Women’s Basketball Extinguishes the Flames for First-Conference USA Victory, 76-69

Saturday, January 17

Newark, Del.

5 PM

University of Delaware

7-10,1-4CUSA

Liberty

8-8,2-3CUSA

Liberty

Delaware

Photo by: Mikey Reeves

Women’s Basketball Extinguishes the Flames for First-Conference USA Victory, 76-69

1/17/2026 7:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

NEWARK, Del. – The University of Delaware women's basketball team earned its first Conference USA victory, defeating Liberty, 76-69, at the Bob Carpenter Center on Saturday. The Fightin' Blue Hens improve to 7-10, 1-4 CUSA, while the Flames fall to 8-8, 2-3 CUSA.

HEN HIGHLIGHTS

Delaware held Liberty to seven points in the first quarter, the fewest for a UD opponent this season in a quarter.
UD shot 50.0-percent from the field, the second time it has done so this season.
Kailah Correa reached the 20-point threshold for the first time in her career, with 21 points, in her return to the court from missing the previous two contests. The freshman scored 11 points in the fourth quarter while playing all 10 minutes in the frame.
Lay Fantroy scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double this season.
Ande'a Cherisier scored 19 points, including 10 of those in the opening half. Cherisier also corralled nine rebounds to go with three assists.
Trinity Vance scored 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field.
The Hens held the Flames, the 29th-best team in the nation at shooting threes entering Saturday's contest to 22.7-percent from beyond-the-arc, well below their average of 36.3-percent.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The first few minutes of the game were back-and-forth, as Delaware led 6-5 with 5:30 left in the midst of a scoring drought by Liberty that lasted over three minutes. Vance scored seven of the Hens' 17 points in the first frame. The Blue & Gold hampered the Flames at the offensive end in the period, holding them scoreless for nearly half of the frame and to a season-low seven points for Delaware opponents in a quarter.
Liberty began the second on a 13-2 run to retake the lead, 20-19. The visitors led 22-21 at the second quarter media stoppage with 5:56 to go in the opening half. The rest of the stanza had the pendulum swing to both sides as both teams traded buckets to end the quarter with the Flames holding a two-point advantage at 32-30.
UD took the lead back midway through the third quarter thanks to a Correa three, leading 38-36. The stifling Delaware defense was back at it, holding Liberty scoreless for nearly three minutes while taking a four-point lead. A Vance three-pointer in the final seconds of the frame led to a 49-44 advantage for the home team heading into the fourth quarter.
The Hens led 55-50 at the initial-fourth quarter media stoppage with 6:48 left in regulation. At the time of the media break, 53 of Delaware's 55 points were scored by four players (Fantroy, Correa, Vance, and Cherisier). Liberty went on an 8-0 run to take the lead back 56-55 with 4:30 to go. Delaware was leading 60-58 with 2:48 remaining in regulation as the visitors called timeout. Ella Wanzer splashed a three as the shot clock was ticking down to increase the Blue Hens lead to five with 1:47 left. Up by five with 47.6 seconds left, Correa went to the line for a pair of free throws which she nailed. Liberty countered immediately with a layup to bring it back to a five-point lead for Delaware before a Blue Hens' timeout. The Hens held off the Flames for the remainder of the final minute to hold on for the historic victory.

GAME NOTES

Delaware improved to 39-7 when leading after three quarters under Sarah Jenkins.
Correa is the first freshman since Cherisier on January 28, 2024 to score 20-plus points.

UP NEXT
The Fightin' Blue Hens will hit the road to take on Middle Tennessee on Thursday, January 22. The game will be at 7:30 p.m. and will air on ESPN+.

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