University of Delaware Athletics
University of Delaware
Rider
Team Effort Gives Delaware 68-53 Victory Over Rider to Close 2014
12/29/2014 10:01:00 PM | Women's Basketball
NEWARK, Del. – Four players scored in double figures while two picked up double figure rebounding efforts Monday evening as the University of Delaware women's basketball team closed out 2014 and the non-conference portion of the schedule with a 68-53 win against Rider at the Bob Carpenter Center.
The two teams were tied at 30 at halftime, but the Hens put the pressure on in the second half and outscored Rider, 38-23, en route to victory.
Sophomore Erika Brown (Haledon, N.J./Paterson Kennedy) led all scorers with 16 points while senior Joy Caracciolo (at left; Manassas, Va./Stonewall Jackson) registered 14 points in the win.
Sophomore Hannah Jardine (St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada/O'Donel) picked up her first career double double for the Blue Hens (5-6) with 12 points and 11 rebounds in addition to dishing out a game-best five assists in 37 minutes of action.
Courtni Green (below right; Winchester, Va./Millbrook) also recorded 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and a game-high three steals. With three 3-pointers on the evening, the junior is now tied for seventh place in Delaware history with Bev Santee (1991-95) with 91 career treys.
Freshman Makeda Nicholas (North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon) notched a game- and season-high 12 rebounds to go along with six points.
Kamila Hoskova tallied 13 points for the Broncs (3-9) while Jessie Wallace recorded six rebounds.
“In the second half, we played much better defense. I really got on them at halftime and they did a much better job defensively to end the game. For the most part, we kept them off the boards and Makeda [Nicholas] played her role very well tonight. She needs to be a beast on the board and hunt the ball down. As a freshman, she's making strides. Tonight's win was a team effort; it's big to have four people in double figures. We need to continue to have that offensive contribution.”
[On second half collision between Courtni Green and Rider's Jessie Wallace]: “Believe it or not, but that collision gave us some momentum. I've been all over the kids on diving for loose balls and how important that is. I thought it fired us up when Courtni laid herself out there after that loose ball. That hustle play was huge.”
Sophomore Erika Brown (at left)
“When we rely on just one person to score, it's not going to be a good outcome. We need three to four people to get double figures every game. In the second half, we moved the ball more, which resulted in everybody getting touches and then open looks. We penetrated when we could, so we got easy shots and in the first half, I don't think we did enough of that.”
HEN SCRATCHINGS
· Delaware snapped a three-game losing streak.
· The Hens have won 12 of the last 13 against Rider, a former East Coast Conference rival.
· UD is 8-3 against the Broncs in Newark.
· Delaware has had at least two players score in double figures in all 11 games this season.
· The Blue Hens had four people score in double figures in their last win, which came on December 7 against Bucknell.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
· Sunday, January 4 – Elon at Delaware* – 2 p.m. – Bob Carpenter Center (Newark, Del.)
· Tuesday, January 6 – Delaware at College of Charleston* – 7 p.m. – TD Arena (Charleston, S.C.)
· Friday, January 9 – Delaware at Towson* – 7 p.m. – SECU Arena (Towson, Md.)
