Scout.com: No. 18 DePaul Defeats Illinois State 80-75

No. 18 DePaul Defeats Illinois State 80-75

This story originally published on WeAreDePaul.com

By DePaul Sports Information

Posted Nov 25, 2007

NORMAL, Ill. – Behind Allie Quigley’s first half and Caprice Smith’s second half the DePaul women’s basketball team knocked off Illinois State, 80-75, at Redbird Arena on Sunday. Quigley scored 17 of her 22 points in the first period while Smith scored all 16 points in the second stanza as four players reached double-figures.

With the Blue Demons trailing, 13-11, Quigley put together a three-point play on a short jumper. The free throw to conclude the play pushed DePaul ahead by a point with 12:40 left in the first half. Quigley hit two more buckets for four of her 17 first-half points, but Illinois State was a step ahead and held a 23-21 lead on two Tiffany Hudson free throws with just under nine minutes left.

The next four minutes saw DePaul hold the Redbirds to just a field goal as Quigley knocked down two three-pointers to lead a 13-2 run that ended with a basket by Natasha Williams. The Williams field goal gave the Blue Demons a nine-point advantage before Maggie Krick made a three-pointer with just over four minutes until intermission.

After totaling just 10 points through three-and-a-half games this season, Smith came alive in the final 20 minutes against the Redbirds. The senior forward went 7-for-10 from the field in the second half and grabbed seven boards to finish with her first double-double of the season.

With DePaul holding a 45-41 advantage, Smith scored nine of the next 11 Blue Demon points to lead the visitors to a 58-45 advantage with just over 12 minutes remaining. Her three-pointer with 12:47 left gave her 1,000 career points to become the 22nd player in school history with at least 1,000 points.

Illinois State (4-1) wouldn’t go away as an 11-2 run evened the score at 62-62. Tiffany Hudson scored three straight baskets followed by a Kristi Cirone jumper and three-pointer to knot the score with 6:53 on the clock. Smith answered with a personal 7-2 run followed by a turnaround jumper by Williams, a three-pointer by Deirdre Naughton and another Williams’ basket.

In the final minute and trailing by eight points, the Redbirds were forced to foul. Quigley, Naughton and Missy Mitidiero combined to go 6-of-8 from the line as Illinois State got as close as four points on a Cirone three-pointer with 11 seconds left.

Quigley added five assists and four steals to her 22 points while Williams totaled 18 points and six boards. Smith’s 16-point, 10-rebound double-double was followed by Naughton’s 15 points, five steals and three assists.

Cirone led all scorers with 25 points while Hudson totaled 13 points for Illinois State.

DePaul opens a four-game homestand on Thursday against Illinois-Chicago. Start time at McGrath Arena is set for 7 p.m. between the Blue Demons and Flames.

Game Notes: DePaul has won 25 straight, 39 of the last 40, and 46 of the last 48 games against opponents from Illinois... the last loss to an Illinois school was a 71-67 defeat at Illinois on Dec. 4, 2002... the Blue Demons are 4-0 to start the season for the 10th time in school history and the fourth time in the last five seasons... Caprice Smith’s three-pointer with 13:14 left in the second half gave her 1,000 career points... she is the 22nd player in school history with 1,000 career points... Smith finished the game with 1,009 points and is now in 21st all-time passing Veronica Ross (1,007 pts. – 1986-90)... Illinois State’s Kristi Cirone also surpassed the 1,000-point plateau on Sunday afternoon... four players reached double-figures for the first time this season... DePaul is now 75-4 (.949) in the last seven-plus seasons when scoring at least 80 points... the Blue Demons now lead the series, 5-3, and have won two straight.

Box Score

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