Women's Basketball Plays at Green Bay on Wednesday
12/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
CHICAGO -- The No. 21/23 DePaul women's basketball finishes its three-game road swing at Green Bay on Wednesday. The Blue Demons and Phoenix tip at 7 p.m. at the Kress Events Center team while fans can hear Dave Bernhard's account of the action courtside on www.depaulbluedemons.com. Green Bay will also provide a pay-per-view video stream of the game.
Wednesday's meeting between the Blue Demons and Phoenix (5-0) is the 17th meeting between the two programs. DePaul holds an 11-5 series advantage, while it won the last game in Green Bay 71-70. Last season the Blue Demons topped Green Bay 76-68 in Lincoln Park.
DePaul (5-1) enters Wednesday's game after defeating Northern Illinois 78-67 on Saturday in DeKalb. The Blue Demons, who were playing their first game without All-American Deirdre Naughton, used a balanced attack while five players finished in double-figures in the win. Sophomore Keisha Hampton leads the Blue Demons with 13.0 points per game while freshman Katherine Harry is averaging 8.6 rebounds per game.
Following Wednesday's game, the Blue Demons return home to McGrath Arena for a pair of games against Chicago rivals, UIC and Loyola-Chicago. When the Blue Demons and Flames tangle in Lincoln Park on Friday, DePaul will welcome 3,000 Chicagoland school children for the game. The annual "Field Trip Day" is in its fourth year as DePaul provides busing and tickets for the elementary students as part of a department service project. DePaul and UIC tip at Noon on Dec. 4 with Dave Bernhard and Barb-Atsaves Pabst calling the action live on LPTV.
Noting the Blue Demons: DePaul is 638-374 (.630) all-time... the 2009-10 campaign is the 36th season of women's basketball at DePaul University... DePaul has made at least 200 3-pointers in a season the last 10 seasons... since the start of the 2003-04 season (197 games), the Blue Demons have held 64.4 percent of their opponents to less than 70 points (127-of-197)... in that span, DePaul is 109-18 (.858) when holding opponents to less than 70 points... DePaul has held five of its six opponents to less than 70 points this season... in the last four-plus seasons, the Blue Demons are 94-43 (.686)... in the last 54 home games against conference opponents, DePaul has posted 44 victories... over the last eight-plus seasons (288 games), DePaul has scored at least 80 points in 105 games... the Blue Demons hold a 100-5 (.952) record in those games... in the same span, DePaul is 42-1, including 40 straight wins, when scoring at least 90 points.
Scouting Green Bay: The Phoenix is 5-0 this season... receiving votes in the AP Poll... has won its last 23 consecutive regular season games... the streak started after DePaul defeated the Phoenix in Chicago... went 2-0 last week on the road, defeated Wisconsin (60-58) and Southeast Missouri State (88-50)... first home game since defeating Florida International (67-56) on Nov. 21... Kayla Tetschlag leads Green Bay with 13.0 points per game while Julie Wojta averages 6.2 rebounds per game... Celeste Hoewisch and Wojta both have a team-best 19 assists while the Phoenix average 17.8 assists per game
The DePaul/Green Bay Series: DePaul leads 11-5... Wednesday's game is the 17th all-time meeting between the two teams... DePaul has won the last four in the series... Green Bay's last series win was in 1996, a 68-64 victory in Wisconsin... in 2006 which was the last meeting in Green Bay, Caprice Smith's basket with 0.4 seconds sealed the Blue Demons' 71-70 victory on Nov. 29... both program's were members of the North Star Conference 1983-91
Against the Horizon League: DePaul is 120-30 (.800) all-time against the current line-up of the Horizon League programs... the Blue Demons play Green Bay today while it plays UIC (Dec 4) and Loyola-Chicago on (Dec. 6)
It could happen: The game is No. 1013 in DePaul women's basketball history... Felicia Chester needs six steals to reach the 100 career steals... Sam Quigley could start her 42nd consecutive game, the longest active streak on the team... Keisha Hampton needs 15 and Quigley needs 14 rebounds to reach the 200 career mark.
Northern Illinois Recap: Felicia Chester led five Blue Demons in double-figures as the junior forward finished with 16. The Blue Demons shot a season-high. 492 (31-63), but all of their baskets came inside the arc which ended a 144-game streak with a 3-pointer. DePaul took a 35-33 lead at the half and extended that to 66-56 on Chester's jumper with 5:22 left to play. Sam Quigley, and Anna Martin, who got her first collegiate start, each finished with 14 while Keisha Hampton tallied 13 and Katherine Harry added 12. Martin led DePaul with eight rebounds and Harry followed with seven.
Looking Ahead: Following Wednesday's game, the Blue Demons return home to McGrath Arena for a pair of games against Chicago rivals, UIC and Loyola-Chicago. When the Blue Demons and Flames tangle in Lincoln Park on Friday, DePaul will welcome 3,000 Chicagoland school children for the game. The annual "Field Trip Day" is in its fourth year as DePaul provides busing and tickets for the elementary students as part of a department service project. DePaul and UIC tip at Noon on Dec. 4 with Dave Bernhard and Barb-Atsaves Pabst calling the action live on LPTV.
Naughton Out: Deirdre Naughton will miss the remainder of the 2009-10 season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee. Naughton, who entered the Northwestern game averaging 17.5 points per game this season, injured her knee in the first half of No. 15/21 DePaul's 59-55 loss to the Wildcats on Nov. 24. "Deirdre Naughton has been the heart and soul of this basketball team," Blue Demons head coach Doug Bruno said. "To lose her for the season is a devastating blow to this team. Every team in the nation at one time or another has been forced to deal with the adversity of injuries. Losing Deirdre Naughton will test the metal of this year's ballclub and we do expect every member of our team to step up in her absence." Naughton, was named to the preseason Wade Watch and was a Naismith Trophy and John R. Wooden candidate prior to the 2009-10 season. A second team All-BIG EAST Conference selection and Associated Press All-American honorable mention as a junior, Naughton has scored 1,470 points in her career. She played her freshman season at Wake Forest in 2005-06 before transferring to DePaul.
Against the State: DePaul has seen recent success against in-state opponents. Over the last 60 games against Chicago State, Illinois, Illinois-Chicago, Illinois State, Loyola-Chicago, Northern Illinois, Northwestern and Southern Illinois, the Blue Demons have posted 58 victories. DePaul's 36-game winning streak against programs from the state of Illinois came to an end when Northwestern defeated the Blue Demons 59-55 in Evanston on Nov. 24. Prior to the loss at Northwestern, the last loss to a state program was on Dec. 4, 2002, when Illinois defeated the Blue Demons in Champaign by a 71-67 score. During the 60-game stretch, two losses were at Illinois with the last home loss to an in-state program was on Nov. 20, 1998, against Northwestern. The Wildcats defeated the Blue Demons at Alumni Hall by a score of 62-61 and then most recently at Welsh-Ryan Arena in 2009.
Coach Doug Bruno Court: Beginning in the 2010-11 season, the Blue Demons will play their home games at McGrath Arena on Coach Doug Bruno Court. DePaul's Director of Athletics, Jean Lenti Ponsetto made the announcement on Nov. 16. The 2010-11 season will also mark Coach Bruno's 25th season at DePaul while he is also on track to record his 500th career win that season.
LPTV: DePaul has partnered with LPTV and will play four games on that station. LPTV is one of Chicago's Public television stations and broadcasted DePaul's win over San Diego. LPTV will also telecast the UIC game live on Dec. 4 and then replay the game in primetime. The Blue Demons games with BIG EAST Conference foes, Connecticut and West Virginia will also be carried on LPTV. DePaul is 1-0 when playing on LPTV.
AP No. 21: The DePaul women's basketball team ranks No. 21 in this week's Associated Press Poll... the Blue Demons have been ranked in each of the four polls this season... DePaul ranked as high as No. 15 (Nov. 22)... DePaul is one of four BIG EAST teams in the top 25. Connecticut was unanimous at No. 1 while Notre Dame came in at No. 5 and Pittsburgh is No. 19.
USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Poll No. 23: DePaul enters this week at No. 23 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll... the Blue Demons have been ranked in the top 25 or have been receiving votes in each of four polls this season... DePaul is one of five BIG EAST teams in the poll... Connecticut is unanimous at No. 1 while Notre Dame came in at No. 6 and Pittsburgh is No. 20 and Louisville is No. 25.
BIG EAST Predictions: DePaul was picked to finish the BIG EAST Conference regular season in third while Deirdre Naughton and Keisha Hampton were selected to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team in a vote of the league's 16 head coaches. DePaul and Louisville gathered the same number of points to finish in a tie for third behind preseason favorite Connecticut and Notre Dame.
Taking Advantage from Beyond the Arc: Since the start of the 2005-06 season, the club has knocked down 953 trifectas compared to just 678 for the opposition... with three 3-pointers against San Diego State at the NCAA Championship in San Diego, the team clinched the 10th straight year with at least 200 three-pointers... a 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... more recently, the Blue Demons 0-14 showing at Northern Illinois ended a 144 game streak with a 3-pointer... including the Houston and Northern Illinois games, the Blue Demons have tallied a three-pointer in 403 of the last 405 games.
Home Cookin': Through nine-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 110-19 (.853) record in the arena's 129 games. DePaul's .848 winning percentage entering the 2009-10 season ranks ninth among all active arenas and 11th all-time.
Beginning its 36th season of women's basketball at DePaul University, the Blue Demons have an all-time home court record of 374-103 (.783). Over 26 seasons at Alumni Hall, the women's basketball program won over 75 percent of its 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, 2008 with the 102-68 loss to #3/3 Tennessee.
Over the last seven-plus years at McGrath Arena, the team is 89-12 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 before the 77-76 loss to #1/1 Connecticut on Mar. 1, 2008. Maybe more impressive is that the Blue Demons' average margin of victory during that span that 20.5 points per game.
The Blue Demons have also posted 87 victories in the last 90 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 in 2007-08. 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 2009-10 season:
- 54 straight victories over unranked non-conference opponents at home
- 10 seasons in-a-row with at least 200 three-pointers
- Seven consecutive NCAA Championship appearances
Maggie Dixon Recap: DePaul won the inaugural Maggie Dixon Classic in the Midwest with wins over Cornell and San Diego. Formally known as the DePaul Invitational, the Maggie Dixon Classic honors former Blue Demon assistant coach Maggie Dixon, who died on April 6, 2006 of an arrhythmia. Dixon's tragic death came three weeks after her first season as the head coach at Army which saw the Black Knights win the Patriot League Championship and make the program's first trip to the NCAA Championship. The Classic is the third tournament to be named after the former Blue Demon assistant and Army head coach. Jamie Dixon, the head coach at Pittsburgh hosts a tournament at Madison Square Garden, while San Diego, Dixon's alma mater also hosts a tournament in Dixon's name.
The Blue Demons defeated Cornell, 89-50 while the biggest story of the night was freshman Katherine Harry's 18 rebounds. Harry's 18 board were the most by a Blue Demon player since Erin Carney grabbed 19 at Oklahoma. Deirdre Naughton scored 24 as the Blue Demons claimed the Championship with a 84-64 win over San Diego. Naughton earned MVP honors while Felicia Chester and Keisha Hampton were named to the All-Tournament team.
Who, When and Where: The Blue Demons open the 2009 season with four consecutive home games. The 2009-10 season began with an 86-76 victory over Central Michigan, followed by a 77-65 win over North Dakota State and a 89-50 victory over Cornell. The Maggie Dixon Classic brings Cornell, Tennessee State and Dixon's alma mater San Diego to Lincoln Park for the two-day tournament Nov. 20-21. The Blue Demons stay close with games at Northwestern, Northern Illinois and Green Bay before welcoming city of Chicago rivals UIC and Loyola-Chicago to McGrath Arena the beginning of December.
The Blue Demons become road warriors as they play at nationally-ranked Stanford before traveling to Las Vegas for the Duel in the Desert Dec. 19-21. DePaul closes out its nonconference schedule with a game at Illinois State on Dec. 28. The Blue Demons open their BIG EAST Season at NCAA Sweet Sixteen-participant Rutgers on Jan. 2 before welcoming National Runner-Up Louisville to McGrath Arena for a Jan. 5 showdown. With 14 BIG EAST schools receiving a postseason bid, every game against league opponent will be daunting. Besides the Cardinals, DePaul hosts National Champion Connecticut and NCAA tournament participants Pittsburgh and Villanova while WNIT qualifiers Marquette, St. John's and Syracuse visit Lincoln Park. Cincinnati also plays at McGrath Arena in January. After starting conference play at Rutgers, DePaul's other BIG EAST road games include Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, Providence, Seton Hall, USF and West Virginia.
Marching Along: DePaul made its seventh consecutive and the program's 14th NCAA Championship appearance in 2009... Blue Demons were one of seven BIG EAST programs in the field of 64... the conference led all leagues along with the Big 12 with teams earning bids... the program is 7-14 (.333) all-time in NCAA Championship play... DePaul is one of 14 teams to appear in each of the last seven tournaments... joining the Blue Demons on the list of 14 teams with seven straight NCAA's are Connecticut, Duke, Georgia, LSU, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Purdue, Rutgers, Stanford, Tennessee and Vanderbilt... the seven straight appearances are a program record for consecutive NCAA's... DePaul earned four consecutive NCAA berths from 1990-93 followed by a three-year run from 1995-97... the program is 4-8 entering in its last seven tournament appearances, including a 2006 NCAA Regional Semifinal appearance in San Antonio, Texas.
Hitting the Century Mark: Senior Deirdre Naughton scored her 1,000th career point against North Dakota State on Nov. 15... became DePaul's 23rd 1,000 point scorer and first since Caprice Smith (2004-08) reached the century mark in 2008... she played her freshman season at Wake Forest and has 1,470 career points (1,051 at DePaul and 419 at Wake Forest).
Naughton Names: Prior to suffering a season-ending injury at Northwestern, senior guard Deirdre Naughton picked up a handful of preseason honors. The senior from Winnetka, Illinois has been named a preseason John R. Wooden candidate, to the Wade Watch List and to the Naismith Trophy preseason watch list. Naughton was also named a preseason Sporting News third team All-American and was recently named a preseason Associated Press honorable mention All-American.
Naughton has CLASS: Deirdre Naughton was named to a list of 30 candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award on Nov. 4. The award honors the women's basketball student-athlete who is not only successful on the court, but in the classroom and community. The candidate list will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names are then placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of classroom, character, community and competition.