#21 DePaul Drowns Out UIC

CHICAGO- "Can you hear me now?" is the marketing slogan of a national cell phone company. That slogan could was just as applicable to Friday afternoon's game at McGrath Arena between the DePaul Blue Demons and the University of Illinois-Chicago Flames.

The annual Field Trip Day sponsored by DePaul University filled McGrath with 3,105 screaming grade school students, and those students got their lungs' worth as DePaul defeated UIC 67-56.

The Flames (1-6) received a message loud and clear from the Blue Demons' Keisha Hampton as Hampton scored seven points and had one blocked shot in the game's first 5:00 as DePaul jumped out to a 10-2 lead.

"That is just coming out and being ready to play like [DePaul coach Doug Bruno] said", Hampton said. "You have to come out to every game ready to play. I felt that more in the first five minutes."

By what was a sonic boom quickly turned into dead silence as the Blue Demons, after a lay up from Katherine Harry, went scoreless for the next 4:00 as UIC closed the gap to 19-16 with 6:51 remaining. DePaul's Sam Quigley, who led all scorers with 21 points, broke the drought with a three-pointer and the Blue Demons led 31-29 at the half.

DePaul (6-2, 0-0 Big East) certainly could hear what their coach Doug Bruno said to them at halftime.

"We talked about getting off to a quick start in the second half and reminded them how explosive [UIC] is and how this is their Super Bowl."

Quigley's jumper from the left wing gave DePaul a 37-29 lead with 3:00 gone in the second half.

A three-pointer by the Flames' Jessie Miller cut DePaul's lead to 44-39. A Quigley three-pointer, a put back by DePaul's Anna Martin, and a steal and lay up by Martin helped DePaul go up 51-41 with 11:27 left in the game. UIC got no closer than seven points for the remainder of the game.

DePaul placed four players in double figures with Hampton finishing with 16 points, Martin with 12, and Felicia Chester with 10. The Blue Demons dominated inside with a 45-31 rebounding edge.

Miller led UIC with 19 points.

DePaul continues its homestand this Sunday versus Loyola-Chicago at 5:00 p.m. CST.

Notes: Hampton went over the 200 mark in career rebounds....Quigley ranks 10th in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio...DePaul leads the country in free throw percentage at .823...DePaul's Taylor Pikes saw action for the first time since injuring her knee in 2008.