DePaul University Athletics
Sunday, February 17
New York, N.Y.
12:00 P.M.CT
DePaul University
at
St. John's
It's Showtime at the Garden for Blue Demons
2/16/2019 3:43:00 PM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
DePaul tangles with BIG EAST rival St. John's Sunday at Madison Square Garden on FS2
NEW YORK – The DePaul women's basketball players will have a rare opportunity on Sunday to play a game in a sacred sports institution known as "The World's Most Famous Arena."
That would be the one and only Madison Square Garden where no less than legendary Bulls superstar Michael Jordan used to tell his teammates before suiting up for a game there: "Boys, it's showtime."
His eyes would light up and there was extra juice coursing through his veins that often translated into another memorable performance by No. 23. By coincidence, the Blue Demons will be playing the Garden on Jordan's 56th birthday.
DePaul would love to engage in a little showtime of its own going head-to-head with a St. John's team that is the BIG EAST's fastest-rising program. The game will be televised on FS2 beginning at noon.
Comcast Xfinity subscribers should access foxsportsgo.com to view the game. For DIRECTV, it's channel 618. On RCN, it's channel 383 and on AT&T U-verse, it's channel 651.
As Mart'e Grays, Ashton Millender and their teammates walk onto the hallowed Garden court, they may not fully comprehend the magnitude of the facility.
This is the place where Syracuse and Connecticut fought tooth-and-nail for six overtimes in a 2009 BIG EAST tournament game that went well past 1 a.m. with the Orange prevailing 127-117.
One month later, the explosive Kobe Bryant put up 61 points against the Knicks in a Lakers' victory.
This is the arena where hockey's greatest Wayne Gretzky played his final game in 1999.
Who could forget what pundits hailed as the "Fight of the Century" when heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier met for the first time with Smokin' Joe pulling off an upset in what many acknowledge as the greatest boxing match of all-time.
The favorite Garden memory for local partisans is the courageous Willis Reed limping out of the locker room, defying a severe thigh injury and playing long enough to inspire his teammates onto the Knicks' first NBA title in 1970.
For DePaul fans, a shining moment was George Mikan scoring an all-time, single-game record 53 points in a win over Rhode Island in 1945 in the Garden en route to leading the Ray Meyer-coached Blue Demons to the NIT national title.
With that as a backdrop, DePaul (18-7, 9-4) will look to curtail a red-hot Red Storm team that has won four-straight BIG EAST games highlighted by Friday night's 81-74 upset of No. 8/7 Marquette, snapping the Golden Eagles' 12-game conference winning streak.
This looks to be a battle of backcourts as both teams frequently put the equivalent of four guards on the floor at the same time.
Kelly Campbell, Ashton Millender and Maya Stovall head up the Blue Demon small-ball attack with considerable help from freshmen Lexi Held and Sonya Morris along with senior Rebekah Dahlman.
Held had her best game of the season Friday night as her 14 points in the fourth quarter enabled her team to hold off Seton Hall 94-85 in South Orange, N.J.
Capping off a game-high 28 points, Held was 3-for-4 in the final 10 minutes including 2-of-3 from deep and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. She calmly hit those shots in the biggest moments, the placid expression on her face never changing.
Triggering each team's attack will be two of the best floor generals in the BIG EAST, DePaul's Campbell and St. John's Tiana England who had 20 points and six assists against Marquette.
The Blue Demons have won eight of their last 10 games and lead the nation in three-pointers and three-point attempts and are No. 2 in threes per game. They are No. 3 in the country in free throw percentage, No. 6 in scoring offense, No. 7 in assists, No. 8 in assists per game, and No. 22 in assist-turnover ratio.
Campbell, who is among the 10 finalists for the prestigious Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year award, is No. 11 in the nation in assist-turnover ratio while Millender is No. 25 in three-point attempts.
St. John's (13-12, 6-8) has won its last four games behind a balanced offense featuring four players averaging in double figures. Qadashah Hoppie leads the Red Storm at 11.8 points per game followed by Alisha Kebbe at 10.8. Akina Wellere is scoring at a 10.5 clip and England averages 10.1 points and nearly six assists.
Â
Â
That would be the one and only Madison Square Garden where no less than legendary Bulls superstar Michael Jordan used to tell his teammates before suiting up for a game there: "Boys, it's showtime."
His eyes would light up and there was extra juice coursing through his veins that often translated into another memorable performance by No. 23. By coincidence, the Blue Demons will be playing the Garden on Jordan's 56th birthday.
DePaul would love to engage in a little showtime of its own going head-to-head with a St. John's team that is the BIG EAST's fastest-rising program. The game will be televised on FS2 beginning at noon.
Comcast Xfinity subscribers should access foxsportsgo.com to view the game. For DIRECTV, it's channel 618. On RCN, it's channel 383 and on AT&T U-verse, it's channel 651.
As Mart'e Grays, Ashton Millender and their teammates walk onto the hallowed Garden court, they may not fully comprehend the magnitude of the facility.
This is the place where Syracuse and Connecticut fought tooth-and-nail for six overtimes in a 2009 BIG EAST tournament game that went well past 1 a.m. with the Orange prevailing 127-117.
One month later, the explosive Kobe Bryant put up 61 points against the Knicks in a Lakers' victory.
This is the arena where hockey's greatest Wayne Gretzky played his final game in 1999.
Who could forget what pundits hailed as the "Fight of the Century" when heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier met for the first time with Smokin' Joe pulling off an upset in what many acknowledge as the greatest boxing match of all-time.
The favorite Garden memory for local partisans is the courageous Willis Reed limping out of the locker room, defying a severe thigh injury and playing long enough to inspire his teammates onto the Knicks' first NBA title in 1970.
For DePaul fans, a shining moment was George Mikan scoring an all-time, single-game record 53 points in a win over Rhode Island in 1945 in the Garden en route to leading the Ray Meyer-coached Blue Demons to the NIT national title.
With that as a backdrop, DePaul (18-7, 9-4) will look to curtail a red-hot Red Storm team that has won four-straight BIG EAST games highlighted by Friday night's 81-74 upset of No. 8/7 Marquette, snapping the Golden Eagles' 12-game conference winning streak.
This looks to be a battle of backcourts as both teams frequently put the equivalent of four guards on the floor at the same time.
Kelly Campbell, Ashton Millender and Maya Stovall head up the Blue Demon small-ball attack with considerable help from freshmen Lexi Held and Sonya Morris along with senior Rebekah Dahlman.
Held had her best game of the season Friday night as her 14 points in the fourth quarter enabled her team to hold off Seton Hall 94-85 in South Orange, N.J.
Capping off a game-high 28 points, Held was 3-for-4 in the final 10 minutes including 2-of-3 from deep and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. She calmly hit those shots in the biggest moments, the placid expression on her face never changing.
Triggering each team's attack will be two of the best floor generals in the BIG EAST, DePaul's Campbell and St. John's Tiana England who had 20 points and six assists against Marquette.
The Blue Demons have won eight of their last 10 games and lead the nation in three-pointers and three-point attempts and are No. 2 in threes per game. They are No. 3 in the country in free throw percentage, No. 6 in scoring offense, No. 7 in assists, No. 8 in assists per game, and No. 22 in assist-turnover ratio.
Campbell, who is among the 10 finalists for the prestigious Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year award, is No. 11 in the nation in assist-turnover ratio while Millender is No. 25 in three-point attempts.
St. John's (13-12, 6-8) has won its last four games behind a balanced offense featuring four players averaging in double figures. Qadashah Hoppie leads the Red Storm at 11.8 points per game followed by Alisha Kebbe at 10.8. Akina Wellere is scoring at a 10.5 clip and England averages 10.1 points and nearly six assists.
Â
Â
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Guard
/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Forward
/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Guard
/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Guard
/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Guard
/ WOMEN'S BASKETBALLDemon Docs: Welcome Head Coach Jill M. Pizzotti
Tuesday, April 29
Episode 19: Jill M. Pizzotti, Women's Basketball Head Coach
Wednesday, April 16
Jill M. Pizzotti Introductory Press Conference
Tuesday, April 15
DePaul Women's Basketball: Jill Pizzotti Introductory Press Conference
Thursday, April 10