WBB Report - Jan. 14

WBB Report - Jan. 14

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CAA 4-1-1:

        •      Drexel, Hofstra and Delaware stand atop the league standings with undefeated records in conference play, while Old Dominion, Northeastern and James Madison follow with just one loss.

        •      On Sunday, Hofstra's Shante Evans became the Pride's all-time scoring leader and currently has 1,849 career points. Evans, who entered the contest averaging a team-leading 16.8 points, is on pace to be Hofstra's first 2,000-career point scorer.

        •      Delaware received votes in the Jan. 14th Associated Press Poll for the first time in four weeks.

        •      The 11 CAA teams have posted a 64-60 record in the season in non-conference play.

        •      Elena Delle Donne, who missed six of the first seven UD games due to illness, returned to the court on Dec. 20.  The senior All-American is averaging 23.4 ppg and 10.6 rpg in eight games played after logging 253 minutes for the Blue Hens.

        •      The most recent RPIRatings.com report posted that the CAA was ranked 14th among the 33 conferences with Delaware ranked at 28 leading the CAA.

        •      The College of Charleston has accepted an invitation of membership to join the CAA beginning July 2013.

        •      The CAA Women's Basketball Championship will return to the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Maryland in 2013 for the third straight season (Mar. 14-17).

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:

Elena Delle Donne • Delaware

Wilmington, Del./Ursuline, Sr., Guard/Forward

Delle Donne was awarded CAA Women's Basketball Player of the Week honors after leading the Blue Hens to a 2-0 record in conference play averaging 23.5 points per game to go along with 10.0 rebounds per outing. The All-American  shot 50 percent from the floor on the week (19-38) and perfect from the free throw line (5-5) during 57 minutes of play. Delle Donne collected her 40th career double-double during her 28-point/13-rebound performance against Old Dominion. She also collected a season-high five blocked shots and two steals against the Lady Monarchs.

Hollie Mershon • Drexel

Malvern, Pa./Archbishop Carroll, Sr., Guard

Mershon earned CAA Women's Basketball Player of the Week after leading the Dragons to a 2-0 week on the road. The senior guard registered a pair of 20-plus point games (23.0 ppg), her sixth and seventh of the season. She was the only Drexel player to score in double figures against the Dukes and sank a pair of free throws to take the first lead of the game and secure the win with four seconds left in the game. Mershon followed that performance with a 26-point performance against UNCW on Sunday, including a career-best six three-pointers going 6-for-8 from downtown. She also tied a career high with 10 field goals made against the Seahawks.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:

Precious Hall • James Madison

Tallahassee, Fla./Maclay School, Fr., Guard

Hall received CAA Women's Basketball Rookie of the Week honors after averaging 10.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game for the Dukes last week. The freshman guard helped James Madison to a 1-1 week in conference play at home and was the team's second leading scorer with nine points. Hall then posted 11 points in the win over the Huskies and dished out a game- and career-high five assists. She finished the week adding a pair of steals also.

CAA AT NO. 14 IN RPI RANKING (Through Jan. 13): The CAA is ranked 14th among the nation's 33 Division I conferences in women's basketball according to the RPI report compiled by Collegiate Basketball News. Delaware jumped to No. 28 in the team RPI ranking. Drexel (95), Old Dominion (108), James Madison (113), Hofstra (149) and Northeastern (151) round out the CAA teams in the Top 200.

CAA IN THE TOP 25: The Delaware Blue Hens, who are now 11-3, received votes in the most recent Associated Press Poll on Jan. 14. Delaware opened the 2011-12 and 2010-11 seasons receiving votes in the AP Poll, but it was the first time in program history that the Blue Hens were ranked in the preseason. The Blue Hens were ranked in the AP Top 25 for 16 weeks during their record-setting season a year ago. UD went undefeated (18-0) in league play and claimed the conference tournament title in 2012. Delaware, which finished last season with a 31-2 record, climbed as high as seventh in the national rankings and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round following its first postseason win in school history, returns all five starters for its highly-anticipated 2012-13 season. The Blue Hens recently returned All-American Elena Delle Donne, who had missed all but three contest this season, as she had been sitting out during treatment for Lyme Disease.

 

HOFSTRA'S HISTORY BOOKS: Senior forward Shante Evans set the program's all-time scoring record on Jan. 13 against George Mason and now has 1,849 career points. Evans, who entered the contest averaging a team-leading 16.8 points, is on pace to be Hofstra's first 2,000-career point scorer. Evans became Hofstra's all-time leading rebounder on Nov. 28. Evans currently has 1,135 rebounds and also ranks in the CAA top 10. Evans has averaged over 330 rebounds per year during her career with the Pride. The CAA record is held by James Madison's Meredith Alexis (2004-07) with 1,313 and Evans is on pace to challenge Alexis' mark this season.

IN THE [CAA RECORD] BOOKS: Shante Evans entered the CAA's top 10 list in scoring on Jan. 6. Delaware's Elena Delle Donne jumped into the CAA's top 10 list in free throws attempted, while Georgia State's Cody Paulk entered the league's top 10 list in blocked shots during the week ending Dec. 30. On the first weekend of the 2012-13 season the league had two women's basketball players crack the CAA all-time record books -- JMU's Kirby Burkholder sank seven three pointers against Virginia, while William & Mary's Emily Correal grabbed 21 rebounds against East Carolina. Kirby's seven trey's ranks her tied for ninth in the CAA record books, while Correal's 21 rebounds is tied for fifth for rebounds in a single game. Hofstra's Shante Evans jumped into the CAA record books in career rebounds on Nov. 28th.

REACHING THE MILESTONE - 1,000 CAREER POINTS: Drexel's Hollie Mershon became the Dragon's 20th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points on Dec. 21 after pouring in a team-high 23 points. Delaware's Lauren Carra is the most recent CAA player to reach 1,000 career points as she tallied 16 against nationally-ranked Maryland on Dec. 20.  Carra became the 23rd Blue Hens to reach the plateau. William & Mary's Emily Correal recently poured in a career-high 28 points against Radford on Dec. 8th and in the same outing became the Tribe's 17th WBB player to reach 1,000 career points. George Mason's Amber Easter and William & Mary's Janine Aldridge have scored their 1,000th career points this season. On the watch: Drexel's Hollie Mershon is just eight points away from joining this group of student-athletes and she would become the 20th Dragon to reach the 1,000-point plateau.