March 18
Men's Basketball
2004 - The Blue Demons return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years and win the program's first tournament game since 1989 with a 76-69 double overtime victory over Dayton in Buffalo, N.Y. The win propelled the Dave Leitao-led Blue Demons to a second round match-up against UCONN which DePaul dropped 72-55.
In the first round win, the Blue Demons were led by Drake Diener who tallied a then-career high 28 points, which included 10 points in the second overtime. The junior guard was clutch for DePaul, knocking down eight consecutive free throws to seal the victory.
Diener is one of three players in school history to own multiple career school records with the school standards for career three-point goals, three-point goal attempts, and free throw percentage. He also owns the single-season marks for three-point goals, attempts and free throw percentage.
The Fond du Lac, Wisc., native finished his career with 1,208 points. He was a two-time Conference-USA Men's Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year. As a senior, Diener was named NACDA's I-AAA Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Sports Illustrated Story - Click HERE
Stat Sheet - Click Here
Women's Basketball
1992 - DePaul defeated Arizona, 67-65, in the first round of the 1992 NCAA Tournament in Alumni Hall. The win in Alumni Hall was the second all-time in NCAA competition. In all, DePaul is 4-0 in NCAA play when the games are played in Chicago.
The 11-seed Blue Demons, in the midst of a run winning 14 of their last 15, shocked the Sun Devils behind a balanced attack. Four players, Rita Hale, Stella Woodley, Tammy Williams and Megan Lucid scored 12, 14, 15 and 10 points, respectively. Williams added nine assists and closed out the victory with a pair of free throws with 36 seconds remaining.
The win propelled the Blue Demons to a second round match-up against Penn State in University Park, Penn. DePaul dropped a 77-54 decision to close the season at 21-10. Bruno's 1992 edition captured the Great Midwest title with an 8-2 league mark.
