Northwestern
DePaul
Wildcats Visit DePaul at Wintrust Arena for Chicago Showdown
11/20/2021 4:51:00 PM | Women's Basketball
| NORTHWESTERN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: GAMEDAY INFORMATION | ||||||
| DATE | Opponent | TIME | LOCATION | Live Stats | Live Stream | Radio |
| Sunday, Nov. 21 | DePaul | 5 p.m. CT | Wintrust Arena Chicago, Ill. |
Live Stats | Big East Digital Network | WNUR Sports |
| Social: Twitter (@NUWBBall) | Instagram (@NUWBBall) | ||||||
EVANSTON, Ill. – At 3-0, Northwestern faces its first test of the season against DePaul on Sunday at Wintrust Arena in a highly anticipated showcase of Chicago basketball. Tip off is set for 5 p.m. CT on the Big East Digital Network.
The Wildcats are coming off a 63-47 win against Loyola on Wednesday. The 'Cats held their opponents under 50 points for the third straight game and forced 26 turnovers against Loyola while racking up 17 steals.
Senior guard Veronica Burton is off to a nearly flawless start, averaging 19.3 points, 6.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 3.3 steals on a uber-efficient 55/70/100 split. She is 9-9 from the FT line and 9-13 from deep.
Northwestern is the only team in the country to rank in the top 25 in both steals and blocks per game, with 13.7 of the former (23rd) and 7.7 (9th) of the latter.
DePaul's scoring offense ranks ninth in the country while NU's scoring defense ranks 27th nationally. Adjusted for pace, the Blue Demons' offensive rating ranks 25th while the Wildcats defensive rating ranks 18th nationally, per Her Hoop Stats.
Head coaches Joe McKeown and Doug Bruno will take the sideline on Sunday as two of the most accomplished coaches in the sport with 736 and 738 wins, respectively, and a combined 41 NCAA tournament appearances and 31 conference titles.
The two programs resume their annual Chicago rivalry after not facing each other in 2020-21. There have been some classics over the years including memorable matchups in McKeown's watershed seasons in 2014-15 and 2019-20.
In 2014, Northwestern won 97-91 in double overtime against then-No. 18 Depaul at McGrath-Phillips Arena in a game that involved 188 combined points, 23 lead changes and 13 tie scores. Nia Coffey, Maggie Lyon and Ashley Deary combined for 74 points. The Wildcats would go on to make their first tournament since 1997.
In 2019, No. 16 DePaul stole a 70-68 thriller in Welsh-Ryan Arena in a game the 'Cats led in the final minute, They saw 16 points from Byrdy Galernik off the bench. The win was Bruno's 700th at DePaul, but Northwestern would go on to win its first Big Ten Championship since 1990 and finish 26-4 as a projected three seed in the canceled NCAA Tournament.
Northwestern won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 1993 in 2021 while DePaul missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in 18 years with a first-round exit in the NIT. The Wildcats are receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll while DePaul is receiving votes in both polls, making Sunday's contest as momentous as it gets for non-conference basketball.
For more on Sunday's game, the game notes for both programs can be found here.
