DePaul’s seniors hope their challenging Big East schedule pays dividends when the Blue Demons open NCAA women’s tournament play Saturday in Baton Rouge, La.
On Monday, DePaul (20-11) landed a No. 10 seed in the New Orleans regional and face Marist (31-2) in an opening-round game at 7 p.m. at LSU.
“The Big East is one of the best conferences in the nation,” said DePaul guard Missy Mitidiero, one of five seniors making their fourth straight NCAA appearance. “If we can beat teams like West Virginia and come close to beating UConn, I feel if we play our best basketball we can go up against anybody.”
Marist, located in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., is making its third consecutive NCAA trip and has won 21 straight. The Red Foxes reached the Sweet 16 last year before falling 65-46 to eventual champ Tennessee.
“We already have Marist tapes,” DePaul coach Doug Bruno said. “They’re experienced. Four seniors return from [last season]. They’re also an urban Catholic school like DePaul, so it’s kind of interesting that we’re paired against each other.”
Nearly 200 people — including Blue Demons players, coaches and fans — gathered at the DePaul Student Center for the televised selection show. A cheer went up when DePaul’s pairing was projected on a large video screen.
“I was excited,” senior guard Allie Quigley said. “We knew we were going to be that (No. 10 seed) range so it was exciting to see who we were finally going to play.”
