University of Delaware Athletics
No. 12 Delaware Gets Big Efforts from Delle Donne and Carra, Holds Off Old Dominion 76-63 for 11th Straight Win
2/9/2012 9:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball
NEWARK, Del. -- All-American Elena Delle Donne recorded her ninth double-double of the season with game-highs of 27 points and 15 rebounds and Lauren Carra (at right) netted 18 points on 7 of 12 shooting from the field as No. 12 University of Delaware built a 23-point advantage before holding off Old Dominion for a 76-63 Colonial Athletic Association women's basketball victory Thursday night at the Bob Carpenter Center.
Delaware (21-1, 12-0 CAA) won its 11th straight game and remained unbeaten in league play as the Hens forged ahead for a 55-32 lead midway through the second half but then had to old off the Monarchs down the stretch.
Delle Donne (below left), the nation's leading scorer at 28.1 points per game, hit on 11 of 24 shots from the field and also blocked three shots in leading the way once again for the Hens. Carra reached doubles figures for the eighth time in the last nine games and Danielle Parker contributed 13 points and nine boards.
Delaware, which also ran its streak to 12 straight victories at home, overcame a subpar shooting effort (26 of 69 for 37.7 percent) by outrebounding Old Dominion 48-41 and committing just 13 turnovers.
Old Dominion (8-16, 5-7 CAA) lost for the second time in its last three games despite putting three scorers in double figures. Tia Lewis led the way with 15 points and nine rebounds while Myeisha Hall came off the bench to added 14 points and Jackie Cook contributed 11 points and eight rebounds.
"The first eight minutes we were playing good basketball but then we got sloppy,” said Delaware head coach Tina Martin, who upped her career win total to 299. “I told the team that at this point in the year we've got to be able to close the door and take care of our business. We can't beat pressure with speed, we have to beat it with intelligence. I'm happy about the double-digit win, but the bottom line is that we lost our focus and we need to clean that up. We're in the grind of the season, so it's still a good win. This group is a special group, but you still have to be a little picky because you have to improve as the season progresses."
The Monarchs, who fell to 2-8 on the road this season, shot just 27 of 71 from the field (38 percent) for the game and committed 20 turnovers.
Delaware downed Old Dominion for the second straight time after knocking the Monarchs out of the CAA Tournament quarterfinals a year ago. The longtime CAA power Monarchs still hold a 17-5 advantage all-time in the series over Delaware.
Both teams struggled with their shooting touch in the first half as each squad went long periods of time between baskets. Delaware held the lead the entire stanza and took a 10-point advantage at 34-24 into the break after a basket by Akeema Richards with 31 seconds left. The Monarch had cut a 10-point Delaware lead to six at 28-22 on back-to-back buckets by Cook and Mairi Buchan with 3:52 left, but Delaware's Parker answered with a jumper and two free throws to push the lead back to 10.
Delaware came out firing in the second half, outscoring ODU by a 17-4 margin over the first seven minutes to take its biggest lead of the night at 53-30. The Hens misfired on their first two shots of the second half but hit on 6 of the next 10 to take the big lead.
However, the Monarchs never backed down. Old Dominion followed with a 24-9 run over the next seven minutes and narrowed the UD lead to single digits at 62-54 following a three-pointer by Hall with 6:48 remaining.
Old Dominion still trailed by just eight points at 67-58 with 2:37 left to play, but Delaware's Trumae Lucas and Kayla Miller each followed with two free throws to push the lead back to 12 points at 71-59. The Monarchs never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
The Blue Hens will return to action this Sunday when they head to Atlanta to take on Georgia State in a 2 p.m. game in the only matchup between the two schools this season.
