University of Delaware Athletics
No. 20 Blue Hens Use Team Effort to Overtake William & Mary, 66-44, for 17th Straight Win
2/17/2013 7:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- Senior Elena Delle Donne and junior Akeema Richards (at right) combined for 37 points Sunday afternoon and the No. 20 ranked University of Delaware women's basketball team remained undefeated in Colonial Athletic Association play with a 66-44 victory over William & Mary at Kaplan Arena.
With the win, Delaware improves to 22-3 overall and 13-0 in CAA play. The Hens extended their winning streaks to 17 games overall and 33 straight in CAA regular season competition dating to the 2010-11 season. The win was also the eighth straight for Delaware over William & Mary.
“This group is all about the team,” commented Delaware head coach Tina Martin. “This was a team effort and our players really understand that it's all about the team as a whole and not individuals.”
Delle Donne led all scorers with 24 points and added six rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal in 35 minutes of play.
Richards returned to the starting lineup following a one-game hiatus to put up 13 points, including 10 in the first half, in addition to five rebounds and one steal.
“I knew that I had to bring my energy up,” Richards stated. “I'm the spark on the team and I needed to start playing that role a little better. We're a very close group and anybody can start. We have great players on our team and it only matters who's playing well at the time. You can't take it to heart because it's nothing personal as we're trying to get the team win.”
Senior Danielle Parker neared a double double with eight points and eight rebounds. The forward also contributed three assists, one block and one steal for the Hens.
The Tribe (6-18, 4-9 CAA) saw two players in double figures in Emily Correal and Janine Aldridge. Correal finished the day with a double double of 16 points and 10 rebounds while Aldridge put up 12 points in addition to a game-high four assists.
The Hens opened the game with a 5-0 advantage and quickly took a nine-point lead at 16-7 within the first five minutes, including eight points from Richards.
Delaware would go up by as much as 11 but William & Mary cut the lead to six off of a three-pointer from Jaclyn McKenna at the 9:18 mark.
UD went into halftime with an 11-point advantage and that was as close as things would get for the remainder of the game.
The Hens ruled the boards by an advantage of 38-25 while also outshooting William & Mary, 48.3 percent (28-58) to 38.3 percent (18-47). Delaware put up 16 second chance points and 13 points off of turnovers in the win.
The road trip continues for the Blue Hens as they take on George Mason at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
