Babcock McGraw: For DePaul, the challenges keep coming

This is supposed to be a rebuilding year for Connecticut women's basketball.

Key words: "supposed to be."

Connecticut, which lost national player of the year and No. 1 draft pick Breanna Stewart as well as No. 2 pick Moriah Jefferson and No. 3 pick Morgan Tuck, is now ranked No. 2 in the country, behind Notre Dame.

Against visiting DePaul on Thursday, the four-time defending national champions looked like they could be top team in the nation again.

Behind a career-high 33 points from Kia Nurse, the Huskies destroyed No. 15 DePaul 91-46. Connecticut jumped out fast on the Blue Demons and had a 37-6 lead by the end of the first quarter.

The schedule gets tougher for DePaul, which has never shied from a challenge under coach Doug Bruno. Bruno's philosophy has always been to put together the toughest schedule to challenge his teams and intrigue local fans.

Next Saturday (Dec. 10 at 7 p.m.), DePaul will be hosting No. 1 Notre Dame, three days after Notre Dame hosts Connecticut.

The Notre Dame game, to be played at McGrath-Phillips Arena on DePaul's Lincoln Park campus, will end a brutal start to the season for DePaul, which boasts the 15th-toughest schedule, according to Sagarin Ratings.

DePaul has beaten No. 11 Syracuse, as well as Western Kentucky, which was receiving votes in the national polls at the time. The Blue Demons have also lost to No. 5 Baylor in the Gulf Coast Showcase in Florida over Thanksgiving.

By the time the Blue Demons finish with Notre Dame, they will have played the No. 1, No. 2, No. 5 and No. 11 teams in the country.

Fever pitch:

It's ironic that former Chicago coach Pokey Chatman, fired by the Sky last month, was quickly snapped up by the Indiana Fever to be its new head coach.

The Sky's fiercest rival in the Eastern Conference has been the Fever, and for the longest time the Sky could not consistently beat them.

Their rivalry became more competitive when the Sky drafted forward Elena Delle Donne in 2013 and instantly became a playoff caliber team.

"I can remember when I first went to Chicago, quite frankly, I was trying to build a team to beat Indiana," said Chatman, who spent six years here. "What they had built was incredible and to see it from the inside out now is great."

No word yet on the Sky's search for its next head coach.

Inside scoop:

Speaking of the Sky, espnW posted an in-depth story on Delle Donne last month.

It's a good read, delving into her family, her relationship with her special needs sister Lizzie, her decision in college to leave Connecticut, her relationship with Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma now, her personal life with fiancé Amanda Clifton, and her side business of designing customized wood furniture.

Capped out:

Veteran Sky guard Cappie Pondexter, a Chicago native, had her No. 25 jersey from Rutgers retired on Thursday.

She is the third player to have her jersey retired at Rutgers, which has had a rich tradition of women's basketball.

"I was holding back tears, I can't lie about that," Pondexter said. "Rutgers doesn't retire jerseys often. To be part of that means a lot, the company I'm in. Sometimes as an athlete, you forget about the hard work you put in."

Pondexter, now 33, averaged 18.3 points in her four years there and finished as the school's second-leading scorer. She also won two WNBA titles with the Phoenix Mercury, which drafted her second in 2006. Pondexter also won an Olympic gold medal in 2008.

This summer, Pondexter played in her 11th WNBA season, her second with the Sky.

• Patricia Babcock McGraw also works as a basketball color analyst for games involving DePaul University, the Big Ten, Chicago Sky and Illinois High School Association. Follow her on Twitter @BabcockMcGraw.