DePaul University Athletics
Women's Hoops Host Northern Illinois on Thursday
12/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
CHICAGO - DePaul concludes its two-game homestand with a Thursday night game against Northern Illinois. All of the action starts at 7 p.m. inside McGrath Arena and the game can be heard live at www.depaulbluedemons.com. The game is also the second in five days for the Blue Demons as they knocked off Northwestern, 60-51, on Sunday afternoon.
A stretch of six games with five opponents from the state of Illinois started Dec. 5 with an 85-42 win over Southern Illinois. DePaul enters the Northern Illinois game with a 34-game winning streak against state schools. The Blue Demons play their final Illinois opponent at UIC on Monday, Dec. 22. The lone non-Illinois game during the six-game span was a 72-57 win at Missouri State on Dec. 10.
Following Thursday’s action, DePaul travels down Halsted Ave. for a Monday night game against the UIC Flames. The non-conference schedule concludes on Monday, Dec. 29 against UW-Green Bay at McGrath Arena.
Noting the Blue Demons: DePaul is 618-366 (.628) all-time... 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 (170 games), the Blue Demons have held 63.5 percent of their opponents to less than 70 points (108-of-170)... in that span, DePaul is 94-14 (.870) when holding opponents to less than 70 points... DePaul has held nine of its 11 opponents to less than 70 this season... in the last three-plus seasons, the Blue Demons are 75-34 (.688)... in the last 45 home games against conference opponents, DePaul has posted 37 victories... over the last eight-plus seasons (263 games), DePaul has scored at least 80 points in 97 games... the Blue Demons hold a 92-5 (.948) record in those games... in the same span, DePaul is 41-1, including 39 straight wins, when scoring at least 90 points... with two games in each of its three BIG EAST Tournaments, DePaul is just one of three teams to play in multiple conference tourney games... Connecticut and Pittsburgh have also played at least two games in each of the last three BIG EAST Championships... the Blue Demons are one of 17 programs nationally with six straight NCAA Championship appearances.
Opponent 12 - Northern Illinois Huskies: Northern Illinois stands at 3-6 following an 89-67 loss to Illinois State on Monday night... Northern Illinois has dropped their last two and four of the last five after starting the season at 2-2... Ebony Ellis leads the team with 11.1 points and 10.2 rebounds per game... she is followed by Marke Freeman with 9.2 points per game... the Huskies are averaging 64.8 points per game while allowing 68.6... head coach Carol Owens is in her fourth season at Northern Illinois.
The Series - DePaul leads 29-7: Thursday is the 37th meeting between the two programs... the Blue Demons hold a 29-7 advantage with 14 straight victories over the Huskies... DePaul’s last loss to Northern Illinois was a 64-53 decision on Feb. 15, 1994 in DeKalb... a year ago, DePaul scored 45 points in each half for a 90-58 win at the Convocation Center... Deirdre Naughton scored 16 points while Natasha Williams added 14 as the Blue Demons built a 45-23 advantage at halftime.
Career Statistics vs. Northern Illinois
| Player | G-GS | FG-A | Pct. | 3P-A | Pct. | FT-A | Pct. | Reb. | Avg. | A | TO | Blk | Stl | Pts. | Avg. |
| Cattell | 3-1 | 8-20 | .400 | 0-1 | .000 | 2-2 | 1.00 | 22 | 7.3 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 6.7 |
| Chester | 1-0 | 2-3 | .667 | 0-0 | .000 | 0-0 | .000 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4.0 |
| Medley | 3-0 | 3-13 | .231 | 0-2 | .000 | 3-6 | .500 | 15 | 5.0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 3.7 |
| Naughton | 1-1 | 6-8 | .750 | 2-4 | .500 | 2-5 | .400 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 16.0 |
| Pikes | 1-0 | 3-3 | 1.00 | 1-1 | 1.00 | 1-2 | .500 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8.0 |
| Quigley | 1-0 | 0-2 | .000 | 0-2 | .000 | 0-0 | .000 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Threatt | 2-0 | 5-13 | .385 | 1-2 | .500 | 2-2 | 1.00 | 1 | 0.5 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 6.5 |
| Williams | 1-1 | 5-8 | .625 | 0-0 | .000 | 4-9 | .444 | 7 | 7.0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 14 | 14.0 |
Against the Mid-American Conference: DePaul is 50-12 (.806) all-time against the current line-up of Mid-American Conference programs... Northern Illinois is the lone MAC school on the 2008-09 regular-season schedule.
Against the State: DePaul has seen recent success against opponents from the state of Illinois. Over the last 49 games against Chicago State, Illinois, Illinois-Chicago, Illinois State, Loyola-Chicago, Northern Illinois, Northwestern and Southern Illinois, the Blue Demons have posted 48 victories. The 2007-08 schedule saw DePaul knock off Southern Illinois, Illinois State, Illinois-Chicago, Loyola-Chicago, Chicago State, Northern Illinois and Northwestern. The 2008-09 campaign has collected wins over Illinois State, Southern Illinois, Loyola-Chicago and Northwestern.
DePaul has won 55 of the last 57 games against state opponents and currently holds a 34-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 56-game stretch, both defeats have occurred at Illinois with the last home loss to an Illinois program on Nov. 20, 1998, against Northwestern. The Wildcats defeated the Blue Demons at Alumni Hall by a score of 62-61.
It Could Happen: The game is No. 985 in DePaul women’s basketball history... a win would give the Blue Demons their first five-game win streak of the season... it would also be No. 99 at McGrath Arena and extend the streak over Illinois opponents to 35 straight victories... Natasha Williams will be playing in her 95th career game (51 at Minnesota/44 at DePaul)... Holly Medley will be playing in her 90th career contest.
Demon Doings: Notes following the 60-51 win against Northwestern on Dec. 14:
- DePaul’s 60 points were the fewest in a win since a 56-53 win at Villanova on Jan. 16, 2007.
- The Blue Demons extended their streak to 34 straight wins over opponents from Illinois... DePaul has won 48 of the last 49 and 55 of the last 57 games against state schools.
- The team has held nine of the first 11 opponents to less than 70 points.
- The victory improved DePaul’s record to 75-34 (.688) in the last three-plus seasons.
- The series between the two program is tied at 13-13... the Blue Demons have won 10 straight against Northwestern... DePaul is 35-49 all-time against teams from the Big Ten Conference.
Blue Demons Block Braves Buckets: The Blue Demons broke the program’s game record for blocked shots with 14 rejections against Alcorn State on Nov. 16. Seven different players recorded a block led by Felicia Chester’s four. Natasha Williams added three, Keisha Hampton and Deirdre Naughton added two blocks apiece and Rachel Pierson, Holly Medley and Danielle Havel record one rejection each. The previous mark of 13 was set against Southwest Texas State on Nov. 29, 1991.
DePaul has continued the shot-blocking theme throughout the season as they have registered at least four blocked shots in 10 games this season. A year ago, the Blue Demons totaled 125 blocks in 32 games while through just 11 games this season there have been 61 rejections. DePaul’s current average of 5.5 blocks per game is tied for the second-highest season average with the 1996-97 squad (159 blocks in 29 games). The 1993-94 team holds the season record with 178 blocked shots in 30 games (5.9 bpg).
BIG EAST Beast: Through games of Dec. 16, the 16 teams in the BIG EAST Conference hold an impressive .803 (118-29) winning percentage in non-conference play. This week’s ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ poll features five BIG EAST schools in the top 19 and the AP top 25 has five teams from league schools among the top 16. Led by No. 1/1 Connecticut, Notre Dame stands in a tie for No. 7 in the ESPN/USA Today poll and in the No. 13 position in the AP poll. Louisville sits at No. 9 in the AP rankings and at No. 11 in ESPN/USA Today, while Rutgers is No. 14 in both polls. Pittsburgh sits at No. 16 in the AP top 25 and No. 19 in the coaches’ poll.
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-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 98-17 (.852) record in the arena’s 115 games. DePaul’s .846 winning percentage to enter the season ranked ninth among all active arenas and 11th all-time.
Now in the 35th season of women’s basketball at DePaul University, the Blue Demons have an all-time home court record of 362-101 (.782). 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-plus years, the team is 81-10 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 last season 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 76 victories in the last 79 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 Thursday’s game against Northern Illinois:
- 117 consecutive games with a three-pointer
- 47 straight victories over unranked non-conference opponents at home
- 34 straight wins against opponents from Illinois, 47 of the last 48, and 55 wins in the last 58
- nine seasons in-a-row with at least 200 three-pointers
- six straight NCAA Championship appearances
Taking Advantage from Beyond the Arc: Since the start of the 2005-06 season, the club has knocked down 777 trifectas compared to just 536 for the opposition. With 10 three-pointers at Rutgers on Feb. 27 last season, the team clinched the ninth straight year with at least 200 three-pointers. 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 376 of the last 377 games. DePaul enters Thursday’s game against Northern Illinois with a streak of 117 consecutive games with a three-pointer.
Through 11 games in the 2008-09 campaign, the Blue Demons have totaled 53 three’s while the opposition has combined for 52 three-pointers. DePaul’s average of 4.8 three’s per game is below the 7.9 three-point field goal average last season when the Blue Demons tallied a school-record 252 three’s in 32 games.
