Cousins' Career Night Shines As Women’s Basketball Rolls Past American, 68-58

Wednesday, November 29

Washington, D.C.

7 PM

University of Delaware

3-3,0-0CAA

American

1-5,0-0Patriot

Delaware

American

Photo by: NIC TERRY PRODUCTIONS

Cousins' Career Night Shines As Women’s Basketball Rolls Past American, 68-58

11/29/2023 9:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The University of Delaware women's basketball team pressed on with their road journey, this time heading to the nation's capital to take on American (1-5) on Wednesday evening at Bender Arena. The Blue Hens (3-3) dominated the court, securing a commanding 68-58 victory, marking their third win on the young season returning to a .500 winning percentage while handing the Eagles their fifth-straight loss. This impressive triumph was led by the stellar performance of the hometown shero Tara Cousins.

COACH'S QUOTE

[About Ande'a Cherisier's clutch jumper in the fourth quarter] "I was really proud of her, she was confident, faced up and made the shot," head coach Sarah Jenkins said. "Glad we won the game and we figured out a way to win. We are a young team that are trying to figure out how to play with each other - but I am glad we were able to figure it out and come away with the W.

PLAYER QUOTE

[About family and friends being at tonight's game] It meant everything honestly," said Cousins. "I was a little nervous coming into it because I knew all my family and friends were going to be here tonight, but once we got into game time I locked in. It felt great to have them all here tonight. Seeing those first few shots go in, I was able to settle in and everything felt good.

HEN HIGHLIGHTS

Cousins sets a new career high with 23 points off 8-of-16 shooting, including 6-of-10 from 3-point range.
This comes just a week after setting a new career high of 22 points against Florida Gulf Coast and again against Vermont.
She also led Delaware in rebounds with a career-high nine, and was one of six players to have multiple assists.
Cousins was one of four Blue Hens in double figures, along with Sydney Boone, who had 11 points, as well as Klarke Sconiers and Darrionna Howard, both of whom had 10 points.
Delaware finished the evening shooting exactly 40 percent (26-65) from the field, 31.8 percent (7-22) from beyond the arc and 75 percent (9-12) from the free throw line.
The Blue & Gold finished with 14 assists, nine steals, 16 bench points, 30 points in the paint, seven fast break points, nine second-chance points off of 11 offensive rebounds and 22 points off of 20 Eagle miscues.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter

15 seconds into the game, Chloe Wilson laid in two for Delaware to take the early 2-0 lead.
The seesaw battle for the advantage commenced as the Blue Hens held a brief four-point lead, thanks to Sconiers scoring back-to-back layups, 14-10, with 2:23 left.
American answered back using a 7-2 run to close out the first quarter with a 17-16 lead.

Second Quarter

After the Eagles took a 21-18 lead, both teams had separate 6-0 runs.
Boone scored four of the six points, with two points coming from Cousins during the Blue Hens run.
Delaware finished the half with a 9-2 run to take a 33-29 lead heading into the half. The run was started with a Sconiers layup. Boone, Howard and Wilson added points during the run as well.

Third Quarter

The Eagles kept the Blue Hens lead in check throughout the third quarter, cutting the lead to lead to as little as two.
With less than three minutes, up 44-41, Delaware went on a commanding 12-0 run to finish the quarter.
The run was started with a Cousins three-pointer with 2:41 to go, and was finished with a pair of free throws from Boone to end the quarter up 56-41.

Fourth Quarter

American would not go down without a fight as they would go on a 15-4 run to cut the Blue Hens' double-digit lead down to just 60-56 with four minutes remaining.
However, Delaware quickly responded and took a 65-56 lead thanks to a mid-range jumper from Ande'a Cherisier and a 3-pointer from Cousins.
The Blue Hens would play lock down on defense for the final three minutes, forcing four missed shots and two turnovers during the stretch to settle the 68-58 final.

GAME NOTES

Cousins drained a career-best six three-pointers and is currently chasing the record of eight three-pointers made by Blue Hen alum Jewel Smalls and Elena Delle Donne
Cousins has now scored 20 or more points in three of the last four games.

UP NEXT
The Blue Hens will conclude their road trip in Pittsburgh, Pa., this Sunday afternoon (Dec. 3) as they take on Duquesne inside UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse. The action tips off at 2 p.m., and fans can catch the game live on ESPN+.

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