DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
#2/3 Stanford
No. 22/25 DePaul Stuns No. 3/2 Stanford
12/16/2010 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Dec. 16, 2010
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| DePaul 91, Stanford 71 
| Postgame Notes
CHICAGO - Led by Keisha Hampton's 27 points and Felicia Chester's career-high 24, the No. 22/25 DePaul women's basketball upset No. 3/2 Stanford, 91-71 in front of a sold out and enthusiastic McGrath Arena crowd on Thursday.
The Blue Demons, who have won their last 10 games, were aggressive from the opening minutes with their swarming and pressing defense, while their offensive transitions led to open shots.
DePaul (13-1) shot a season-high 59.6 percent (31-of-52) from the field which included a 10-of-20 showing from behind the 3-point line. Sam Quigley finished the game with 11 points and was 3-of-5 from behind the arc.
Chester put an exclamation point on her career-night with two, 3-pointers -- but none was bigger or ignited the crowd more than when the senior drained a trifecta with 6:24 left in the contest and put the Blue Demons up 73-55.
The Blue Demons led for 37:51 of the contest with Stanford's largest lead, 5-2 in the opening 65 seconds of play, but Anna Martin put the Blue Demons ahead, 7-5 with a 3-pointer with 17:15 in the first half.
Stanford would tie the game at 18 and again at 20 before a China Threatt's jumper gave DePaul a 22-20 lead with 8:55 to play in the half and the Blue Demons never looked back.
DePaul went up by as many as nine points, 37-28 but seven quick points by Cardinal sent the Blue Demons to the locker room with just a 37-35 advantage.
Refreshed from break, the Blue Demons came out running in the second half and blew the game open with a 26-12 run in the first eight minutes of the second stanza.
Hampton led DePaul in the second half with 23 points, including a stretch when the junior scored nine consecutive points for the Blue Demons. When the dust settled from Hampton's scoring outburst, DePaul had pushed its advantage to 63-48 with 11:36 to play in the contest.
The Blue Demons sustained its double-digit lead the rest of the way, while a pair of free throws from Maureen Mulchrone gave DePaul a signature, 91-71 win.
Jeannette Pohlen led Stanford (6-1) with 23 points while Nnemkadi Ogwumike grabbed 10 rebounds for the Cardinal.
Chester paced DePaul on the boards with seven rebounds while she also added four steals.
Prior to tip, Stanford announced that it would play without senior Kayla Pedersen, while Deirdre Naughton was also absent from the floor for DePaul.
The win for DePaul, was the program's first win over a No. 2 ranked team and second over a No. 3 ranked team. The Blue Demons topped then-No. 3 Louisiana Tech, 70-67 on Dec. 14, 1996 at Alumni Hall.
The win also denied Cardinal head coach Tara VanDerveer of her 800th career victory. VanDerveer came into Thursday's game with a career 799-195 record and was looking to join Pat Summitt, Jody Conradt, C. Vivian Stringer and Sylvia Hatchell as women's college coaches with 800 wins. That milestone will have to wait and her next try when the Cardinal play against Summitt and Tennessee on Sunday.
DePaul's win was especially pleasing for Blue Demon head coach Doug Bruno, who both Stringer and Summitt got their 800th victories against DePaul.
The Blue Demons play their second Pac-10 opponent in as many games when they travel to Arizona State for a Dec. 21 showdown. The game tips at ASU at 8:30 p.m. (CST) and can be seen live on Fox Sports Arizona.
Notes: DePaul's win over No. 3/2 Stanford is the program's high-ranked win in 37 seasons in Lincoln Park... DePaul defeated then-No. 3 Louisiana Tech 70-67 on Dec. 14, 1996... DePaul is now 7-12 against ranked teams at McGrath Arena... DePaul's last win over a top 25 program in Lincoln Park came against No. 21/24 Rutgers on Jan. 24, 2009... DePaul is now 126-21 (.857) all-time at McGrath Arena since its doors opened in 2000... DePaul has won its last 10 games at McGrath Arena which dates back to the a Feb. 23, 2010 win over Pittsburgh... this season DePaul is 8-0 at home... DePaul reached the 90 point mark for the fourth time this season... has scored 70 or more points in 11 of its 13 wins this season... DePaul is 12-0 this season when scoring 70 or more points this season... DePaul shot a season-best .596 (31-for-52) from field... previous best was .583 against Northwestern State... DePaul has won its last 10 games which ties a streak of 10 consecutive from Nov. 10 - Dec. 27, 2007... during its current streak the Blue Demons have scored an average of 83.3 points per game while holding its opponent to 58.6 points... Keisha Hampton is averaging 16.7 points while Felicia Chester and Sam Quigley each average 11.5 per contest... DePaul is forcing 18.2 turnovers on 11.0 steal per game... outscoring its opponent 24.7 points during the streak... Chester scored a career-high 24 points... her previous best was 22 against Notre Dame on Jan. 6, 2009... 2-for-2 from 3-point range tied a career-best... Chester was 6-for-7 from the free throw line which are both career-high... Quigley has reached double-figures in her last six games... she finished with 11 points... Hampton scored 27 points... sixth 20+ point scoring performance of the season and 12th of her career... 9-of-13 effort from the free throw line was a season-high for free throws and a career-high for attempts... DePaul's 54 second have points is the most this season... Stanford played without Kayla Pedersen... ended her streak of 121 consecutive starts... shot a season-low .406 (26-for-64) from the field... Stanford had a season-low 35 rebounds... previous low was 38 at Utah... Stanford committed a season-high 18 turnovers... DePaul's 91 points is the most Stanford has allowed all season... the last time an opponent scored 90 ore more points against Stanford was Jan. 27, 2006 when UCLA topped the Cardinal 90-80... The series is now knotted at one game apiece... each team's win has come on its home court... DePaul is now 7-11 all-time against school's from the Pac-10.
