Women’s Basketball Concludes Season at CAA Tournament Second Round

Thursday, March 14

Washington, D.C.

5 PM

University of Delaware

11-20,7-11CAA

Drexel

16-14,10-8CAA

Delaware

Drexel

Women’s Basketball Concludes Season at CAA Tournament Second Round

3/14/2024 7:54:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The 10th-seeded University of Delaware women's basketball team opened the 2024 CAA Championship, presented by Primis, Thursday evening against seventh-seeded Drexel inside Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, D.C. Playing in its second-round game ever, the Blue Hens (11-20) saw its season come to a close after falling 57-55 to the Dragons (16-14). The Dragons will advance to the quarterfinals and will face the second-seeded/defending CAA champions Monmouth tomorrow at 5 p.m.

Delaware graduates the six-member senior class, manager Kevin Hermansander, Tara Cousins, Rebecca Demeke, Jadaia Reid, Klarke Sconiers and Chloe Wilson. We are thankful for their dedication to the University of Delaware women's basketball program and wish them all the best in their future endeavors.

HEN HIGHLIGHTS

The Blue Hens were led by Demeke, who had 11 points (4-of-9 FG, 3-of-7 3FG, four rebounds, three assists, one block).
Demeke was one of three Blue Hens, along with Ande'a Cherisier (10 points, 4-of-11 FG, seven rebounds, one block) and Sydney Boone (10 points, 3-of-6 FG, 1-of-3 3FG, two assists).
Delaware finished the evening shooting 35.8 percent (19-of-53) from the field, 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from beyond the arc, and 66.7 percent (12-of-18) from the free throw line.
The Blue Hens held a +10 rebound margin, 42-32, scoring nine second-chance points off of 12 offensive rebounds.
The Blue & Gold finished the second round with 10 assists, four blocks, four steals, 26 points in the paint, 10 fast break points, and 17 bench points while scoring four points off of 13 Dragon miscues.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter: Delaware 15, Drexel 12

After Drexel took the 7-4 lead in the opening 5:33, Boone connected from deep at the 4:!5 mark to tie the game up at seven.
Drexel scored four-straight points for the 11-7 lead before Demeke's triple kickstarted an 8-1 Blue Hen run to close the quarter with the advantage, 15-12.

Second Quarter: Delaware 31, Drexel 28

Delaware grew its lead to a quarter-high eight points thanks to a Demeke triple and Nakiyah Mays-Prince fastbreak layup with 8:45 left to play.
Drexel would respond with 8-0 run to make it a 20-all game with 7:19 remaining
The Blue Hens weren't phased as the squad remained in the driver's seat throughout the quarter, outscoring the Dragons 11-8, capped by a pair of Boone's freebies to send the narrow 31-28 game into the break.
After two quarters of play, the Blue Hens were shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free throw line compared to the Dragons 34.4 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from the charity stripe. Delaware also holds the edge from deep draining 37.5 percent compared to Drexel's 25 percent.

Third Quarter: Drexel 44, Delaware 42

Demeke knocked down from deep to help the Blue Hens build a quarter-high seven points, 35-28, with 9:14 left.
Drexel wouldn't go down without a fight and was able to regain the lead, 39-38, with 4:10 showing on the third quarter clock.
Delaware regained the lead briefly, 40-39, before Jasmine Valentine's pair of free throws ignited a 5-0 spurt to give Drexel the lead again, 44-40.
Cherisier would pour in two free throws to send the Blue Hens into the final quarter trailing by two, 44-42.

Fourth Quarter: Drexel 57, Delaware 55

The seesaw battle commenced throughout the fourth quarter. Neither team led by more than three minutes for over six and a half minutes.
With 3:36 remaining, Cousins hit a big-time three-pointer to give the Blue Hens a 53-48 lead, their largest of the quarter.
The Dragons rattled off seven straight points over the next 3:18, including a go-ahead jump shot by Amaris Baker with 18 seconds left in the game.
The Dragons iced the game with 2 free throws a few moments later, settling the 57-55 final.

GAME NOTES

Baker paced Drexel with 19 points and nine rebounds to advance to tomorrow's quarterfinals.
Delaware is 0-2 in second-round matchups and 7-3 against the Dragons when playing against one another in the CAA Tournament
This is the second-straight year that the Blue Hens saw its season come to a close in the CAA Tournament second round.

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