DePaul gets respect after La. Tech upset

Tuesday, Dec. 17, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

When a big-time scorer leaves, a basketball team has to find the points elsewhere or turn up its defense. The DePaul women have done both.

Quick guards Kim Williams and Fuchsia Forrester have set the tone defensively, while Williams and center Mfon Udoka have shouldered the bulk of the scoring to offset the loss of All-America Latasha Byears.

It has all added up to a fast start and a No. 25 national ranking. DePaul joined The Associated Press women's basketball poll Monday -- two days after its 70-67 upset of then-No. 3 Louisiana Tech.

"What's exciting about this group is they fit very well together, and we have a very solid chemistry," DePaul coach Doug Bruno said.

"Some years, you have a lot of talent, and it just doesn't fit together. This is a year where I don't think you can say our talent is the best in the country, but it fits well together. But we do have good, solid talent."

Stanford and Connecticut remained 1-2 in the poll, with Stanford a unanimous choice for the fourth time in six weeks. The Cardinal solidified their grip on the top spot with an impressive 82-67 victory at Tennessee on Sunday.

DePaul's talent starts with Williams, a 5-foot-6 senior who burned Louisiana Tech for 28 points and is averaging 21 points for the season.

Bruno feels that Williams, a long-time playground star in Chicago, is ready to hit it big after transferring in last season from West Arkansas Community College.

"With most junior college players, it takes them a little time to hit their stride," he said. "Saudia Roundtree (at Georgia) was player of the year last year and after being solid as a junior. I think Kim has the ability to be a Saudia Roundtree type this year. It's just a maturation over time."

Before knocking off Louisiana Tech, DePaul defeated previously unbeaten Northwestern 77-67 as Udoka came up with 29 points and 22 rebounds. The Blue Demons held Northwestern to 33 percent shooting and are limiting opponents to 36 percent for the season. Louisiana Tech shot only 37 percent against DePaul.

"We think we're a much better defensive club than we've been the last couple of years," said Bruno, whose last two teams have gone 20-9 and 21-10. "We just don't score quite as easily."

Stanford (9-0) swept all 41 first-place votes from a national media panel and compiled 1,025 points. The Cardinal are off to their best start since the 1991-92 season, when they won their first 10 and captured the national championship.

Connecticut (7-0) remained second with 980 points, Georgia (5-1) moved up one place to third with 939 and Old Dominion (7-1) climbed two spots to fourth with 853. Louisiana Tech (9-1) dropped two places to fifth.

Tennessee (7-3), which has lost back-to-back home games for the first time since 1986, fell one spot to sixth. The Lady Vols, the defending national champions, lost at home to Georgia on Dec. 8.

Alabama remained seventh and was followed by North Carolina State, Penn State and Western Kentucky.

Texas Tech fell three spots to 11th after losing to Auburn. Then it was Virginia, Texas, Vanderbilt and Duke, followed by Notre Dame, Kansas, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Auburn.

Iowa, Clemson, Arkansas, Stephen F. Austin and DePaul held the final five spots. DePaul, the only newcomer, made the Top 25 for the first time since the week of Dec. 11, 1995, when it was 25th.

Colorado (5-2), which had been 21st, dropped out after losing to San Francisco, ending a run of 70 straight weeks in the Top 25. The last time the Buffaloes weren't ranked was the week of March 8, 1992.

In moving from 25th to 20th, Auburn made the biggest jump within the poll. Iowa (4-3), which has lost two straight, tumbled from 12th to 21st for the biggest drop. The Hawkeyes were beaten by Florida in the Big Ten-SEC Challenge at Wisconsin after losing to Nebraska in Hawaii.

Notre Dame dropped six places after losing at home to Wisconsin, although the Irish bounced back to beat Indiana in their next game.