WBB Report - Jan. 21
CAA 4-1-1:
• Drexel and Delaware stand atop the league
standings with undefeated records in conference play, while Hofstra and James
Madison follow with just one loss.
• Hofstra's Shante Evans became the Pride's
all-time scoring leader and previously this season became the Pride's all-time
rebounding leader. There are only two other active women's players who are also
their school's all-time scoring and rebounding leader.
• Delaware received votes in the Jan. 14 AP
Poll for the first time in four weeks. The Blue Hens were picked No. 1 in this
week's CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major Poll.
• 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 24.9 ppg and 9.5 rpg in 10 games played after
logging 318 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 received CAA Women's
Basketball Player of the Week honors after averaging 28.5 points per game on a
week she led the Blue Hens to a pair of victories in conference play. The
senior poured in 19 points in a win over Northeastern and then drained 38
points in a win over Towson. Delle Donne shot 54.5 (18-33) from the field on
the week, including 3-5 (.600) from long range. The sharp free throw shot 90
percent (18-20) from the line and added 10 rebounds on the week. She finished
the week adding five assists, five blocks and four steals without giving up a
single turnover.
Taylor Wootton • Drexel
Rutherford, N.J./Rutherford, Sr.,
Forward
Wootton collected CAA Women's
Basketball Player of the Week accolades after leading the Dragons to a 2-0 week
and posting back-to-back 20+ point outings for the first time in her career.
The senior scored a career-high 24 points against Hofstra, before following
that up with a 22-point performance against William & Mary for just her
third 20+ point performance of her career. Wootton shot 56.8 percent (21-37)
from the floor in the two outings and added nine rebounds, four assists, one
block and a team-high six steals. The senior has now scored in double-figures
in each of her last three games.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
LaQuanda Younger • Old Dominion
Newport News, Va./Warwick, Fr.,
Guard
Younger earned CAA Women's Basketball Rookie of the Week
honors after leading the Lady Monarchs to a 1-1 week and posting the strongest
week of her young career. The freshman registered career highs in back-to-back
games as she drilled eight three-pointers on 72.7 percent shooting from beyond
the arc (8-11) in a pair of road contests at UNCW and Hofstra. Younger was the
leading scorer at UNCW with 12 points as she connected on four three-pointers.
She then scored 14 points against Hofstra sinking four trey's to go along with
a pair of free-throws. Younger shot 61.5 percent from the floor on the
week.
CAA AT NO. 14 IN RPI RANKING (Through Jan. 22): 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 (98), James Madison (110), Old Dominion (132), Hofstra
(132) and Northeastern (143) round out the CAA teams in the Top 200.
CAA IN THE TOP 25: The Delaware Blue Hens, who are now 13-3, 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.
DELAWARE RANKED NO. 1 IN
COLLEGEINSIDER.COM MID-MAJOR POLL: Delaware improved to No. 1 in the
CollegeInsider.com Jan. 15 edition of the mid-major poll with seven first-place
votes. James Madison fell out of the top
25 but received 41 votes, while Old Dominion (34) and Drexel (14) also received
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.
HOFSTRA'S HISTORY BOOKS: Senior forward Shante Evans set the
program's all-time scoring record on Jan. 13 against George Mason and currently
has 1,889 career points. Evans, who is averaging a team-leading 16.9 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 and currently has 1,160 rebounds and also
ranks in the CAA top 10. Entering this season, 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.
DOUBLE-TROUBLE
ALL-TIME LEADERS: In addition to Hofstra's Shante Evans, there are only two
other active women's players who are also their school's all-time scoring and
rebounding leader. Sametria Gideon from Kennesaw State and Alex Cowling are
their program's all-time scoring and rebound leaders.
IN THE [CAA RECORD] BOOKS: Shante Evans
entered the CAA's top 10 list in career scoring on Jan. 6 and most recently
entered the CAA record books in field goals made in a career on Jan. 20.
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.