Delle Donne Pushes Delaware To Semifinals of 2012 Virginia 529 CAA Women's Basketball Championship
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (March 9, 2012) - Junior guard
Elena Delle Donne scored a game-high 21 points as top-seeded Delaware cruised
to a 74-54 win over No. 8 Old Dominion in the quarterfinals of the 2012 Virginia
529 CAA Women's Basketball Championship on Friday afternoon at The Show Place
Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md.
Junior
guard Trumae Lucas added 14 points on 7-of-9 field goal shooting for the Blue
Hens (28-1). Guards Lauren Carra and Jocelyn Bailey each finished with 12
points. Delaware advances to Saturday's CAA semifinals for the third straight
year and will face the winner of fourth-seeded Hofstra and fifth-seeded UNCW at
12:00 p.m.
Old
Dominion was led by junior guard Jackie Cook with 17 points and five rebounds.
Freshman guard Myeisha Hall added 14 points for the Lady Monarchs, who ended
the season with an 11-21 record.
Carra,
Lucas and Delle Donne teamed up to score Delaware's first 11 points, giving the
Blue Hens a quick 11-4 advantage in the game's first four minutes. Delle Donne
stretched the Blue Hens' lead to 31-18 with a jumper with 5:35 remaining until
half. ODU's Cook was able to trim the lead to 39-29 going into halftime after
converting a three-point play.
Delaware
pushed the lead to 58-42 as Delle Donne drilled a jumper with 12:21 remaining.
Delle Donne, the CAA Player of the Year, also added 10 rebounds and five
assists to her stellar performance. The Blue Hens were able to hold ODU without
a field goal for over seven minutes in the second half while stretching the
lead to 68-45 with just under five minutes left in the game.
Delaware
shot 50.8% (30-59) from the floor, including 59.3% (16-27) in the second half. ODU
shot 33.9% (19-56) from the field, going 6-for-16 from beyond the three point
line.
The
Blue Hens held a 39-29 rebounding advantage and turned 14 ODU turnovers into 19
points.