CHICAGO -- The No.17 DePaul women's basketball team battles San Diego for the Maggie Dixon Classic Championship tonight at McGrath Arena. The Championship will be broadcast live LPTV with Dave Bernhard and former Blue Demon and DePaul Hall of Famer Barb Atsaves-Pabst calling the action from courtside beginning at 7:30 p.m. For fans outside of the Chicago region, the games audio will also be steamed live on www.depaulbluedemons.com
Tonight's Championship game is straight out of a storybook as the two programs with ties to Maggie Dixon battle for the tournament title. The Classic honors Dixon a former, Blue Demon assistant from 2001-05, who came to DePaul after playing her collegiate ball for the Toreros from 1995-99. Formally known as the DePaul Invitational, the Maggie Dixon Classic honors 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.
Fans wanting to attend the Classic can receive a reduced ticket rate if they bring a non-perishable food item for donation. With a donation, fans can purchase tickets for $5. All donations help support DePaul's Captains' Council, who is organizing the food drive that support the St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry.
Tonight's game closes out a four-game home stand for the Blue Demons. Next week, DePaul plays at Northwestern (Nov. 24) and Northern Illinois (Nov. 28) before traveling to Green Bay for a battle on Dec. 2.
Noting the Blue Demons: DePaul is 636-373 (.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 (194 games), the Blue Demons have held 63.9 percent of their opponents to less than 70 points (124-of-194)... in that span, DePaul is 107-17 (.863) when holding opponents to less than 70 points... DePaul held two of its three opponents to less than 70 points this season... in the last four-plus seasons, the Blue Demons are 92-42 (.687)... in the last 54 home games against conference opponents, DePaul has posted 44 victories... over the last eight-plus seasons (285 games), DePaul has scored at least 80 points in 104 games... the Blue Demons hold a 99-5 (.952) record in those games... in the same span, DePaul is 42-1, including 40 straight wins, when scoring at least 90 points.
Looking at San Diego: San Diego enters the game with a 2-1 record... the Toreros only loss this season came at San Diego State a 79-52 loss... San Diego advanced to the Championship game with a 79-45 win over Tennessee State on Friday... Emily Hatch leads San Diego with 15.0 points while Morgan Henderson averages 5.3 rebounds per game... Cindy Fisher is in her fourth season at the helm of the San Diego... Fisher is 70-55 at San Diego and 123-136 all-time
The DePaul/San Diego Series: DePaul is facing San Diego for just the second time... the two programs last met in 1982 in San Diego with the Blue Demons taking the game 66-57... DePaul participated at San Diego's Maggie Dixon Classic in 2007, but the two teams did not meet. .. In the 2007 Classic, DePaul lost to Texas in the first game (91-81), but bounced back with a 111-64 victory over Appalachian State... DePaul's 111 points marks the last time the Blue Demons reached the century mark.
It could happen: The game is No. 1010 in DePaul women's basketball history... a 3-pointer would run DePaul's streak to 143 games with a trifecta... Naughton needs 11 3-pointers to tie Missy Mitidiero for 11th all-time for 3-pointers. Naughton enters the game with 123 and Mitidiero finished her career with 134... Felicia Chester could play in her 70th career game... Jennifer Juergens could score double-digits in all four of her career games at DePaul... Keisha Hampton needs 17 points to eclipse the 400 point mark.
Cornell Recap: Katherine Harry led DePaul with 18 rebounds and 16 points as the Blue Demons advanced the Championship of the Maggie Dixon Classic with a 89-50 win over Cornell. Harry's 18 rebounds were the most by a DePaul player since Erin Carney grabbed 19 against Oklahoma to start the 2006-07 season. The Blue Demons never trailed in the ballgame behind their season-high .449 (31-for-69) field goal percentage. DePaul also outrebounded the Big Red 52-27.
Looking Ahead: DePaul hits the road for three games in the next 11 days. The Blue Demons begin their road swing at Northwestern on Nov. 24 then travel to Northern Illinois on Nov. 28 followed by a trip to Green Bay on Dec. 2.
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: Tonight's game on LPTV is the first of four games on the station this season. LPTV will also carry DePaul's game with UIC on Dec. 4, the Connecticut game on Feb. 10 and the Blue Demons game at West Virginia on Jan. 9.
Sign Here: Uniquah Hampton, Jasmine Penny and Shukurah Washington have all signed a National Letter of Intent and will join the Blue Demons for the 2010-11 season.
Hampton a 6-0 guard, is a four-year starter at Hillcrest High School in Country Club Hills, Illinois has been named all South Suburban All-Conference three times, while she garnered the league's MVP honors as a sophomore and junior.
Penny a 6-1 forward, is one of the most highly touted players to come out of the state of Indiana. A two-time AP Indiana All-State Girl's Basketball Team Honorable Mention, Penny was named A Hoosier Magazine All-State first team selection as a sophomore and junior. A senior at Logansport High School, Penny is a 2010 Indiana All-Star and an Indiana Miss Basketball Candidate.
Washington is a 5-10 G/F and hails from Murry Bergtraum -- a high school that has won 11 straight New York City Championships. Murry Bergtraum finished last season on a 53-game winning streak and closed out the 2008-09 season ranked No. 1 in ESPN's High Elite 25 High School Girls Basketball Rankings.
AP No. 17: DePaul women's basketball team ranks No. 17 in this week's Associated Press Poll... The Blue Demons are one of three BIG EAST teams in the top 25. Connecticut was unanimous at No. 1 while Notre Dame came in at No. 5.
BIG EAST Predictions: The DePaul women's basketball team 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.
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 1,445 career points (1,026 at DePaul and 419 at Wake Forest)... enters the San Diego game ranked 20th on DePaul's all-time scoring list.
Naughton Names: Senior DePaul guard Deirdre Naughton has 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 just this week (Nov. 18) she was named 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.
Taking Advantage from Beyond the Arc: Since the start of the 2005-06 season, the club has knocked down 941 trifectas compared to just 657 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. Including the Houston game, the Blue Demons have tallied a three-pointer in 401 of the last 402 games. DePaul enters the Cornell game with a streak of 142 consecutive games with a three-pointer.
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 109-19 (.851) record in the arena's 128 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 373-103 (.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 86 victories in the last 89 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:
- 142 consecutive games with a three-pointer
- 53 straight victories over unranked non-conference opponents at home
- 36 straight wins against opponents from Illinois
- 10 seasons in-a-row with at least 200 three-pointers
- Seven consecutive NCAA Championship appearances
Against the State: DePaul has seen recent success against in-state opponents. Over the last 59 games against Chicago State, Illinois, Illinois-Chicago, Illinois State, Loyola-Chicago, Northern Illinois, Northwestern and Southern Illinois, the Blue Demons have posted 57 victories. The 2008-09 schedule saw DePaul knock off 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, when Illinois defeated the Blue Demons in Champaign by a 71-67 score. During the 59-game stretch, both defeats have occurred at Illinois with the last home loss to an in-state Illinois program on Nov. 20, 1998, against Northwestern. The Wildcats defeated the Blue Demons at Alumni Hall by a score of 62-61.
What's Back: The Blue Demons aim for their eighth straight NCAA Championship appearance in 2009-10. DePaul finished last season with a 23-10 record for the program's 17th 20-win season and the sixth in the last seven campaigns. DePaul is just one of 14 programs to play in each of the last seven NCAA Tournaments while the run is a program record, passing the four-year NCAA streak from 1990-93.
With four of the its five starters returning, DePaul returns 73.0 percent of its offense including BIG EAST second-team performer senior Deirdre Naughton (15.0), all-freshman team member Keisha Hampton (10.4) and junior guard Sam Quigley (9.9). Despite losing Natasha Williams to graduation, DePaul returns 80.55 percent of its rebounding presence. Junior Felicia Chester grabbed 5.8, while Naughton captured 5.0 and Hampton snatched 4.6 rebounds per game.
Other returning players include seniors Rachel Pierson and BIG EAST Sixth Man of the Year China Threatt. Pierson played 10 games before suffering a season-ending injury at Missouri State. Threatt, who battled back from a knee injury, played in 32 games while she started five. Threatt averaged 5.2 points per game and was third on the squad with 41 steals. Hampton leads a sophomore class that includes Courtney Webb, Deanna Ortiz and Maureen Mulchrone. Taylor Pikes joins the sophomore class as she was granted a medical redshirt after a season-ending injury in the fifth game of the season.
What's New: The Blue Demons welcome a three-member class of newcomers this season consisting of two freshmen and one transfer. Junior Jennifer Juergens sat out the 2008-09 season after transferring from Loyola-Chicago. During her two seasons, Juergens played in 32 games while she averaged 5.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per contest. The freshman class includes Katherine Harry from Columbia, Missouri and Anna Martin from Nicholasville, Kentucky. DePaul added sophomore transfer Shy Johnson in September 2009, she will sit out the 2009-10 season under NCAA guidelines. The Cincinnati, Ohio native spent her freshman season at NAIA powerhouse Shawnee State.
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.
