University of Delaware Athletics
Three Takeaways From Delaware's Non-Conference Finale
12/30/2019 11:37:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Coming off an 11-day break for the holidays, and nearly four weeks removed from the last home game, Delaware women's basketball put together its most complete game of the season in a 63-44 win over George Mason inside the Bob Carpenter Center Sunday afternoon. Three Blue Hens finished with double-digit points, while seven total Hens got on the scoreboard.
"We played together. I just thought this was a full 40-minute performance from start to finish with everyone involved," head coach Natasha Adair said. "It was a great team win today."
The 19-point win over the Patriots was Delaware's largest margin of victory of the season, and came at the perfect time as the Blue Hens start Colonial Athletic Association play Jan. 3 at UNCW.
"It can give us the right confidence coming into conference [play]," junior guard Tee Johnson said. "I feel like we're ready."
Here are three takeaways from Delaware's win in their final non-conference game of the season:
1. Delaware Had Its Best Defensive Performance Of The Season
George Mason's 44 points were by far the fewest by a Delaware opponent this season, and are a testament to the blanketing defense the Blue Hens played all game.
From the opening tip, junior forward Lizzie Oleary put in arguably her best defensive showing of the year, consistently contesting GMU shots. Overall, Delaware limited George Mason to 25.4% from the field, the lowest mark of any opponent this season.
As a team, Delaware collected 13 steals from five different players and eight blocks from four different Hens. Those defensive stops allowed Delaware to get out in transition for easy buckets. The Blue Hens finished with 22 points off turnovers and 14 fast break points.
"That's how you do it. If you get stops, you can run in transition and that's ultimately what we want to do," graduate forward Nicole Enabosi said. "We really do need to focus on getting stops and not giving them anything easy so we can push the ball in transition."
2. Tee Johnson And Jasmine Dickey Hounded Mason
A huge part of Delaware's stellar defensive effort was the outstanding on-ball defending from Johnson and sophomore guard Jasmine Dickey. The pair combined to limit GMU's leading scorer, Nicole Cardano-Hillary, to just 3-of-12 from the field.
Dickey finished with four steals and three blocks to supplement a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds. Her length and lateral quickness allowed her to flourish in Delaware's match-up zone, constantly deflecting balls.
Johnson, whose active hands caused problems for Mason's offense all afternoon, finished with a game-high +24 rating (in layman's terms, Delaware outscored GMU by 24 points when Johnson was on the floor), and poured in 11 points. Midway through the third quarter, she intercepted a pass and hit a turnaround jumper on the other end as a part of a 9-0 run that put Delaware ahead 46-28 and effectively put the game out of reach.
"We want to be able to create transition points, we want to be able to get those stops. But in order for us to run, we have to defend," Adair said. "They're very good on-ball defenders."
3. Delaware Dominated The Paint Behind Nicole Enabosi
While transition points were huge, the Blue Hens also outscored the Patriots in the paint by a 38-16 margin. Enabosi led the way for Delaware, scoring a game-high 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor and 8-of-10 from the free throw line.
"Our guards are really good with taking the ball off the dribble and attacking," Enabosi said. "We have a team where the posts can score inside, but also our guards are great at scoring inside as well."
That balance in offensive attack, combined with the best defensive performance of the season, led the Blue Hens to the emphatic win in the non-conference finale.
"We played together. I just thought this was a full 40-minute performance from start to finish with everyone involved," head coach Natasha Adair said. "It was a great team win today."
The 19-point win over the Patriots was Delaware's largest margin of victory of the season, and came at the perfect time as the Blue Hens start Colonial Athletic Association play Jan. 3 at UNCW.
"It can give us the right confidence coming into conference [play]," junior guard Tee Johnson said. "I feel like we're ready."
Here are three takeaways from Delaware's win in their final non-conference game of the season:
1. Delaware Had Its Best Defensive Performance Of The Season
George Mason's 44 points were by far the fewest by a Delaware opponent this season, and are a testament to the blanketing defense the Blue Hens played all game.
From the opening tip, junior forward Lizzie Oleary put in arguably her best defensive showing of the year, consistently contesting GMU shots. Overall, Delaware limited George Mason to 25.4% from the field, the lowest mark of any opponent this season.
As a team, Delaware collected 13 steals from five different players and eight blocks from four different Hens. Those defensive stops allowed Delaware to get out in transition for easy buckets. The Blue Hens finished with 22 points off turnovers and 14 fast break points.
Defense 👉Offense... Our favorite! #BlueHens leading George Mason 25-18 with 4:41 to play before half. pic.twitter.com/wUewpOdC86
— Delaware Women's Basketball (@DelawareWBB) December 29, 2019
"That's how you do it. If you get stops, you can run in transition and that's ultimately what we want to do," graduate forward Nicole Enabosi said. "We really do need to focus on getting stops and not giving them anything easy so we can push the ball in transition."
2. Tee Johnson And Jasmine Dickey Hounded Mason
A huge part of Delaware's stellar defensive effort was the outstanding on-ball defending from Johnson and sophomore guard Jasmine Dickey. The pair combined to limit GMU's leading scorer, Nicole Cardano-Hillary, to just 3-of-12 from the field.
Dickey finished with four steals and three blocks to supplement a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds. Her length and lateral quickness allowed her to flourish in Delaware's match-up zone, constantly deflecting balls.
Johnson, whose active hands caused problems for Mason's offense all afternoon, finished with a game-high +24 rating (in layman's terms, Delaware outscored GMU by 24 points when Johnson was on the floor), and poured in 11 points. Midway through the third quarter, she intercepted a pass and hit a turnaround jumper on the other end as a part of a 9-0 run that put Delaware ahead 46-28 and effectively put the game out of reach.
This steal and finish from Tee Johnson 💯💯💯 pic.twitter.com/pMLWFWjyc1
— Delaware Women's Basketball (@DelawareWBB) December 29, 2019
"We want to be able to create transition points, we want to be able to get those stops. But in order for us to run, we have to defend," Adair said. "They're very good on-ball defenders."
3. Delaware Dominated The Paint Behind Nicole Enabosi
While transition points were huge, the Blue Hens also outscored the Patriots in the paint by a 38-16 margin. Enabosi led the way for Delaware, scoring a game-high 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor and 8-of-10 from the free throw line.
"Our guards are really good with taking the ball off the dribble and attacking," Enabosi said. "We have a team where the posts can score inside, but also our guards are great at scoring inside as well."
🗣 Feels great to be home 🗣 pic.twitter.com/jI8IoVj4cM
— Delaware Women's Basketball (@DelawareWBB) December 29, 2019
That balance in offensive attack, combined with the best defensive performance of the season, led the Blue Hens to the emphatic win in the non-conference finale.
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