Nov. 18, 2006
Box Score
CHICAGO -
Seven first-half baskets from beyond the arc by DePaul put the Illinois State women's basketball team in an early hole, as the `Birds trailed by double-digits for the duration of the second half, ultimately falling 90-64 in the championship game of the DePaul Invitational, Saturday night at McGrath Arena.
Leading all scorers was Blue Demon guard Allie Quigley, who finished with 26 total points. The Redbirds were led by Kenyatta Shelton with 14 points, while Kristi Cirone tossed in another 12.
The Redbirds fall to an even 2-2, as DePaul improves to 2-1, going 2-0 in its home tournament and walking away with the championship hardware.
Pingeton felt that her team got in a hole to start the game and weren't able to find a way to top DePaul.
"Tonight we faced one of the greatest teams in the country," said Pingeton. "I thought DePaul played extremely well. They continued to hit back-to-back three point shots and the little runs we would made didn't make a dent. I felt like early on in the game we matched their toughness but we didn't show a lot of poise. We had 15 turnovers in the first half but we ended the game with 19. We put ourselves in a bad position at the start of the game to get down like that. You just can't do that when you're playing a team like DePaul."
DePaul jumped out to an early 9-2 lead in the game's first two minutes, as Blue Demon guard Quigley finished a trio of jumpers from close range. Their lead continued with back-to-back three-point baskets from Missy Mitidiero and Jenna Rubino extended the score, 15-8, in favor of DePaul.
Cirone sparked the `Birds on both ends of the floor, collecting a steal followed by a fast-break layup to bring ISU within three, 23-20. The sophomore then drew an offensive charge against DePaul guard Holly Medley, giving the `Birds the ball and the chance to tie the game with just over nine minutes to play in the half.
Consecutive three-pointers by Rubino, Quigley, who finished with 19 first-half points, and Caprice Smith, followed by an additional Smith jumper, gave the Blue Demons their largest lead of the first frame, extending the score to 38-21 with 3:30 left before the break. Redbird junior Lashawn Johnson snapped the 17-point lead by grabbing an offensive rebound and sinking the put-back, while drawing a foul to bring the `Birds within 14, 38-24. DePaul's China Threatt sunk a trey at the first-half buzzer to put the Blue Demons up, 45-26.
The teams traded baskets for three minutes after the intermission, with Redbird center Nicolle Lewis scoring five ISU points in just over a minute, putting the margin at 49-35, in favor of DePaul at the 16:52 mark. The Blue Demons then used a 15-0 run, spanning 2:30, to put the `Birds away for good, leading by as many as 30 points, 78-48, with 7:32 left to play in the game. Shelton added five points in five-minute span for ISU, but DePaul used four three-pointers in the last ten minutes to secure the win.
Illinois State returns to action on Sunday, Nov. 26 with its home opener, taking on Chicago State at 2:05 p.m. at Redbird Arena.
