University of Delaware Athletics
No. 18 Blue Hens Roll at Hofstra, Clinch Second Straight CAA Regular Season Title with 79-50 Victory
2/28/2013 6:36:00 PM | Women's Basketball
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- The University of Delaware clinched its second straight Colonial Athletic Association women's basketball regular season title in convincing fashion Thursday night as the Blue Hens outscored host Hofstra 40-18 in the second half and cruised to a 79-50 at the Mack Center.
All-American Elena Delle Donne was her usual self as she poured in 32 points and pulled down 10 rebounds and she got great support from fellow seniors Danielle Parker (at right) and Trumae Lucas.
Parker contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds and Lucas barely missed being the third Blue Hen with a double-double as she scored 13 points and dished out a career-high eight assists. Parker recorded her fifth double-double of the season while Delle Donne notched her sixth of the campaign.
The Blue Hens (25-3, 16-0 CAA) extended their winning streak to 20 games and their three-year CAA regular season winning streak to 35 games.
The win clinched the regular season title and the No. 1 seed for the Blue Hens when they take part in the CAA Tournament March 14-17 at The Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md.
“I just thought the kids did a great job defensively tonight,” commented Delaware head coach Tina Martin. “This is the happiest I've been in a couple of weeks. I thought the effort was very good. Coming off of an emotional win against James Madison, we were a little bit down because of how we ended up finishing the game. It was good to see them bounce back in such a resounding way.”
Hostra, which got 14 points from Candace Bond and 12 points from Shante Evans, fell to 12-15 (8-8 CAA) with its fourth straight setback.
The two teams went back and forth in the first half with the lead changing hands five times and a tie score eight times.
The second half was a completely opposite story as Hens wrapped up the first on a 9-0 run and continued to go up, 51-32, in the first five minutes of the second for a 19-point swing.
“The run before the half was definitely huge,” stated Delle Donne, who moved into a tie for 16th place on the all-time NCAA Division I career scoring list with 2,818 points. “We were able to get rebounds and start running in transition. That momentum then carried over into the second half.”
Delaware would never look back as it held Hofstra to just 18 points in the final stanza.
“Overall, this was a terrific team win,” Martin said. “I was most impressed with the defensive end. I thought all five people listened and bought in to what we were trying to do.”
The Blue Hens wrap up the regular season with two home contests as they host Drexel at 3:30 p.m. Sunday and Georgia State at 7 p.m. March 6 as a part of Senior Night.
