Homegrown: JCA legend Allie Quigley inducted into DePaul Athletics Hall of Fame, reflects on career

In Stephen King’s 1978 novel “The Stand,” the character Larry Underwood hears the song “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver. Initially dismissing it as “corny” he rethinks of the song in the context of the apocalypse and realizes something:

Who can’t relate to wanting to go home sometimes?

Allie Quigley certainly can. From Joliet Catholic, to DePaul University, to the Chicago Sky, home has been prevalent throughout her career.

Home was where she found herself this past Sunday as she was inducted into DePaul Athletics Hall of Fame during the Blue Demons' win over Providence at Wintrust Arena. Home has had a few meanings for Quigley over the years, but it’s never been very far.

Where it started

Basketball fans around the country have come to know the name Allie Quigley. In Joliet, however, she may not even be the most famous member of her own family.

Her mother Christine was a four-sport athlete and All-State basketball player for Joliet Central and is in the St. Francis University Hall of Fame. Her father Pat was a two-sport athlete at St. Francis and a coach at Lincoln-Way Central before his death in 1994 from cancer.

Quigley’s younger sister Sam followed the athletic path too, playing at DePaul and is sixth all-time at the school in assists with 484 career assists. She’s been the head coach for the women’s team at SIUE for four years.

Even Quigley’s two brothers Jacob and Ryan played professional sports, but they all attended JCA. That’s where Allie scored 2,387 career points and was an All-American. A 2004 grad, she was also an All-American volleyball player and All-Area softball player. She was a member of the inaugural Joliet Catholic Hall of Champions class in 2014.

“That community raised me not only as a person but as an athlete,” Allie said Sunday. “I played a bunch of different sports and we had so many great coaches. Whether it was friends or parents there was always support.”

Where the heart is

Quigley’s next home was just 45 miles away at DePaul to play hoops for Doug Bruno. She said she felt DePaul was “like an extension” of her community in Joliet.

“Coach Bruno was very similar (to my coaches in Joliet) with that midwest, blue collar work ethic,” she said. “It felt like the right thing to come here because of how I grew up.”

Quigley remains the third all-time leading scorer in program history with 2,078 points and is in the top-10 in 11 different categories. DePaul made the NCAA Tournament each of her four years, including the Blue Demons’ first ever Sweet 16 in 2006. She was a four-time All-Conference player.

“It’s crazy how fast time flies,” Quigley said. “It’s so nice to see everyone and it just reminds you of how lucky you are to have so many great people who made it happen. ... It’s just nice to see that so many of them are still here carrying on that tradition.”

You have to go there to come back

So this is the part of the story where all of Quigley’s goes pro, breaks records and lives a life of fame and luxury...right?

Not even close.

“Allie is a player we talk about a ton in our program and in recruiting also,” DePaul interim coach Jill Pizzotti said. “She had a decorated career at DePaul, but her story about continuing to fight to make it to league (is special). It wasn’t easy for Allie.”

Quigley was drafted by the Seattle Storm of the WNBA 22nd overall in 2008, but was cut before her rookie year even started. She bounced around the league the next three years and after not playing at all in 2012, she wondered if the time was come to hang up the sneakers.

But something kept her going. Something that you can often find in the confines of home: Love.

“Honestly it was just the love of the game (that kept me going),” she said. “If I didn’t love it as much I do I probably would’ve given up before that.”

So, in the words of Maxine Nightingale, Quigley decided to get back where she started from.

I’m comin' home

In 2013, Quigley signed with the Chicago Sky, returning to to the same court she played on in college.

It took another year of limited playing time before she finally broke out in 2014, averaging 11.2 points per game and winning her first Sixth Woman of the Year Award. She won Sixth Woman of the Year the following season as well before making the first of three-consecutive All-Star games in 2017.

For all the personal success, though, there was one thing that eluded her: A championship. That changed in 2021 when the Sky caught fire in the playoffs, beating Phoenix in the finals to bring home the franchise’s first ever WNBA title.

The magnitude of the moment was not lost on Quigley.

“It’s pretty unique,” she said. “I’m lucky to have been able to do it with everyone here. I tell people that if I had done it in LA or somewhere far away and not have had all that support with family, friends and DePaul it wouldn’t have been the same. I feel very lucky that that happened.”

Home is wherever I’m with you

Fast forward to Sunday. Quigley is 38 years old and hasn’t played since opting to sit out the 2023 season. While she hasn’t officially retired, she acknowledged that, “It’s probably the end for me.”

While the journey is over now, the memories and impact are forever. That impact is still being felt now with the Sky and the Angels. It’s felt at DePaul as well, where the Blue Demons are 4-2 in Big East play. Senior Jorie Allen cited the impact Quigley has had on the program on Sunday.

“I watched Allie win an WNBA championship in this building in 2021,” Allen said. “DePaul has a lot of amazing alumni who have continued to have a big impact on the game, and to have people like her is just inspiring.”

TJ Klune once wrote that home isn’t always about a house, but about the people around you. In that sense, home is the reason Quigley was being celebrated on Sunday.

“(Today) just made me think back to my time here,” she said. “The last 20 years and all of the support I got here from this community. They were the reason I was able to be in the Hall of Fame.”