CAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL WEEKLY REPORT - JAN. 2
**Full report in PDF Format with team notes located at the bottom of this article**
CAA 4-1-1:
• CAA squads are currently 74-52 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 and will continue on Jan. 5.
• Delaware had its 10-game winning streak
snapped (first loss of the season) with a hard-fought loss to #5/5 Maryland on
Thursday. VCU fell to #12/10 Miami to snap a five-game win streak.
• The CAA currently has the seventh best
non-conference strength of schedule.
• UD's Elena Delle Donne (1st, 28.8 ppg),
VCU's Courtney Hurt (3rd, 24.6 ppg) and George Mason's Taleia Moton (9th, 22.1
ppg) rank in the Top 9 leading scorers in the nation. The Blue Hens also lead
the nation in free-throw shooting (82.9%). Full listing on page 11 of this
report.
• Delaware returned to No. 1 in the latest
RPI rankings report compiled by Collegiate Basketball News, after sitting at
No. 2 for just one week. The CAA is ranked seventh among the conferences with
six teams in the Top 80 and four in the Top 37.
• Delaware steadied at #19 in the AP Top 25
and #20 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
• CAA Women's Basketball weekly conference
calls will begin on Jan. 3 (full schedule on page 5).
• 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:
Elena
Delle Donne • Delaware
Wilmington,
Del./Ursuline, Jr., Guard/Forward
Delle
Donne received CAA Player of the Week honors after leading the Blue Hens to a
1-1 record last week while putting up 27.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per outing.
The junior scored 22 points in UD's win over East Carolina and a game-high 32
points in the close loss to host #5/5 Maryland.
Delle Donne shot 52.9 percent (18-for-34) from the floor on the week and
16-for-17 (.941) from the line missing just one against ECU. She added three
assists, six blocks and three steals on the week. Delle Donne was also honored
on the All-Tournament team.
Courtney
Hurt • VCU
Conyers,
Ga./Salem, Sr., Forward
Hurt
earned CAA Player of the Week honors after a strong week for the Rams at the
University of Miami Holiday Classic. The senior averaged 28.5 points and 18.5
rebounds per game in a pair of outings. Hurt led all scorers with 32 points and
a career-best 21 rebounds, three shy of the school's single-game record,
against Morgan State (posting her second career 20-20 game). She added game
highs of 25 points and 16 rebounds against host #12/10 Miami. Hurt added one
assist, one block and one steal on the week and was named to the All-Tournament
team.
ROOKIE
OF THE WEEK:
Ashley
Betz-White • Old Dominion
Mechanicsburg,
Pa./Trinity, Fr., Guard
Betz-White
collected CAA Rookie of the Week accolades after scoring nine points to go
along with four rebounds in the Lady Monarchs' outing against #7/8 Tennessee on
the road last week. The freshman made three treys against the Lady Vols and
also added one assist in the outing.
CAA AT NO. 7 IN RPI RANKING - SIX CAA SQUADS IN TOP 100, INCLUDING
DELAWARE AT NO. 1 (Through Games of Jan. 1): 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 returned to No. 1 in the team RPI ranking,
as the first of six CAA teams in the Top 80. Hofstra (31), Towson (32) and
James Madison (37) are the only other CAA schools that are listed in the Top
50. Drexel (77) and UNCW (80) round out the CAA teams in the Top 100.
CAA IN THE TOP 25: The Delaware Blue Hens steadied itself at #19 in the Dec. 26 AP
poll after their perfect start to the season and #20 in the ESPN/USA Today
Coaches Poll. The Blue Hens were awarded the #19 spot with 262 votes and #20
with 179 nods. 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. It's Delaware's first appearance in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll
ever in school history.
FOUR
CAA WBB TEAMS RANKED IN COLLEGEINSIDER.COM MID-MAJOR POLL (DEC. 27): Delaware stayed steady ranked second & received two first
place votes in the CollegeInsider.com Dec. 27 edition of the mid-major poll,
while James Madison stayed at sixth and Hofstra jumped to #12. Towson jumped
into the Top 25 at #24. Atop the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 is Green
Bay, which received 27 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 Jan. 1): VCU's Courtney Hurt led the league on
the week scoring an average of 28.5 points per game, while Delaware's Elena
Delle Donne (27.5ppg), George Mason's Taleia Moton (25.0 ppg), Hofstra's Nicole
Capurso (24.0 ppg), William & Mary's Emily Correal (20.0 ppg) and Towson's
Krystin Fields (20.0 ppg) also averaged 20+ points on the week. VCU's Courtney
Hurt also led the league with 18.5 rebounds per outing, including a career-high
21 against Morgan State. Fields (14.0 rpg), Correal (13.5 rpg), Hofstra's
Shante Evans (13.0 rpg) and Towson's Nyree Williams (13.0 rpg) posted 10+
rebounds per contest. Hofstra's Candice Bellocchio dished out 13 assists in the
Pride's outing against Princeton, while W&M's Katherine DeHenzel and
Towson's Tanisha McTiller each averaged 7.0 assists in their respective
outings. Hofstra's Candace Bond grabbed nine thefts in her only outing of the
week against the Princeton Tigers.
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.
TV EXPOSURE: The
CAA is scheduled to see a record-best of at least 40 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.
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.
EXTRA HONORS:
CollegeSportsMadness.com has named UNCW's Alisha Andrews a Madness High-Major
Conference Player of the Week representing the CAA (Jan. 2). The sophomore
guard led the Seahawks with 17 points, including 13 after intermission, in
UNCW's home victory over Xavier.
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.
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.
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.
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.