University of Delaware Athletics
University of Delaware
Bucknell
Joy Caracciolo and Blue Hens Edge Bucknell, 58-56, in Final Seconds
12/7/2014 6:36:00 PM | Women's Basketball
NEWARK, Del. – Senior Joy Caracciolo (Manassas, Va./Stonewall Jackson) came up big for the University of Delaware women's basketball team in the final seconds Sunday afternoon as the forward came down with an offensive rebound and dropped in a put-back layup with just three seconds left to give the Blue Hens a 58-56 win over Bucknell at the Bob Carpenter Center.
Down by six, Delaware (4-3) outscored the Bison (4-3), 8-0, in the final three minutes to come out victorious.
Caracciolo, who had prematurely left the game with a right knee injury in the beginning of the second half, re-entered the contest with just over seven minutes left. Caracciolo began the comeback with 2:50 on the clock by putting in a layup.
Junior Courtni Green (Winchester, Va./Millbrook) followed by draining four free throws to tie the game at 56-56 at the 1:53 mark.
Coming out of a timeout with 44 ticks remaining, the Blue Hens were able to run-down the shot clock and regained a fresh one on an out-of-bounds ball with less than 30 seconds left.
Delaware sophomore Erika Brown (Haledon, N.J./Paterson Kennedy) then drove to the basket, where Caracciolo was able to come down with the offensive rebound and put-back to take the 58-56 advantage.
Bucknell's Jacquie Klotz had a three-pointer bounce off the rim as time expired as Delaware completed the come-from-behind victory.
Green led the Blue Hens with 16 points in addition to five assists and four rebounds while Brown and classmate Hannah Jardine (St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada/O'Donel) each posted 15 points. Caracciolo finished the game with 10 points and four rebounds.
Senior Stephanie Leon (Northport, N.Y./Northport) guided the Hens with seven rebounds.
Klotz finished the day with a game-high 10 points while Claire DeBoer brought down 10 rebounds for the Bison.
“Defense is what won the game. As much as everyone loves a last-second shot, the bottom line is you better defend somebody and you better get stops under the four-minute mark. We had a major lapse for three to four minutes [in the second half] and Bucknell went up by six. Thankfully, to our kids' credit, we crawled back in it. Our kids did what they were supposed to and we're lucky to steal this one and get away with a victory.”
[On Joy Caracciolo]: “Injuries have plagued her pretty much her whole career to a certain extent. It was great that she was able to come back and give us a lift by getting that offensive rebound and putting it back up. She's a senior with freshmen backups and at this stage we need a player who can finish. I'm glad she was able to do that.”
Senior Joy Caracciolo
[On the game-winning basket]: “It's funny because I actually told her [Erika Brown] during the timeout that worst come to worst, she should drive and I'll be under the basket to get the rebound should she miss. And it ended that way. The original plan was for a shot for Courtni [Green] or Hannah [Jardine], but the back-up was to drive and get a shot from anybody.”
HEN SCRATCHINGS
· Delaware moves above the .500 mark for the first time this season.
· The Blue Hens had four players score in double figures for the second time this year (last in opener at Lafayette).
· UD is 2-1 at the Bob Carpenter Center this season.
· The Blue Hens have won 10 straight against Bucknell and lead the all-time series, 20-2. UD is 10-1 against the Bison at home.
· Hannah Jardine's career-high 15 points bested her previous-high of 13 set against William & Mary on Feb. 23.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
· Tuesday, December 16 – Princeton at Delaware – 7 p.m. – Bob Carpenter Center (Newark, Del.)
· Friday, December 19 – Delaware vs. Northern Kentucky – 7 p.m. – Fifth Third Arena (Cincinnati, Ohio)
· Saturday, December 20 – Delaware at Cincinnati – 7 p.m. – Fifth Third Arena (Cincinnati, Ohio)
