2003, including the 2006 NCAA Regional Semifinal in San Antonio, Texas. The program is one of 14 schools to play in the postseason in at least 17 of the last 20 years and is just one of 17 programs to play in each of the last six tournaments.
Home Cookin’: Through eight 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 93-17 (.845) record in the arena’s 110 games. The .845 winning percentage is ranked ninth among all active arenas and 11th all-time.
Now entering the 35th season of women’s basketball at DePaul University, the Blue Demons have an all-time home court record of 357-101 (.779). 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.
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 #5/4 Connecticut. The Blue Demons’ 11-game winning streak dating back to the 2006-07 season ended on Jan. 2 with the 102-68 loss to #3/3 Tennessee.
Over the last six years, the team is 72-10 at home with four losses to teams ranked in the top five. DePaul lost in overtime to #2/2 Tennessee on Dec. 17, 2003, before the Connecticut loss in Jan. 2006. Tennessee, ranked third in both polls, served DePaul its fifth defeat on Jan. 2 before the 77-76 loss to #1/1 Connecticut on Mar. 1. Maybe more impressive is that the Blue Demons’ average margin of victory during that span is 23.1 points per game.
The Blue Demons have also posted 71 victories in the last 74 games over unranked opponents. West Virginia ended DePaul’s 58-game streak over unranked opponents with a 74-63 decision on Jan. 9, 2007 before Pittsburgh and Louisville handed the Blue Demons defeats last season. During the 58-game streak, there were 54 victories at McGrath Arena and four wins at the Allstate Arena.
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 2008-09 season:
- 106 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
- six straight NCAA Championship appearances
- nine seasons in-a-row with at least 200 three-pointers
Against the State: DePaul has seen recent success against opponents from the state of Illinois. Over the last 45 games against Chicago State, Illinois, Illinois-Chicago, Illinois State, Loyola-Chicago, Northern Illinois, Northwestern and Southern Illinois, the Blue Demons have posted 44 victories. The 2007-08 schedule saw DePaul knock off Southern Illinois, Illinois State, Illinois-Chicago, Loyola-Chicago, Chicago State, Northern Illinois and Northwestern.
DePaul has won 51 of the last 53 games against state opponents and currently holds a 30-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. During the 53-game stretch, both defeats have occurred at Illinois with the last home loss to an Illinois program on Nov. 20, 1998, against Northwestern by a score of 62-61.