Delle Donne Leads Delaware To First CAA Women's Basketball Crown
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (March 11, 2012) - Junior guard Elena
Delle Donne scored 27 points to lead Delaware past third-seeded Drexel, 59-43, to
win the 2012 Virginia 529 CAA Women's Basketball Championship at The Show Place
Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md. on Sunday afternoon. The CAA women's basketball
title is the first in school history for the Blue Hens.
Junior
guard Lauren Carra added 14 points for Delaware (30-1) who earns an automatic
bid to next week's NCAA Tournament. Delle Donne, the CAA Player of the Year,
added 10 rebounds and three blocks on the day to cap off her amazing CAA season
as the Blues went 22-0 against conference opponents.
Drexel
(18-13) was led by junior guard Hollie Mershon with 16 points and senior guard Kamile
Nacickaite had 11 points for the Dragons.
Delle Donne earned CAA Most Outstanding Player honors, while teammates Akeema
Richards and Carra joined her on the All-Tournament Team. Drexel's Nacickaite, UNCW's Abria Trice and
VCU's Courtney Hurt were also named to the All-Tournament squad.
Delaware
grabbed an early 8-3 lead in the game's first five minutes, but the Dragons
playing tough responded with a 11-4 run of its own capped off by a Fiona
Flanagan three-pointer to give Drexel a 14-12 lead with 10:18 remaining in the
first half. The Blue Hens dug in on the defensive end, allowing Drexel only one
field goal the rest of the first half. In the meantime Delle Donne connected on
a couple of jumpers, including one just before half to give Delaware a 20-16
advantage at half.
The
Blue Hens extended the lead to 32-21 on a Carra three-pointer with 15:48 left
in the game. A Mershon bucket from three-point range cut the lead to 34-26 with
13:29 remaining, but the Dragons again went cold, having a 10-minute stretch
without a field goal. During the drought Delle Donne capped a 19-5 run for
Delaware with a bucket to give the Blue Hens a 53-31 lead and put the game out
of reach.
Delaware
shot 40.4% (21-52) from the floor, including 54.5% in the second half. The Blue
Hens dominated the boards, outrebounding Drexel 43-23. The Blue Hens also
outscored the Dragons in the paint, 24-14.
Drexel
was limited to only 29.8% field goal shooting, including just 6-for-23 from
long range.
The Blue Hens will find out their NCAA tournament fate
during the NCAA Women's Championship Show which airs Monday, March 12 at 7 p.m.
on ESPN.