- March 19th, 2006, 11:01 am
#8779
LU's visit cut shorthttp://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Sate ... th=!sports
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
Sunday, March 19, 2006
ROSEMONT, Ill. - In unison, the five players in white slapped their palms against the Allstate Arena floor.
The signal was sent. DePaul wasn't interested in letting up. The Blue Demons led Liberty by 16 points less than eight minutes into their NCAA tournament first-round game with the Flames, but they didn't care.
As much as DePaul talked about last year meaning nothing, it clearly lingered in the back of the Blue Demons' minds. So there would be no respite Saturday, no opening for Liberty to seize. DePaul blitzed the Flames early and cruised to a 68-43 victory, leaving the Demons one step shy of the Sweet 16 once again.
Liberty made a surprising run to the regional semifinals last season, dispatching DePaul along the way. No such magic was present this time. The Flames were outmanned and overmatched against a talented and hungry DePaul team determined to defend its quasi-home floor.
"There was a lot of emotion in this game about how Liberty sent us home a year ago all week long," DePaul coach Doug Bruno said. "I was impressed that we were able to maintain our focus and come out with the energy, intensity and focus that we needed to against a Liberty team that has shown against some pretty good ACC teams that they can be very competitive, if we would allow them to be."
Fourth-seeded DePaul (27-5) used a 13-0 run to turn an 8-5 game into a 21-5 runaway before the second media timeout was called. Liberty, the No. 13 seed in the San Antonio Region, couldn't match DePaul's speed and experience. The Flames' weakness since Megan Frazee went down to an injury has been an inconsistent offense, and that was magnified by the higher level of competition DePaul presented.
LU (25-6) shot 25 percent in the first half
and was outrebounded 20-14, and the game was essentially over before eight minutes had elapsed.
The loss was Liberty's worst in the first round of the NCAAs since the Flames lost by 31 to Georgia in 2001.
"It's a learning curve and an experience for us," Flames coach Carey Green said. "I don't want to use the excuse of use, but there is a factor there. Six of them have never been here before."
DePaul forward Khara Smith, who had 18 points and 13 rebounds, dominated Liberty's young posts. Considering Smith's All-American credentials and her skills package, that wasn't surprising. Liberty's forward tandem of Moriah Frazee, Egle Smigelskaite and Karolina Piotrkiewicz were no match.
One of LU's biggest concerns heading into the game was how it would react to DePaul's screening. The Blue Demons set more effective screens than any opponent the Flames saw in the Big South season, and LU didn't handle it well.
The perfect example came early on, when DePaul's Caprice Smith missed a long jumper. Khara Smith got free in the maze of screens and stood alone underneath the basket to grab the rebounds and lay the ball back up. There wasn't a Flame within five feet of her.
"She's got a big body and she knows how to use it," Piotrkiewicz said of Khara Smith. "She's really experienced and knows when to run, when to jump, everything."
DePaul shredded Liberty's defense. The Flames entered the tournament third in the nation in field-goal percentage defense and 17th in scoring defense.
But those stats were accumulated against the soft underbelly of the Big South schedule. DePaul used excellent ball movement and crisp screens to find open looks and score with ease. The Blue Demons shot 42.1 percent (53.8 percent in the first half when building a 41-22 lead) and the 68 points were the most allowed by Liberty since Florida scored 73 in December.
"We were getting out early with our running game," said DePaul guard Allie Quigley, who scored 13 points. "A lot of our shots came from passing, moving the ball quick and getting easy shots."
Moriah and Molly Frazee were the only Flames to hit double figures. Moriah scored 11, Molly had 10.
Liberty's players weren't terribly downcast after the game, mostly because the season can still be considered a rousing success despite
The Flames hit the 25-win mark for the fourth straight season despite having no seniors and bring everyone back for a run at an 11th straight NCAA berth next fall.
That includes Megan Frazee, whose rehab from knee surgery is ahead of schedule.
"At least nobody has to go out on this note," Moriah Frazee said. "Everyone is coming back. Hopefully, next season we can go to the Sweet 16 again."
JT
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