DePaul University Athletics
Women's Basketball Begins BIG EAST Championship Journey on Saturday
3/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
HARTFORD, Conn. The No. 6 seeded DePaul women’s basketball team begins its BIG EAST Championship journey on Saturday at the XL Center. The Blue Demons take on the winner of No. 14 Providence/ No. 11 West Virginia game on Saturday at 8 p.m. (EST). The game will be covered live on the BIG EAST Network with John Rooke and Meg Bulger handling the announcing duties. Dave Bernhard, the voice of DePaul women’s basketball, will also call the game live for www.depaulbluedemons.com.
DePaul (22-8) finished the conference schedule with 10 victories and six defeats to finish in a tie for fourth place. Following the tiebreakers, the Blue Demons landed the sixth seed. The winner of Saturday night’s game will to face third-seeded Pittsburgh in the quarterfinals on Sunday at 8 p.m. That game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
Led by second team All-BIG EAST performers Deirdre Naughton and Natasha Williams are looking to make some noise in its fourth BIG EAST Championship. The Blue Demons, who earned the third seed in 2006, the 10 seed in 2007 and the ninth seed in 2008, have played two games in each of their trips to Hartford.
DePaul defeated both its potential second round opponents in the regular season in Chicago. The Blue Demons topped West Virginia 74-56 and Providence 87-64 at McGrath Arena. West Virginia and Providence face off on Friday at 8 p.m.
Tourney Time: Teams receiving first and second-round byes are top-seeded Connecticut, No. 2 Louisville, No. 3 Pittsburgh and fourth-seeded Villanova. No. 5 Notre Dame, DePaul, seventh-seeded Rutgers and No. 8 USF each received a first-round bye while first-round games between No. 9 Marquette-No. 16 Cincinnati, No. 10 Georgetown-No. 15 Seton Hall, No. 11 West Virginia-No. 14 Providence and No. 12 Syracuse-No. 13 St. John’s all take place on Friday. Tuesday night’s winner earns the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Live on TV: For the third consecutive year, the entire BIG EAST Championship can be seen live. All four Friday games can be seen online at www.bigeast.tv. The BIG EAST TV Network is set to broadcast Saturday’s action followed by ESPNU coverage for the quarterfinals and semifinals. The championship game finds its annual slot on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The BETV coverage can also be seen online with BIG EAST All-Access (www.bigeast.tv).
Conference Tournament Notes: The BIG EAST Championship is DePaul’s fourth league tournament... the program is 23-16 (.590) all-time in conference tournaments... in BIG EAST play, the Blue Demons hold a 3-3 record... a year ago as the ninth seed, DePaul upset eighth-seeded Marquette, 73-69, before falling to top-seeded Connecticut, 86-67, in the quarterfinals... in the 2007 tournament, DePaul as a No. 10 seed - defeated seventh-seeded Notre Dame, 76-71, in the first round before falling to second-seeded Rutgers, 63-55, in the quarterfinals... the third-seeded Blue Demons defeated No. 6 seed Pittsburgh, 69-46, in the quarterfinals before falling to second-seeded Connecticut, 69-57, in the semifinals of the 2006 tourney... 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.
Sizing Up the Field: DePaul went 10-6 during the regular season against the 16-team field... against the top eight seeds, the Blue Demons were 2-6 with wins over No. 3 Pittsburgh and No. 7 Rutgers... DePaul was a perfect 8-0 against seeds 9-16... Notre Dame claimed both regular-season meetings with an 86-62 decision at McGrath Arena on Jan. 6 before escaping the Joyce Center with a 62-59 victory on Feb. 8.
Noting the Blue Demons: DePaul is 632-371 (.630) 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 260 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 (189 games), the Blue Demons have held 64.0 percent of their opponents to less than 70 points (121-of-189)... in that span, DePaul is 105-16 (.868) when holding opponents to less than 70 points... DePaul has held 23 of its 30 opponents to less than 70 points this season... in the last three-plus seasons, the Blue Demons are 87-39 (.690)... in the last 54 home games against conference opponents, DePaul has posted 44 victories... over the last eight-plus seasons (280 games), DePaul has scored at least 80 points in 102 games... the Blue Demons hold a 97-5 (.951) record in those games... in the same span, DePaul is 42-1, including 40 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.
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.
It Could Happen: The game is No. 1004 in DePaul women’s basketball history... a 3-pointer would run DePaul’s streak to 136 games with a trifecta...Deirdre Naughton needs one assists to move into a tie for ninth for season assists, she enters the game with 133 assists... Natasha Williams needs four blocks to tie for 9th for single season blocks, she enters the game with 36 and is tied for the 10th most with three other players.
Breaking Down the BIG EAST: DePaul has been a member of the BIG EAST Conference since 2005-06... top finish was in 2005-06 a tie for third... finished 2008-09 season in a tie for fourth.
Weekly Awards: Keisha Hampton became the first freshman in DePaul’s history to win the BIG EAST Freshman of the Week award... she won the award Jan. 26 and again on Mar. 3... Natasha Williams was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll twice (Dec. 29 & Jan. 19) while Deirdre Naughton earned the recognition on Nov. 24.
Active 1000 point scorers: Natasha Williams looks to join Deirdre Naughton on the BIG EAST’s active 1,000 point scorer list....heading into the BIG EAST Championship Naughton has 1,357 and is one of 19 BIG EAST players to eclipse the century mark...Williams has 980 career points.
Top 5 in BIG EAST Categories in ALL Games: second in assists (16.5)... second in assist/turnover ration (1.1)... field goal percentage (.430)... blocked shots (4.7).
Top Performances: DePaul’s 14 blocks vs. Alcorn State (11/16/08) is the second most this season by a league team... Deirdre Naughton’s 16-for-16 effort from the free throw vs. Illinois State (11/28/09) is the best by a BIG EAST player this season... Sam Quigley’s 1.000 (8-for-8) is one of 12 perfect performances from the free throw line.
Sixth Man of the Year: China Threatt is the second recipient of the league’s Sixth Man Award and the first for DePaul. The junior guard has come off the bench in 13-of-16 games she has played in and made her first start of the year at St. John’s on Jan. 27. Threatt averaged 23.2 minutes in league play, scored 6.7 points per game and shot an impressive .393 from behind the 3-point line.
All-Conference: Deirdre Naughton and Natasha Williams were named second-team all-BIG EAST... they are DePaul's seventh and eighth All-BIG EAST selections... during conference play Williams led DePaul in scoring (13.4) and rebounds (6.4) during BIG EAST play, while Naughton led the Blue Demons with 66 assists.
All-Freshman Team: Keisha Hampton was named to the All-Freshman team. As a starter, Hampton has tallied double-digits in five or her last six games while she averaged 5.3 rebounds and 11.3 points in BIG EAST contests.
Weeks in the Polls: The Blue Demons spent three weeks in the Top-25 this season, while they had been receiving votes in both the AP and the USA Today/ESPN Polls all season... DePaul entered and stayed at No. 25 from week 11 (Jan. 19-25) to week 13 (Feb. 2-8)...entered the poll after defeating then-No. 21/24 Rutgers in Chicago on Jan. 24, 60-58, while it fell out after falling in Philadelphia to Villanova, 50-46 on Feb. 14... in 22 years at DePaul, Coach Bruno’s teams have been in the AP Poll 102 times (out of 573 polls)... with 102 weeks in the AP Poll, Coach Bruno ranks 23rd among active Coaches-All Time in AP Poll.
Finding the Open Player: The Blue Demons are ranked second in the conference and ninth in the country with 16.5 assists per game... Deirdre Naughton has a team-high 133 assists this season which ranks 10th in the single-season record book... she is a single assist away from tying for ninth and needs eight to move into a tie for eight with Andrea Morgan (141)... Naughton ranks 57th in the country in assist per game with 4.6... Sam Quigley is second on the team with 105 assists.
Pink Zone: DePaul head coach Doug Bruno reached into his own pockets when DePaul played West Virginia in its second annual “Pink Zone” game on Jan. 31, 2009. Prior to the game Coach Bruno pledged to donate $1 for every pink shirt in the crowd up to $1,000. With 2,998 fans in at stands and an over whelming amount sporting pink, Coach decided to up his personal donation to $2,000 for breast cancer research . The Blue Demons defeated West Virginia 74-56 in that game.
Taking the Plunge: Coach Doug Bruno took the “Polar Plunge” benefiting the Special Olympics Chicago at North Avenue Beach. Coach took a head first plunge into Lake Michigan on Sunday, March 1. At the time of the plunge it was snowing and with tempatures before freezing. Coach has been active with the Chicago Special Olympics since 1979 as a volunteer in its basketball programs. The Chicago Special Olympics has over 5,000 athletes that participate in its programs and events throughout the year.
Taking Advantage from Beyond the Arc: Since the start of the 2005-06 season, the club has knocked down 909 trifectas compared to just 624 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. 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. Including the Houston game, the Blue Demons have tallied a three-pointer in 395 of the last 396 games. DePaul enters the BIG EAST Championship with a streak of 136 consecutive games with a three-pointer.
Through 30 games in the 2008-09 campaign, the Blue Demons have totaled 185 three’s while the opposition has combined for 140 three-pointers. DePaul’s average of 6.2 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.
20 Wins: DePaul hit the 20 win mark on with a 87-79 win at Syracuse on Feb. 17... 17th team to tally 20 or more wins in a season... the last 11 times the Blue Demons hit 20 wins they were selected for the NCAA Tournament... with a record 27 wins in the 2005-06 season, the Blue Demons reached the Sweet Sixteen... since 2002, DePaul is averaging 22.7 wins per season.
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 Saturday’s game against Rutgers:
- 136 consecutive games with a three-pointer
- 50 straight victories over unranked non-conference opponents at home
- 6 straight wins against opponents from Illinois, 48 of the last 49, and 56 wins in the last 59
- nine seasons in-a-row with at least 200 three-pointers
- six straight NCAA Championship appearances
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 106-19 (.848) record in the arena’s 125 games. DePaul’s .849 winning percentage to enter the 2008-09 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 370-103 (.782). 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 with the 102-68 loss to #3/3 Tennessee.
Over the last six-plus years at McGrath Arena, the team is 86-12 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 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 20.5 points per game.
The Blue Demons have also posted 83 victories in the last 86 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.
Hampton Named BIG EAST Conference Freshman of the Week 2x: Keisha Hampton became the first DePaul player to earn Freshman of the Week honors on Jan. 26. The freshman forward played a key role in DePaul’s 60-58 victory over No. 21/24 Rutgers on Jan. 24. Hampton played a career-high 37 minutes, while scoring 18 points, marking the 13th time this season she has scored in double figures. Hampton also added five rebounds and four assists. She was 5-of-15 from the field and tied her career-high for free throws made and attempted, going 7-of-8 from the charity stripe.
Hampton earned her second Freshman of the Week award on Mar. 3. The freshman forward averaged 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds and helped DePaul finish fourth in the BIG EAST Conference standings. Hampton tallied a career-high 22 points and 15 rebounds in the Blue Demons’ win over Marquette on Feb. 28. Against the Golden Eagles she shot 45.5 percent from the field and made 10-of-12 foul shots. Hampton also added 15 points in a win at Cincinnati to close the regular season and recorded 14 points in a loss to USF on Feb. 24. For the week, Hampton shot 44.4 percent from the field, was 5-of-10 from 3-point range and made 14-of-20 free throws.
Naughton Added to Wooden Watch List: On Jan. 21 Deirdre Naughton was added to the State Farm Wade Trophy Watch list. Naughton is one of 30 athletes selected based on the following criteria: game and season statistics, leadership, character, effect on their team and overall playing ability. Naughton a preseason All-BIG EAST Conference honorable mention selection is currently averaging 15.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists a game and already has over 1,000 career points. The junior guard has registered double figures in 72 career games and has led DePaul in scoring 11 times this season. A two-time member of the BIG EAST All-Academic Team, Naughton been named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll this season.
Demon Doings: Notes following DePaul’s 67-47 win over Cincinnati on Mar. 2
- DePaul has made a 3-pointer in its last 136 games.
- With 14 3-pointer’s (14-for-34) the Blue Demon’s tied a season-high and ties for the third most in school history for 3-pointers made... 34 attempts ties for the sixth most in school history.
- Quigley has finished her last five games in double-digits (16 ppg).
- Danielle Havel had a career-high seven rebounds.
- Deirdre Naughton had four assist, 133 on the season giving her sole possession of 10th place for assist in a season.
- Erin Cattell started her first game this season... her 11 points (3-for-4 3-ptr) was a season-high
-China Threatt started her third game this season
BIG under the Basket with the BLOCKS: DePaul has been big under the net this season and has registered at least four blocked shots in 22 games this season. A year ago, the Blue Demons totaled 125 blocks in 32 games while through 30 games this season there have been 140 rejections. The 140 blocks is the fourth most in school history.
Natasha Williams and Felicia Chester lead the squad with 36 blocks apiece, Keisha Hampton rounds out the trio with 31. Williams has 129 career blocks while Chester follows with 67. Williams has 83 blocks as a Blue Demon (she played freshman and sophomore season at Minnesota) which ranks seventh in the career annals. She needs seven more blocks this season to tie Stella Woodley (1988-92) with 90 career blocks.
Season Rejections: DePaul’s current average of 4.7 blocks (140 blocks in 30 games) is the fifth highest season average. The 1993-94 team holds the season record with 178 blocked shots in 30 games (5.9 bpg) while 1996-97 squad (159 blocks in 29 games) averaged 5.4 blocks and the 1991-92 team (151 in 31 games) averaged 4.9 blocks.
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’s 14 blocks vs. Alcorn State also set the standard in the BIG EAST this season.
Lights, Camera, Action: The BIG EAST Conference continues to have one of the top television schedules in women’s college basketball on the national, regional and local levels as 98 appearances featuring all 16 BIG EAST schools are on the 2008-09 slate. For the third straight year, every conference team is included in the regular-season broadcasts. The league’s overall exposure continues to grow and this season’s national television package includes: two games on CBS and 14 appearances on ESPN/ESPN2, 31 on ESPNU and 25 on CBSC (CBS College Sports Network).
ESPNU is set to carry the quarterfinals and semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship. The finals of the BIG EAST Championship are scheduled for Tuesday, Mar. 10 on ESPN.
Against the State: DePaul has seen recent success against opponents from the state of Illinois. Over the last 51 games against Chicago State, Illinois, Illinois-Chicago, Illinois State, Loyola-Chicago, Northern Illinois, Northwestern and Southern Illinois, the Blue Demons have posted 50 victories. The 2007-08 schedule saw DePaul knock Illinois State, Southern Illinois, Loyola-Chicago, Northwestern, Northern Illinois and UIC.
DePaul has won 57 of the last 59 games against state opponents and currently holds a 36-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.
Newest Blue Demon/Bruno Baby: Coach Bruno’s oldest son Bryan and his wife former Blue Demon Stacy Bruno ne Krumrie (1995-2000) welcomed their third child on Friday, February 6, 2009: Owen James Bruno weighed in at 7lbs, 11 oz. Coach Bruno and his wife Patty have three other grandchildren, Jackson, Morgan and Brendan.
Tournament Recaps: The Blue Demons opened the 2008-09 campaign with a pair of tournaments for five games in eight days. DePaul went 2-1 in the season-opening Basketball Travelers Tip-Off Classic hosted by New Mexico. DePaul knocked off Idaho State and Alcorn State in the first two days before dropping a 68-66 decision in the final seconds against the host Lobos. Keisha Hampton and Deirdre Naughton were named to the All-Tournament Team.
DePaul won the DePaul Invitational with victories over Southern and Hartford. Duke claimed third place with a consolation game win over Southern while the Blue Demons knocked off Hartford, 80-71, in the championship game. Naughton was named MVP of the tournament while Hampton and Sam Quigley picked up All-Tournament honors.
Andrea Morgan (1984-88) to the DePaul Athletics Hall of Fame: Andrea Morgan was inducted into the DePaul Athletics Hall of Fame on Sunday, Mar. 1... she holds the career-record for 3-point field goal percentage with .440 (89-134)... honored as a special mention All-American by the American Women’s Sports Federation for the 1987-88 season... in 1988 helped win the program’s first WNIT Championship title, that team was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year... named to the 1988 WNIT All-Tournament team... made seven three-point field goals against Notre Dame in 1988, which, at the time, was the most three-point baskets scored in a single game in school history... ranks sixth all-time with 237 steals... finished her career with 325 assists to rank eighth in program history... three-time team captain... led the Blue Demons to two North Star Conference first-place finishes (1986-87 and 1987-88)... named to the All-North Star Conference second team (1987-88)... ranks third in the school record books in single-season three-point field goal percentage with .440 (59-134) during the 1987-88 season... during the 1987-88 season, recorded 150 assists to rank her seventh in the single-season assist category. .