Allie Quigley honored ahead of DePaul’s season opener

Allie Quigley ran past a photo of herself ahead of every Sky home game during the 2021 season.

The Sky moved into DePaul’s home locker room this season, and the hallway they would emerge from at Wintrust Arena was adorned with photos of Blue Demons who made it to the league. Quigley’s image served as a consistent reminder to the 14-year veteran of all the work she put into making her WNBA dream a reality.

Tuesday night ahead of DePaul women’s basketball’s 114-71 season-opening win over Texas Southern University, Quigley was honored.

“Allie Quigley is the classic Chicago story of grit and determination,” DePaul coach Doug Bruno said. “Every time you get knocked down, get right back up and keep fighting. Allie has a passion for the game and just loves to play.

When it wasn’t working out originally with the WNBA, it looked like she would become a European lifer, and that would be her fate.”

Quigley and the Sky are just three weeks removed from winning their first WNBA title. The championship journey was riddled with adversity for Quigley.

Before signing with the Sky in 2013, Quigley had been cut four times by three different WNBA teams. Between 2013 and 2014, her offensive production more than doubled. She averaged 3.8 points per game during her first season with the Sky and 11.2 in her second.

She started every game she played for the Sky in 2017 and averaged a career-high 16.4 points per game, earning her first All-Star nod.

Quigley started the 2021 season off the Sky bench before moving back into the starting five after the Olympic break. In the Finals, Quigley led the Sky averaging 18 points a game.

Her 11-points in the fourth quarter of Game 4 propelled the Sky past the Mercury to their first title. WNBA Finals MVP Kahleah Copper said she knew the Sky would be champions the day before Game 4 when she saw Quigley getting shots up alone at the team’s practice facility.

“I hope now with us bringing a championship to Chicago, little girls and boys will want to be like me, Candace our legend, Courtney, our amazing point guard — be like Kahleah our MVP,” Quigley said. “I hope this can inspire so many young kids to dream about a championship one day.”

Quigley’s 2,078 career points for DePaul has her third on the school’s all-time leading scorer list.

Tuesday evening, she took the court with the Sky’s championship trophy in hand. Bruno, Sky coach/general manager James Wade and Texas Southern coach Cynthia Cooper welcomed her.

Less than 30 days before, she ran past her photo onto the same court and was welcomed by a sold-out crowd of 10,378. She dropped 26-points, and the Sky were crowned champs.

“My WNBA dream started at DePaul back in 2004,” Quigley said. “Now, 17 years later, to be able to win a championship on DePaul’s floor is a storybook ending.”