UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Today’s first-round matchup in the NCAA tournament between DePaul and Navy serves as a reward and an opportunity for two teams that achieved historic highs for their program during the regular season. The Midshipmen won the Patriot League for the first time in the school’s history, thanks to a 20-11 record. That earned them a 14 seed in the 2011 NCAA tournament-their first ticket to the big dance-and a first-round matchup against the third seeded Blue Demons, the program’s highest ranking ever for the tournament.
But DePaul is looking to avoid a fifth consecutive first-round exit, and it will be against a team they are unfamiliar with. It is the first matchup ever between the two teams, and after the seeding was announced Monday night, Head Coach Doug Bruno had some homework to do.
“The only thing I know is that they’ve made 262 threes,” Bruno said at the time when asked what he knew about Navy, adding that the coaches would begin looking at tape that same evening.
So after a few days of studying, what does the longtime coach see?
“Angela Meyers is their best all-around player,” Bruno said the evening before the game. “And she’s excellent as a 3-point shooter, she’s excellent as a driver, and a penetrator and passer to her teammates. She’s an excellent rebounder. So this is a very key matchup for us.”
Myers is a 5′ 5″ senior guard from Omaha, Neb. She is averaging a team-high 12.1 points per game, has dished out 160 assists and pulls down 4.6 rebounds per game from the guard position. She was also named defensive player of the year in the Patriot League for both of the last two seasons-the first player in conference history to win the award in back-to-back years.
And according to Bruno, the Navy offense is funneled through her as well.
“They’re kind of unique in that [junior guard Erin] Edwards brings the ball up, calls the play, then puts the ball in Meyer’s hands and let’s Meyer make a play,” Bruno said.
Sam Quigley, who will likely be matched up against Myers at times, described Navy as a physical team that “definitely” belongs in the tournament after watching film this week.
“One thing that we kind of came away with is they’re a really tough team and a great 3-point shooting team,” Quigley said. “They may not have the size, but their post players are really tough and competitive.”
Senior Cassie Consedine and freshman Jade Geif comprise Navy’s formidable starting frontcourt. Consedine is averaging 11.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game and has 47 total blocks on the season. Geif, not to be 9.5 points, 7.8 rebounds per game
“She’s a six-foot freshman, and she’s really a tough interior player,” Bruno said of Geif. “And then Cassie Consedine is 6′ 3″ but loves to shoot 3s.”
Keeping those two and Myers in check will be key for a DePaul team that, as Quigley put it, is looking to get a monkey off their back. It has been four straight first-round exits for the women’s basketball team in the NCAA tournament. Last year it was an 83-76 overtime loss to Vanderbilt. Marist, Georgia Tech, LSU and Liberty round out the teams that have ended DePaul’s run during that streak.
Quigley, who has been at DePaul for all of those losses, said the team is using those losses as fuel.
“I think that we’re just, we’ve been here before, we’ve had this experience before, and we want to get over that one game hump,” she said. “We’re really motivated, and we’re not looking to make that happen again.”
Bruno said he doesn’t feel a difference in the team’s demeanor leading up to the game, even with the losing streak hanging above them.
“I think the mood’s been great all these years,” Bruno said. “I think the mood is different in the sense of, this group of DePaul women has done more than any other group in DePaul history, with the exception of winning in the NCAA tournament. So there’s a determination here.”
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The game is scheduled to being at 12:40 p.m. central time today and can be seen on ESPN 2. Whoever advances will play the winner of the earlier Dayton-Penn State game, taking place at 10:10 a.m. central time.