D E P A U L
W O M E N ’ S
2004 | Midwest Region
The Blue Demons came out of the gates and tallied one of the largest margins of victory by a lower seed in the first round against George Washington. The Blue Demons opened up a six-point halftime lead with a 26-8 run to start the second half en rounte to an 83-46 final. Charlene Smith led the Blue Demons over the Colonials with 24 points as the team combined to shoot .557 in the game. The second-round game with top-seeded Tennessee saw the club shoot a season-low .288 from the field in a 79-59 loss. Charlene Smith, Khara Smith and Ashley Luke led DePaul with 13 points apiece.
Team: Jarietta Benton, Jenni Dant, Lindsey Deason, Sarah Kustok, Ashley Luke, Casmir Patterson, Jenna Rubino, Maureen Simon, Monika Slota, Charlene Smith, Khara Smith, Claudette Towers; Managers: Megan Luke, Chris Koch, Tom Levar, Maureen Dillon; Head Coach: Doug Bruno; Assistant Coaches: Maggie Dixon, Candis Blankson, Jana Mathis
B A S K E T B A L L
Team: Jarietta Benton, Erin Carney, Jenni Dant, Ciara Johnson, Lauren Levine, Casmir Patterson, Allie Quigley, Jenna Rubino, Maureen Simon, Caprice Smith, Charlene Smith, Khara Smith, Claudette Towers; Managers: Megan Luke, Chris Koch, Tom Levar, Maureen Dillon; Head Coach: Doug Bruno; Assistant Coaches: Maggie Dixon, Candis Blankson, Samantha Williams
2006 | San Antonio Region
As the No. 4 seed, the highest in school history, DePaul reached the Sweet 16 for the first time after posting wins over Liberty and Tulsa in the first and second rounds at the Allstate Arena. The Blue Demons dispatched the Flames in the first round with 18 points and 13 rebounds from Khara Smith. DePaul took a 41-22 lead at halftime and never looked back in the 68-43 win. In the second round, the Blue Demons overcame an 11-point deficit led by Smith’s 23 points and 14 boards for a 71-67 victory. DePaul trailed, 67-61, with 1:59 left on the clock before Smith scored eight of the team’s final 11 points to lead the comeback. At the San Antonio Regional Semifinal, top-seeded LSU broke open a 31-31 halftime score with 23-4 run in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Smith grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds for the Blue Demons while the Tigers finished the game with five players in double-figures.
2005 | Chattanooga Region
Armed with the then-highest seed in program history, the fifth-seeded Blue Demons jumped out to a 20-point first-half lead only to see No. 12 Virginia Tech storm back. The Hokies led by five with just over four minutes left in the game. Over the final three minutes, the lead changed hands three times with Jenni Dant’s running jumper with 4.9 seconds on the clock as the game-winner. Dant and Allie Quigley led DePaul with 22 points apiece while Khara Smith totaled 15 points and 13 rebounds. Liberty and 6’8” Katie Feenstra proved to be too much in the second round for the Blue Demons as the 13th-seeded Flames upset DePaul, 88-79. The Blue Demons trailed by 10 with just under 14 minutes left in the game before a 16-0 run gave DePaul a 59-53 lead withi 11:31 on the clock. The Flames answered and took the lead for good three minutes later and built a 12-point advantage with just under four minutes left in the game. Smith led DePaul with 27 point and 10 boards while Dant totaled 26 points with six three-pointers. DePaul struggled from the field shooting just .315 overall and was a combined 9-for-33 from threepoint range. Feenstra led Liberty with 29 points and 13 rebounds.
100
Team: Jarietta Benton, Erin Carney, Rachael Carney, Erin Cattell, Katie Collins, Ciara Johnson, Lauren Levine, Holly Medley, Missy Mitidiero, Suzanne Morrison, Alexis Musante, Allie Quigley, Jenna Rubino, Caprice Smith, Khara Smith, Claudette Towers; Managers: Megan Luke, Brandon Bailey, Tom Levar, Giovanna Teolis, Maureen Dillon; Head Coach: Doug Bruno; Assistant Coaches: Samantha Williams, Candis Blankson, Sarah Kustok
2007 | Dallas Region
Following an injury-riddled January that saw as few as seven healthy players, the Blue Demons rallied to close the season and earned an at-large bid to the 2007 NCAA Championship. DePaul, as the No. 10 seed, took on seventh-seeded Georgia Tech at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minn. It was a tale of two halves as the Blue Demons shot .652 in the first half followed by a .179 shooting percentage in the second period. DePaul led by six points, its largest lead of the game, with just over five minutes left before the Yellow Jackets won the game on a jumper by Jacqua Williams with two seconds on the clock. The one-point final was Georgia Tech’s first lead since the 5:30 mark of the first half. Allie Quigley led the Blue Demons with 17 points while Jenna Rubino added 12 points and seven rebounds. DePaul’s loss ended a three-year run of making the second round of the NCAA Championship.