CAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY REPORT - DEC. 12
**Complete release located in PDF format at the bottom of this article**
CAA
4-1-1:
• CAA squads are currently 49-32 in
non-conference play. The league opened conference play on Dec. 4 and
Delaware, George Mason, Hofstra, Towson, Drexel and VCU started CAA action 1-0.
• Delaware posted victories over Yale and Wake
Forest last week to extend its winning streak to eight straight. The 8-0 start
is the best start in school history for the Blue Hens.
• Delaware is ranked No. 1 in the latest RPI
report compiled by Collegiate Basketball News, through games of Dec. 11.
The CAA is ranked seventh among the conferences with six teams in the Top 100
and four in the Top 31.
• NCAA Division I Women's Basketball National
Stat Rankings through games of Dec. 11 had a number of CAA highlights. The CAA
boasts the top scorer in the nation in UD's Elena Delle Donne (29.3 ppg), along
with sixth-ranked VCU's Courtney Hurt (23.3 ppg) and ninth-ranked Mason's
Taleia Moton (22.0 ppg). Full listing on page 11 of this report.
• Delaware moved up a spot to #21 in the AP Top
25 (Dec. 12) and entered the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll for the first time in
program history at #25 (Dec. 5). The Blue Hens are currently 8-0 with victories
over ranked-Penn State, Villanova, Wake Forest, Saint Bonaventure and Rhode
Island.
• Delaware was selected as the preseason CAA
favorite to win the 2011-12 title. VCU followed along with James Madison and
Hofstra.
• Virginia 529 Women's Basketball Championship
will return to The Show Place Arena in 2012 in Upper Marlboro, Md.
PLAYERS OF THE
WEEK:
Courtney Hurt • VCU
Conyers, Ga./Salem,
Sr., Forward
Hurt collected CAA
Player of the Week honors after leading the Rams to a road victory over East
Carolina, snapping the Pirates' 12-game home winning streak (one shy of the ECU
record). The senior forward poured in a game-high 28 points to go along with 12
rebounds for her fourth-straight double-double of the season. Hurt shot 61.9
percent from the floor (13-of-21) and added two blocks, one assist and one
steal in VCU's only contest of the week.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Myeisha Hall • Old
Dominion
Griffin, Ga./Spalding,
Fr., Guard
Hall earned CAA
Rookie of the Week accolades as she helped the Lady Monarchs capture their
first home victory for new head coach Karen Barefoot against Wofford. The
freshman guard contributed nine points in 18 minutes of play off the bench for
Old Dominion. She also added a season-best three steals to go along with one
assist and one rebound in the win.
CAA AT NO. 7 IN RPI RANKING
- SIX CAA SQUADS IN TOP 100, INCLUDING DELAWARE AT NO. 1 (Through Games of Dec.
11): The CAA is ranked seventh among the nation's 32 Division I conferences
in women's basketball according to the RPI report compiled by Collegiate
Basketball News. Delaware is ranked at No. 1 in the team RPI ranking, as the
first of six CAA teams in the Top 100. Towson (12), Hofstra (16), James Madison
(31) are the only other CAA schools that are listed in the Top 50. Drexel (67)
and William & Mary (94) round out the CAA teams in the Top 100.
CAA IN THE TOP 25: The
Delaware Blue Hens moved up one spot to #21 in the Dec. 12 AP poll after their
perfect start to the season. The Blue Hens were awarded the #21 spot with 209
votes. For the third time in her tenure as head coach, Tina Martin's squad is
receiving notice in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. Delaware received notice
in the AP Top 25 polls during the 2006-07 and 2009-10 campaigns. The Blue Hens
jumped into the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll at #25 with 59 votes on Dec.
6. It's Delaware's first appearance in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll
ever in school history.
THREE CAA WBB TEAMS
RANKED IN COLLEGEINSIDER.COM MID-MAJOR POLL (DEC. 6):
Delaware jumped to second & received a first place vote in the
CollegeInsider.com Dec. 6 edition of the mid-major poll, while James Madison
followed at eighth and Hofstra moved up to #15. George Mason also received
votes (2) in the weekly poll for the first time this season. Atop the
CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 is Green Bay, which received 29 first-place
votes. The women's Mid-Major Top 25 is comprised of teams from the following conferences:
America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Great West,
Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri
Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern,
Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast Conferences. The Mid-Major Top 25 will be released
every Tuesday throughout the season.
STELLAR OUTINGS &
STRONG STATS (Week Ending Dec. 11): Delaware, James Madison, UNCW, Old
Dominion, Towson, and VCU posted a perfect record on the week. UD's junior
guard/forward Elena Delle Donne led the league averaging 29.0 points per
contest, while VCU's Courtney Hurt and ODU's Tia Lewis were close behind
pouring in 28.0 and 27.0 ppg. Lewis scored a career-tying 27 points against
Wofford. UNCW's Alisha Andrews averaged 21.5 points per game, including a
career-high 25-point performance against Charlotte. Towson's Tanisha McTiller
scored a career-high 22 points against Coppin State. Four CAA players averaged
10+ rebounds per outing -- Northeastern's Christine Huber (13.0 rpg), Hurt
(12.0 rpg), Towson's Deree Fooks (10.5 rpg) and Delle Donne (10.0 rpg).
Andrews averaged 7.5 assists per match-up last week and NU's Jewel Tunstull
shot an impressive 80.0 percent (8-for-10) from the field against Holy Cross
and finished with 19 points.
THREE CAA PLAYERS NAMED TO
NAISMITH WATCH LIST: The CAA is well represented on the 2011-12 Naismith
Women's Basketball Player of the Year early-season watch list with Delaware's
Elena Delle Donne, Hofstra's Shante Evans and VCU's Courtney Hurt making the
line-up. In late February, the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors will
compile a mid-season team of the top 30 players in the nation. Then in March,
the Naismith Trophy voting academy will vote to narrow the list to the four
finalists.
UPSET CITY-NEWARK, DEL.:
Delaware women's basketball squad pulled off the biggest upset in school
history on Nov. 17 as the Blue Hens brought down No. 11/12 ranked Penn State
with an 80-71 victory. Backed by another brilliant performance from
All-American Elena Delle Donne (40pts/12 rbs), the Blue Hens made history by
defeating their highest ranked opponent in school history. Delaware had knocked
off a Top 25 team just two other times in school history in 28 previous tries,
including an 86-70 win over No. 20 Kentucky during the 2006-07 season and a
77-67 victory over then No. 22 James Madison at the BCC on Feb. 22, 2007.
SETTING RECORDS: In the upset of #11/12 Penn State, Delaware's Elena
Delle Donne scored 25 of her game-high 40 points in the second half as Delaware
recovered from an eight-point deficit midway through the second half with a big
final flurry. Her 40 points set a Bob Carpenter Center record and was the third
highest total in school history, trailing only her school-record 54-point
performance at James Madison on Feb. 18, 2010 and her 41-point explosion
against Yale on Nov. 20, 2010. Her 40 point performance ties the CAA all-time
10th best single game mark. Joining Delle Donne on the CAA all-time list, was
VCU's Courtney Hurt as she poured in a school-record 40 points against UMKC.
EXTRA HONORS:
CollegeSportsMadness.com has named Hofstra's Candice Bellocchio a Madness
High-Major Conference Player of the Week representing the CAA. She received
this honor after helping the Pride to a 2-0 week with victories over St. John's
and Georgia State. She averaged 11.5 points per game to go along with a
team-best nine assists and five steals.
CAA PRESEASON TEAM
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH: Delaware, which returns five starters from last
year's 20-14 team, is picked to win the 2012 CAA Women's Basketball title
according to a vote of the league's head coaches. The results of the poll were
announced during Tuesday's CAA Basketball Media Day at Champps-Pentagon Row in
Arlington, Va. The Blue Hens were followed in the voting by VCU, James Madison
and Hofstra. Drexel and Old Dominion tied for fifth, followed by UNCW, George
Mason, William & Mary, Georgia State, Towson and Northeastern.
CAA PRESEASON INDIVIDUAL
HONORS: Delaware's Elena Delle Donne was chosen as the CAA Preseason Player
of the Year. She is joined on the preseason All-CAA first team by Hofstra's
Shante Evans, VCU's Courtney Hurt and Andrea Barbour and Drexel's Kamile
Nacickaite. Voted to the preseason All-CAA second team were UNCW's Alisha
Andrews, Georgia State's Chan Harris, JMU's Hislop, Old Dominion's Tia Lewis
and William & Mary's Taysha Pye.
HUNGRY FOR MORE: Nine
of the 15 players who received all-conference honors in 2010-11 return this
season. Back from the All-CAA first team are Delaware's Elena Delle Donne,
Hofstra's Shante Evans and VCU's Courtney Hurt, who all earned All-America
accolades. All but one of the All-CAA third team will return. The CAA teams
also return 70% of their starters from a year ago.
TOP GUNS: The CAA
returns four of the top five scorers from a year ago, including VCU's Courtney
Hurt who was ranked second in the nation in scoring with 23.2 points per game.
Overall, 21 of the CAA's top 30 scorers from last season are back in 2011-12.
Hurt led the nation in rebounding with 12.4 boards per game, as well as
double-doubles (25), and joins 12 of the top 20 rebounders returning for the
new season. The conference also welcomes back eight of the top 10 in assists.
RETURNING THREE ALL-AMERICA
HONOREES IN 2011-12: The CAA welcomes back three Associated Press
All-America honorees in Delaware's Elena Delle Donne, Hofstra's Shante Evans
and VCU's Courtney Hurt. The trio joined former JMU all-star Dawn Evans in
receiving Honorable Mention accolades in 2011.
2012 VIRGINIA 529 CAA
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: The 2012 Virginia 529 CAA Women's
Basketball Championship will return to The Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro,
Md., for the second straight season. The 2011 outing was the first time that
The Show Place Arena had served as host of the CAA women's championship. The
Show Place was the first neutral site since 1998 for the CAA women's
championship and the teams played in front of 7,727 fans during the four-day
event.
OLD DOMINION WELCOMES KAREN
BAREFOOT AS HEAD COACH: Former Lady Monarch assistant coach Karen Barefoot,
who last season led Elon to its first ever Division I postseason appearance,
was named Old Dominion's new head women's basketball coach on June 8, 2011.
Barefoot became just the sixth head coach in Lady Monarch basketball history
and first new hire since 1987. Barefoot, the school's first Native American
head coaching hire, takes over a program that has reached postseason play in 19
of its last 20 years and has won 929 games, the third most all-time in women's
basketball history. Barefoot, who hails from Newport News, Va., has a career
head coaching record of 209-144, resulting in 11 winning seasons. Aside from
Elon, Barefoot has also held the head coaching position at Division II Lenoir
Rhyne College and at the Apprentice School.
TV EXPOSURE: The CAA is
scheduled to see a record-best of at least 38 regular season games on
television this season, plus three televised games during the CAA championship.
All 12 teams will make at least one television appearance during the 2011-12
season. The CAA women's basketball television package has aired over 20 games
for the last four seasons. The CAA also enjoyed a record amount of exposure through
new media efforts.
REPRESENTING THE USA IN
WOMEN'S HOOPS: CAA women's basketball standouts Elena Delle Donne of
Delaware and Shante Evans of Hofstra were invited to participate in a pair of
USA Basketball events. Delle Donne was selected for the 2011 USA World
University Games Team and led her team to a gold medal in China in August 2011.
VCU's Courtney Hurt also received an invite to the team trials with Delle
Donne. The Delaware stand-out and All-American led the USA team averaging 15.7
points and 8.5 rebounds for the Red, White and Blue during six games. Evans was
selected as a member of the USA Basketball Women's Pan American Games Team. She
averaged 6.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game during her four outings with the
Pan American Games Team which went 2-2.
SIX TEAMS DANCE IN
POSTSEASON PLAY IN 2011: For the sixth consecutive season, at least three
CAA teams advanced to the postseason and for the 11th consecutive season the
CAA had a representative in the WNIT, as the CAA was just one of three conferences
to see five teams in the WNIT. CAA champion James Madison was selected as the
11th-seed in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, while Delaware, Drexel,
UNCW, Old Dominion, and VCU were invited to the Women's National Invitation
Tournament. The Southeastern and Atlantic 10 also saw five conference teams
advance to the postseason WNIT event in 2011.