Blue Demons Claim Maggie Dixon Classic Title, Defeat San Diego
11/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
CHICAGO -- Deirdre Naughton scored a season-high 24 points to lead No. 17 DePaul to an 84-64 victory over San Diego and help the Blue Demons capture the Maggie Dixon Classic title Saturday night at McGrath Arena.
Naughton, who earned the tournament's MVP honor for the second consecutive season, led four Blue Demons (4-0) in double-figures. Felicia Chester recorded her first career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds to earn a spot on the All-Tournament Team; while Keisha Hampton tallied 18 points and was also named to the All-Tournament squad.
Jennifer Juergens rounded out DePaul's double-figure scoring with 10 points, while the junior-transfer has tallied double-figures in all four of her games with the Blue Demons.
Outside of scoring 24 points, Naughton was three rebounds away from her first career triple-double as the senior dished out a season-high 10 assists. Sam Quigley also played well at the guard position as the junior dealt seven assists with just one turnover.
With Blue Demons finding their offensive rhythm early, DePaul opened up a 14-7 lead as every starter was able to contribute in the first 4:26 of action.
San Diego (2-2) countered the Blue Demon attack and used a 17-8 run to pull within two on Sam Child's 3-pointer with 10:11 left in the half.
Like a see-saw and with a 24-22 lead, the Blue Demons put together a 15-3 run over the next 5:23 and took a 37-23 advantage on a pair of free throws from Chester.
With 2:00 minutes left in the half, DePaul got a jumper from Naughton and went to the locker room with a 39-26 advantage.
Naughton picked up where she left off and scored six of DePaul's first eight points in the second half as the Blue Demons raced out a 47-35 lead with 16:08 left in the game.
San Diego used three 3-pointers to cut DePaul's lead six -- 50-44 with 13:56 left to play.
With the crowd behind the home team, the Blue Demons responded as Juergens, Hampton and Chester combined for 12 points over the next 4:01. While the Blue Demon trio lifted the offense, DePaul's defense stymied the Toreros as the Blue Demons took a comfortable, 66-44 lead with 9:35 left the play.
Child led San Diego with 16 points while Dominique Conners and Emily Hatch, who both earned All-Tournament honors, each added 12.
The Blue Demons return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 24 at Northwestern. DePaul's game with the Wildcats can be seen live on the BigTenNetwork.com.
Notes: Felicia Chester grabbed a career-record 12 rebounds in addition to 15 points for her first career double-double... Jennifer Juergens has eclipsed double-digit point totals in every game this season and scored 10 in tonight's contest. Juergens averages 12.5 points per game this year... Keisha Hampton scored her 400th career-point tonight after a 3-pointer brought her total to 401... Hampton finished the night with 18 points... DePaul extends its streak to 143 games in a row with a 3-pointer... Deirdre Naughton was named tournament MVP after a double-double performance tonight with a game-high 24 points and 10 assists... In addition to Naughton, Hampton and Chester were both named to the all-tournament team for DePaul... DePaul is now 2-0 against San Diego... DePaul is now 5-0 against teams from the West Coast Conference.