University of Delaware Athletics
Blue Hens Leave Little Doubt, Jump Out Early to Down Hofstra 75-54 in CAA Tournament Semifinals
3/16/2013 6:14:00 PM | Women's Basketball
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. -- A day after surviving a major scare with a hard-fought eight-point win over No. 9 seed UNCW in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament quarterfinals, the top-seeded and defending champion Blue Hens left little question of the outcome as they cruised to a 75-54 victory over No. 5 seed Hofstra in the CAA semifinals at The Show Place Arena Saturday afternoon.
“Yesterday's game was a case of the jitters,” Delaware head coach Tina Martin stated post-game. “My team played like my team today and I'm very proud of them. We shared the ball, we defended really well, we rebounded extremely well and we showed why we are who we are right now, which is the No. 1 seed.”
The No. 15 Blue Hens (29-3), who extended their school-record win streak to 24 games and posted their 41st straight CAA win over two seasons, now advance to the CAA title game for the third straight season.
Delaware will take on No. 3 seed Drexel in the CAA Tournament Championship Game Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. Drexel defeated No. 3 James Madison 50-34 in the other semifinal game Saturday.
The Hens and Dragons will meet in the title game for the second straight season. Delaware posted a 59-43 win in last year's title game and has now downed Drexel six straight times since 2010-11.
The game will be televised live on the Comcast SportsNet Regional Network throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region.
“We have one more game to go,” commented Martin. “We are very focused on that. All I care is that there is a Delaware uniform on that floor and we have an opportunity to get ourselves a ring. That's what these kids have been focused on all year.”
All-American senior Elena Delle Donne (below left) led UD with 21 points and 13 rebounds for her second straight game with a d
ouble double and the 46th of her illustrious career. During the game, she became the 13th player in NCAA women's basketball history to score 2,900 points in a career (2,912).
“Our focus today was just to have fun on the floor together,” stated Delle Donne. “The season is wrapping up and we want to enjoy these moments. We need to enjoy it while it lasts and have fun. We always play better when we're having fun.”
Senior forward Danielle Parker (bottom right) added 10 points with a 5-for-9 shooting effort from the field while senior guard Trumae Lucas (top right) chipped in 13 points and three assists off the bench.
“Like Elena said, this is the last time around for the majority of our starters as we have seven seniors,” Parker added. “Yesterday we just had to get it out of our system; we came out slow and our shots weren't falling. Today, just coming out strong and closing the door early was something we wanted to do.”
Senior guard Kayla Miller collected nine points, four assists and four rebounds for the Hens and senior Lauren Carra, an All-CAA Second Team honoree, put up ei
ght points with four assists and four rebounds.
“The scoring balance today was huge,” Martin remarked. “Everybody on my team is special and they all play really hard. For us to share the ball and do what we needed to do was huge.”
Senior forward Deven Green paced the Pride (14-17) with a team-high 16 points to go along with five rebounds. Sophomore guard Andreana Thomas addedseven points and a game-high seven assists for Hofstra.
Delaware jumped out to a 14-3 lead to open the game and led by 11 to start the second half. The Hens began the second on a 14-4 run and increased their lead to 21 with 15:29 remaining in the contest. UD held at least a 16-point advantage for the rest of the game and would increase this lead to 25 with just over two minutes remaining in the game before sealing the 21-point victory.
The Blue Hens set a new school CAA Tournament record as they registered just seven turnovers, besting their previous low of eight, which was set against Old Dominion on March 9, 2012. UD collected zero turnovers in the opening period against Hofstra Saturday. Additionally, Delaware made a CAA Tournament best 31 field goals, overtaking their previous best of 30, also set against ODU on March 9, 2012.
