University of Delaware Athletics
Delle Donne Explodes for 38 as Hens Cruise to Eighth Straight Victory with 76-44 Triumph Over Towson
1/20/2013 7:47:00 PM | Women's Basketball
NEWARK, Del. – University of Delaware All-American Elena Delle Donne (at right) exploded for a season-high 38 points Sunday afternoon as the Blue Hens shook off a slow start and cruised to their eighth straight win, a 76-44 Colonial Athletic Association women's basketball victory over Towson at the Bob Carpenter Center.
Delle Donne, a national Player of the Year candidate and the two-time CAA Player of the Year, knocked down 14 of 20 shots from the field, hit on 8 of 9 free throws, and added two three-pointers as she surpassed the 30-point mark for the 31st time in her illustrious career in front of an appreciative crowd of 4,738. She also pulled three rebounds, dished out two assists, and recorded for steals.
Freshman Courtni Green (bottom left) added eight points and four points off the bench while Jacquetta May contributed six points and seven rebounds, and guard Kayla Miller dished out a career-high seven assists for the Blue Hens (13-3, 4-0 CAA) who remained atop the CAA standings and posted their 23rd straight conference regular season win dating back to the 2010-11 season.
Towson (6-10, 0-5 CAA) lost its fifth straight game this season and fell to the Blue Hens for the fifth straight time overall.
Guard Tanisha McTiller led the Tigers with team-highs of 21 points and 10 rebounds but she committd 11 of her team's 23 turnovers. Forward Michelle Peebles also contributed 17 points and six rebounds for Towson, which held a 33-29 advantage on the boards.
“In the second half we collected ourselves and did some things different defensively,” said Delaware head coach Tina Martin. “I didn't think we were a focused basketball team today and that could come back and really haunt us against people in our league. I think Elena knew that some people weren't here today and decided to take the matter in her own hands. She knocked down some threes and got some good looks. It was good to see her step up and get some good shots and our kids found her. Kayla made some great passes on back door cuts.”
Delaware shot an impressive 52 percent from the field (29 of 56) for the game, including 7 of 13 shooting from beyond the three-point line and a blistering 62 percent (18 of 29) from the field in the second half. The Hens dished out 19 assists and committed just 12 turnovers.
The Hens, ranked No. 1 in the College Basketball Insider Mid-Major national poll and receiving votes in the Associated Press Top 25 rankings, recovered from an uncharacteristic slow start.
Delaware misfired on 12 of its first 16 shots from the field in falling behind early and did not gain its first lead of the game until a Delle Donne three-pointer with 9:45 left in the half tied the score at 12-12.
Towson regained the lead two minutes later on a layup from Markell Smith, but Delle Donne answered with a layup as Delaware regained the lead at 17-16 with 7:22 left in the opening half and never trailed again. Delle Donne scored 22 of her points in the opening 20 minutes as the Blue Hen eventually took a comfortable 33-20 advantage at intermission.
The Tigers kept the margin as low as 13 points for the first seven minutes of the second half but they couldn't hang on after that as Delaware used an 11-1 run, including a three-pointer from Delle Donne, to up the lead to 50-27 with 10:03 left.
The lead reached 30 points for the first time at 62-32 on a layup by Miller with 7:07 left to play and stayed above 24 points the remainder of the day.
Delaware will remain at home with its next contest a Thursday, Jan. 24 meeting with UNCW at 7 p.m. at the Bob Carpenter Center.
