Women's Basketball Plays at DePaul in WNIT Semifinals Thursday
Wednesday, November 17, 2010 | Women's Basketball
The University of Florida women's basketball team travels to Chicago to play DePaul in the semifinals of the Preseason Women's NIT Thursday evening at McGrath Arena. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT and the radio broadcast of the game can be heard live in Gainesville on WBXY-FM 99.5 “The Star” and through the internet free of charge at www.GatorZone.com, the official website of the Florida Gators.
It will be the biggest test of the young season for the Gators (2-0), who take six newcomers - including four true freshmen - on the road for the first time.
DePaul, which is one of only 13 teams in the country that has earned a berth into the last eight NCAA Tournaments, is the only team in the WNIT semifinals that won a road game during its path to Thursday. That didn't slow down the Blue Demons (2-0), who averaged 83 points and shot 47.1 percent from the floor during their two victories, which they won by an average of 23.5 points.
Not surprisingly, junior forward Keisha Hampton, who is on the preseason Naismith Watch List, has led the scoring brigade, carrying an average of 18.5 points, which includes her 27 point outburst against Valparaiso - scoring 24 of those in the first half. Senior point guard Sam Quigley, who was a finalist for the Nancy Liberman Award last year, is averaging 10.5 points and 6.0 assists, while hitting 3-of-6 three-pointers. Senior forward Felicia Chester is contributing 16.5 points and 6.0 rebounds this year, hitting 70 percent from the floor.
The Blue Demons have consistently been one of the nation's top three-point shooting teams and are averaging eight treys thru two games, sinking them at a 36.4 percent rate.
“DePaul is a veteran team with NCAA Tournament experience and high expectations for themselves,” said UF head coach Amanda Butler, who collected her 100th career win with Monday's 76-70 victory against Charlotte in the WNIT quarterfinal round. “They are exceptionally well coached and playing on their home court. We're excited about all those challenges and the opportunity to match-up against a team with their record and qualifications.”
DePaul's Doug Bruno collected his 500th career victory when the Blue Demons downed Missouri State, 82-66, on Monday in their WNIT quarterfinal contest.
The Gators face the daunting task of trying to collect a victory at cozy McGrath Arena, where the Blue Demons have an impressive 119-21 record for an 85 percent success mark and have won those games by an average of 20.2 points per game. DePaul compiled a 12-2 record at home last year, with the only losses coming to BIG EAST foes and NCAA Tournament teams Connecticut and St. John's.
The Blue Demons are 113-9 (92.6%) at McGrath Arena against unranked teams and have won 58 straight at home versus unranked non-conference foes.
“This is a road game and a whole new experience for our young team,” Butler said. “It's something we will learn from and grow from and will help us improve.
“It's going to be a huge challenge to keep them from doing what they want to do. We're going to have to step up and make plays,” Butler shared. “We have to follow the game plan and execute defensively with as much intensity as we've shown on the offensive end.”
Junior guard Jordan Jones (Suwanee, Ga.) scored 19 points and junior center Azania Stewart (Wood Green, England) tallied the second double-double of her career as the Gator co-captains led Florida in a hard-fought 76-70 victory against Charlotte Monday in the O'Connell Center.
The lead changed hands on four straight possessions midway through the second half, before Jones nailed a three-pointer with 11:22 on the clock and the Gators were able to stave off every charge the rest of the game, as the 49ers drew within one point four more times after Jones' trey but would never retake the lead.
Jones and Stewart are averaging a team-best 11 points apiece through two games, with Stewart collecting 7.5 rebounds and four blocks.
Redshirt-junior Ndidi Madu (Antioch, Tenn.) is contributing 11 points, while freshman Jaterra Bonds (Gainesville, Fla.) is adding 9.5 points and 4.5 assists and junior newcomer Lanita Bartley (Jacksonville, Fla.) is tallying 9.0 points.
“Offensively, we've shown some versatility and some level of consistency in that area,” Butler said. “Defensively, we've been giving up too many points and it's going to be a monumental challenge on Thursday because DePaul doesn't just have good size and athleticism, they have very good ball players. They are all very threatening and good at making reads and decisions.
South Dakota State plays at Purdue in the other WNIT semifinal game. The winners of the semifinals advance to the WNIT championship game scheduled for Sun., Nov. 21 at one of the campus sites, while the losing teams conclude their participation in the national event.
This is the second time the Gators will play in the preseason event. Florida advanced to the semifinals of the 1998 tournament, winning the semifinal consolation game at the final site (Colorado State) for a third-place finish.
Game Day Information
Florida (2-0) at DePaul (2-0) in the Preseason WNIT Semifinals
Thu., November 18, 2010 - 8 pm ET/7 pm CT
McGrath Arena (3,000) * Chicago, Ill.
Game Coverage
Radio: LIVE on WBXY-FM 99.5 “The Star” in Gainesville, called by Adam Schick and Brittany Davis
Internet Audio: LIVE thru www.GatorZone.com (FREE)
Internet Video: LIVE thru www.depaulbluedemons.com (FREE)
Television: None
Satellite Feed: None
Head Coaches
Florida (2-0): Amanda Butler (Florida, BS '95, MS '97)
Records (overall / at UF): 100-61 (sixth year) / 60-39 (fourth year)
DePaul (2-0): Doug Bruno (DePaul, '73)
Records (overall / at DU): 500-299 (26th year) / 460-264 (24th yr)
Team Rankings
Associated Press: Florida - not ranked / DePaul - receiving votes (#26)
ESPN/USA Today: Florida - not ranked / DePaul - receiving votes (#28)
