Demeke’s 18 Paces Women’s Basketball Against Drexel on NGWSD/Play4Kay Day

Sunday, February 18

Newark, Del.

2 PM

University of Delaware

9-15,5-7CAA

Drexel

11-12,6-6CAA

Drexel

Delaware

Photo by: Mikey Reeves

Demeke’s 18 Paces Women’s Basketball Against Drexel on NGWSD/Play4Kay Day

2/18/2024 4:05:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

NEWARK, Del. – The University of Delaware women's basketball team welcomed CAA-foe Drexel inside Bob Carpenter Center Sunday afternoon for a National Girls and Women in Sports Day, Play4Kay showdown. Despite a strong outing by Rebecca Demeke, the Blue Hens (9-15, 5-7 CAA) saw their hearts ripped out of their chest as the squad dropped a close 61-59 game to the Dragons (11-12, 6-6 CAA).

HEN HIGHLIGHTS

Demeke had a day where she finished the game with a game-high 18 points (6-8 3FG) to go with four rebounds.
Ande'a Cherisier followed with 13 points (5-9 FG) and four rebounds while Sydney Boone chipped in with career-best eight assists.
Delaware finished the afternoon shooting 44.2 percent (23-of-52) from the field, 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from beyond the arc and 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from the free throw line.
The Blue Hens held a +4 rebound margin (34-30), scoring seven second-chance points off of 10 offensive rebounds.
The Blue & Gold finished with 15 assists, two blocks, two steals, 10 fast break points, 20 bench points and scoring seven points off of 10 Dragon miscues.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter: Delaware 11, Drexel 10

Drexel opened the game's scoring 25 seconds into the game thanks to Amaris Baker's jumper giving the Dragons the early 2-0 lead.
Boone responded at the 8:29 mark with a beautiful reverse layup to make it a 2-all game.
After the Dragons took the 5-2 advantage with 7:13 left, Darrionna Howard's quick thinking for a steal and easy score kickstarted a 9-4 spurt to take the narrow 11-8 lead.
With eight seconds left, Hetta Saatman poured in two free throws to pull Drexel within one, 11-10 gearing up for quarter two.

Second Quarter: Delaware 28, Drexel 24

18 seconds into the second period, Cherisier finished off a great feed by Boone to give Delaware 13-10 lead.
The seesaw battle commenced as both teams didn't hold a lead greater than four points. Saatman connected from deep at the 4:08 mark to put the Dragons up by four, 21-17.
In the remaining 3:55, "Big Basket Bec" Demeke responded with a trio of triples of her own as part of Delaware's 11-3 scoring run to send the 28-24 game into the break.

Third Quarter: Delaware 52, Drexel 45

The Blue Hens kept its foot on the gas to start the third building an eight-point cushion on three separate occasions, highlighted by Cousins' three-pointer at the 6:33 mark, 39-31.
Drexel would not go down quietly as Jasmine Valentine's second-chance layup ignited a 13-5 spurt to knot the game at 44, with 1:57 left.
Then Demeke came back with the hot hand knocking down back-to-back triples, including making a career-best six three-pointers, as part of Delaware's 8-1 run to take the seven-point advantage, 52-45 into the final frame.

Fourth Quarter: Drexel 61, Delaware 59

Delaware's lead extended to as large as 10 points, 57-47, with 8:35 to play.
The Dragons responded with an 8-0 run to cut the Blue Hens lead down to a single possession, 57-55, over the next 90 seconds.
After Grace Sundback hit a driving layup with 5:12 remaining, the Dragons finished the game on a 6-0 run highlighted by Valentine laying in two, which proved to be the game-winner.
With eight seconds to work with, the ball ended up in Cousins' hands for a good look from three that would rim out and settle the heartbreaking 61-59 final.

GAME NOTES

This is the first time the three freshmen in Cherisier, Howard and Sundback started together.
Drexel snapped its three-game losing streak and completed the regular-season sweep against the Blue Hens.
Baker paced Drexel with 15 points and five rebounds while Laine McGurk added 13 points and two steals in the win.

UP NEXT
The Blue Hens remain on campus on Friday, Feb. 23 and will play host to UNCW inside Bob Carpenter Center. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast simultaneously on FloHoops and Delmarva Sports Network.

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