DePaul University Athletics
DePaul Begins BIG EAST Championship on Sunday
3/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
March 5, 2011
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| 2011 BIG EAST Championship March 4-8 | Hartford, Conn. | XL Center DePaul vs. St. John's Championship Bracket - PDF | Interactive Tickets | |
| Quarterfinals: Sunday, March 6 | 6 p.m. (EST) | |
| Game 32: DePaul vs. St. John's | |
TV: ESPNU | |
| Online Audio: BlueTube - Drew Olson | |
| Live Stats: Gametracker | |
| Twitter Updates: @depaulwbbsid | |
| DePaul Information: Champinship Notes  | Media Guide | Roster Schedule | Statistics |Quarterfinals Supplement Pretournament Interviews - BlueTube | |
| St. John's Information: Champinship Notes | Media Guide | Roster Schedule | Statistics | | |
HARTFORD, Conn. - The No. 12/13 DePaul women's basketball team begins its BIG EAST Conference Championship journey on Sunday at the XL Center. The Blue Demons, who earned a No. 2 seed in the conference championship, will play seventh-seeded St. John's. DePaul's quarterfinal game tips at 6 p.m. (EST) and can be seen on ESPNU with Bob Picozzi and Kayte Christensen calling the action courtside.
Drew Olson will provide audio for DePaul's BlueTube, while in-game updates and notes can be followed at twitter.com/DePaulWBBSID.
The Blue Demons (26-5, 13-3 BIG EAST) are making their sixth BIG EAST Championship appearance, while their No. 2 seed is the highest since DePaul joined the league in 2005-06. The Blue Demons' previous high was a three seed which the 2005-06 team earned. DePaul is 5-5 all-time in BIG EAST Championship games while the 2005-06 team reached the semifinals, but fell to eventual champion Connecticut.
DePaul played in its very first conference tournament as a member of the North Star Conference in 1989 -- and has reached the league's tournament in every season since. The Blue Demons, who have been members of the North Star, Great Midwest, Conference USA and now the BIG EAST, boast a 25-18 league championship record and have won four conference tournament titles.
The Blue Demons begin their 2011 tournament journey against seventh-seeded St. John's.
St. John's (21-9, 9-7 BIG EAST) earned the seventh seed after winning six of its last nine games. In the regular season meeting between the Red Storm and Blue Demons -- DePaul won at Carnesecca Arena, 69-54 on Jan. 12, 2011. The Blue Demons lead the all-time series 4-2, while the two teams have never squared off on a neutral floor.
The Blue Demons, who will play their first neutral site game of the 2010-11 season on Sunday, have won seven of their last 10 games with all three losses coming on the road. DePaul is led by first-team All-BIG EAST selection Keisha Hampton. The junior was a unanimous selection after leading the Blue Demons in scoring all season. Hampton averages 15.7 points per outing and the Philadelphia native has reached double figures in 26 of DePaul's 31 games.
Sam Quigley and Felicia Chester also earned All-BIG EAST honors. Quigley was named to the second team for the second time in her career, while Chester earned honorable mention honors. Quigley paces the team with 4.1 assists per game. Chester leads the squad with 6.3 rebounds and a .587 field goal percentage.
Junior Taylor Pikes, who is DePaul's first option off the bench, became the second DePaul player to be named the league's Six Man of the Year. Pikes' .564 field goal percentage ranks fourth in the BIG EAST while her 6.4 rebounds in league game ranked 13th.
- BIG EAST Championship Presented by American Eagle Outfitters: All 16 teams will all battle for the conference's automatic NCAA tournament bid. The championship begins Friday, March 4 and continues through the championship game, which will be played Tuesday, March 8. All games will be played at the XL Center n Hartford, Conn. While this year's BIG EAST Championship includes all 16 teams, the regular season remains a crucial part of the conference schedule. The top four teams in the final regular-season standings will receive byes through two rounds of tournament play. The No. 5-8 seeds will earn first-round byes.
- BIG EAST Championship Notables: DePaul is playing in its sixth BIG EAST Championship since joining the league in 2005-06… qualified for the tournament in 05-06, 06-07, 07-08 before the tournament moved to a 16-team format in 2008-09... the program is 25-18 (.581) all-time in conference tournaments dating back to the 1989 season... in BIG EAST Championship play, the Blue Demons hold a 5-5 record... all five wins have come in DePaul's opening-round game... No. 7 seed in 2010, DePaul received a first-round bye after finishing tied for sixth place with Rutgers… topped 10th-seeded Marquette 64-54 in the second round… lost to No. 7/9 West Virginia 47-41 in the second round... as a No. 6 seed in 2008-09, the Blue Demons defeated 11th seeded West Virginia 75-72 in overtime, but then dropped a close 62-59 game to No. 4 Pittsburgh... as a ninth seed in 2007-08, 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 four 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 four BIG EAST Championships.
- Sizing Up the Field: DePaul went 13-3 against during the regular season and against the 16-team field... against the top four seeds, DePaul was 2-1... DePaul went 2-2 against the No. 5-8 seeds, with wins over seventh-seeded St. John's and eighth-seeded Georgetown... DePaul went 8-0 against the 9-16 seeds.
- Noting the Blue Demons (26-5, 13-3 BIG EAST): DePaul is 679-391 (.635) all-time... the 2010-11 campaign is the 37th season of women's basketball at DePaul University... DePaul's 26-5 record is the program's best record through 31 games… recorded 20 or more wins in the last four seasons and in eight of the last nine… since the start of the 2003-04 season (257 games), the Blue Demons have held 65.0 percent of their opponents to less than 70 points (167-of-257)... in that span, DePaul is 142-25 (.850) when holding opponents to less than 70 points... in that same time span, DePaul has scored 70 or more points in 172 games... DePaul is 150-22 (.872) when scoring 70 plus points... this season DePaul is 20-0 when it scores 70 or more points… in the last six seasons (226 games), the Blue Demons are 162-64 (.717)... in the last 68 home games against conference opponents, DePaul has posted 57 victories... over the last nine-plus seasons (349 games), DePaul has scored at least 80 points in 116 games... the Blue Demons hold a 111-5 (.957) record in those games... in the same span, DePaul is 47-1, including 45 straight wins, when scoring at least 90 points.
- Opponent 32 - St. John's (21-9, 9-7 BIG EAST): No. 7 seed... reached the quarterfinals with a 59-51 win over No. 10 West Virginia in the second round... Da'Shena Stevens and Shenneika Smith both earned second-team All-BIG EAST honors... Won five of its last seven games... 3-0 on a neutral floor this season
- The Series: Seventh all-time meeting between the Blue Demons and Red Storm... all of the games have been BIG EAST regular season meetings since DePaul joined the BIG EAST in 2005-06... DePaul leads the all-time series 4-2.. is 2-1 in games played in Queens... series tied at one in games played at McGrath-Phillips Arena... Besides the 2011 and 2008 regular season games... the contests have been decided by three or less points... the 2008 game went into overtime -- DePaul won 91-80 on its home court
