March 20, 2006

The Tulsa women's basketball team looks to take another step in a record-setting season as the Golden Hurricane faces DePaul on Monday night in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Game time is expected to be at 8:30 p.m. CST, 30 minutes following the Michigan State-Kentucky game.

The game pits the last two Conference USA Champions. Tulsa was crowned the regular season and tournament champions in C-USA this season, while DePaul won the C-USA regular season title last year. Tulsa is in its first year as a Conference USA member, while DePaul is in its first season as a member of the Big East.

Tulsa, the 12th seed in the San Antonio Region, advanced to the second round on Saturday night with a 71-61 win over No. 5-seed North Carolina State. Meanwhile No. 4-seed DePaul advanced with a first round 68-43 victory over Liberty.

The winner of this game will advance to play the winner of the LSU-Washington contest on March 25 in San Antonio.

With the wins on Saturday, Tulsa improved to 26-5 on the season and the Blue Demons improved its record to 26-6.

"Tulsa provides a big challenge because they are a veteran team and they fit well together This is a very well assembled basketball team," said DePaul Head Coach Doug Bruno. "We really need to focus on them. If you look past someone, you'll be making reservations to hit your seven-iron instead of going to San Antonio."

In Tulsa's win, Tulsa was led by senior Megan Moody's 20 points, while fellow senior Emily Jaskowiak and junior Tandem Mays added 17 points apiece. Jillian Robbins, the Conference USA Player of the Year for Tulsa, had her 21st double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds against NC State.

"Our mission for today has been to get prepared for a very good DePaul team. DePaul, at times, plays 13 players and nine that contribute on a regular basis, but they can really go deep into their bench. We have to be able to have the stamina and endurance to be able to defend them," said Hurricane Head Coach Charlene Thomas-Swinson.

Senior forward Megan Moody added, "we have to be on the same page and know that DePaul is a very good transition team. They get the rebound and throw the long court pass for easy lay-ups. It's a matter of us being focused on getting set in our offense and defense."

The Blue Demons are led by 6'2" senior forward Kara Smith, who, like Tulsa's Robbins, averaged a double-double this year with 17.8 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. DePaul is also solid on the perimeter with guards Allie Quigley and Jenna Rubino scoring in double digits with averages of 15.4 and 12.1 points.

Monday's game can be seen regionally on ESPN2.