WBB Report - Feb. 11
CAA 4-1-1:
• Delaware is the
last undefeated team in conference play at 11-0, while Drexel and James Madison
follow with a 9-2 records. Old Dominion and Hofstra follow tied at 7-3.
• Delaware's Elena
Delle Donne became the CAA's all-time leading scorer with 2,677 career points
on Feb. 10 during the Blue Hens' win at James Madison, as she passed the Dukes'
former all-star Dawn Evans who held the record at 2,667 since 2011. She is also
closing in on a number of other CAA career marks, full list on Page 13.
• Hofstra's Shante
Evans became the first player in Hofstra women's basketball history to score
2,000 career points with her layup in the final minute at Georgia State on Feb.
10.
• Delaware steadied
at No. 20 in the most recent AP Top 25 Poll (Feb. 11). The Blue Hens also
entered the USA Today/Coaches Poll last week at No. 23 (Feb. 4). The Blue Hens
were picked No. 1 for the fourth consecutive week in the CollegeInsider.com's
Mid-Major Poll & Drexel followed at #23.
• Hofstra's Shante
Evans, who leads the nation in active career double-doubles, recently became
the Pride's all-time scoring leader and previously this season became the
Pride's all-time rebounding leader. There are only three other active women's
players who are also their school's all-time scoring and rebounding leader.
• 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). Credential
forms have been sent out -- if you have not received one, please contact Niki
DeSantis at the CAA office.
• The 11 CAA teams
have posted a 64-60 record in the season in non-conference play.
• The most recent
RPIRatings.com report posted that the CAA was ranked 14th among the 33
conferences with Delaware ranked at 21 leading the CAA.
• The College of
Charleston has accepted an invitation of membership to join the CAA beginning
July 2013.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK:
Elena Delle Donne • Delaware
Wilmington, Del./Ursuline, Sr., Guard/Forward
Delle Donne earned her fifth CAA Player of the Week award this
season after a record breaking week. Delle Donne became the CAA's all-time leading
scorer Sunday after tallying 20 points in the Blue Hen's 71-64 victory at James
Madison. She sits at 2,677 career points, passing JMU's Dawn Evans (2,667) to
claim the scoring record. Delle Donne averaged a double-double of 19.5 points
and 10.5 rebounds in 34.5 minutes of play per game this past week, while
chipping in 2.5 assist and 2.5 blocks per game. She helped #20/23 Delaware earn
a pair of conference wins over Towson and JMU, while shooting 13-for-26 (.500)
from the field and 12-for-14 (.857) from the free throw line.
Shante Evans • Hofstra
West Chester, Pa./Henderson, Sr., Forward
Evans picked up her second CAA Player of the Week award this
season after averaging a double-double with 18 points and 12.3 rebounds per
game in the Pride's three contests last week. Evans became the first player in
Hofstra's women's basketball history to score 2,000 career points after scoring
19 points in the Pride's 72-59 win over Georgia State. The senior forward also
tallied four blocks and seven steals, while shooting close to 70 percent from
the field (23-34) to help lead the Pride to a 2-1 record last week. Evans has
scored in double figures in 20 of 21 games this season and leads the conference
with 14 double-doubles this season.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Dominique Johnson • Towson
Laurel, Md./Riverdale Baptist, Fr., Guard
Johnson had a solid week for the Tigers
averaging 14 points in 3.5 rebounds per game en route to earning her second CAA
Rookie of the Week honor. She started her week with 14 points and five rebounds
against Drexel while finishing 4-4 at the free-throw stripe. On Thursday
against Delaware, Johnson posted 14 points and two rebounds, while chipping in
five assists and five steals. She was perfect from the line for the Tigers
(9-9) on the week and averaged nearly double her points on the week from her
season average of 8.1 ppg.
CAA AT NO. 14 IN RPI RANKING (Through
Feb. 10): 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. 21 in the team RPI ranking. Drexel (76) and James
Madison (99) both joined UD in the Top 100, while Northeastern (106),
Hofstra (128), and Old Dominion (136) round out the CAA teams in the Top 200.
CAA IN THE TOP 25: The Delaware Blue Hens,
who are now 20-3, steadied in the Associated Press Poll Top 25 to No. 20 after
returning at No. 25 two weeks ago. The Blue Hens also entered the USA Today
Coaches Poll for the first time since No. 19 at No. 23 on Feb. 4. 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. All-American Elena Delle Donne recently returned after
missing six contests this season, as she had been sitting out during treatment
for Lyme Disease.
TWO
CAA TEAMS RANKED NO. 1 IN COLLEGEINSIDER.COM MID-MAJOR POLL: Delaware improved to No. 1 in the CollegeInsider.com Feb. 5
edition of the mid-major poll with 28 first-place votes, while Drexel continued
to be ranked in the Top 25 improving to No. 22. James Madison (55) 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.
AWAITING A SPOT AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS: Delaware's Elena Delle Donne is averaging 24.6 points per
game. Delle Donne is not currently listed among the CAA or national leaders,
due to her six games missed earlier this season, but if she continues to play
every game and continues her stellar scoring she should join the CAA &
national leaders after the Feb. 14th game. To be ranked, a player must appear
in at least 75 percent of their team's games. Delle Donne led the nation in
2011-12 scoring 28.1 points per game. In 2010-11, she missed 11 games while
being treated for Lyme Disease symptoms, but played in 22 contests scoring 25.3
ppg -- Oral Roberts' Kevi Luper led the nation in 10-11 averaging 23.7
ppg. Delle Donne ranked third nationally at the conclusion of her rookie
campaign after pouring in 26.7 points per game in 29 outings.
DELLE DONNE TOPS CAA HISTORY MARKS: Delaware's Elena Delle Donne is just notches away from hitting
the number one spot in numerous categories in the CAA record books (list on
page 13). Delle Donne recently became the league's all-time scoring leader with
2,677 career points surpassing James Madison's Dawn Evans for first in the CAA
history with 2,667 career points on Feb. 10. The senior tied Drexel's Gabriela
Marginean in field goals made at 904 on Feb. 10 against the Dukes. The
All-American also needs just to make three free throws to pass Gabriela
Marginean's (684) career mark in CAA history. The senior forward/guard is just
18 free throw attempts away from tying Marginean (769) in a career, but
Hofstra's Shante Evans needs just 10 to tie Marginean at this point and the
battle for the top will come down to the "line".
DELLE DONNE MAKES TOP 20 WOODEN AWARD
MID-SEASON LIST: Delaware's Elena Delle Donne was named to the John R. Wooden
Award Women's Mid-Season Top 20. The senior landed herself on another
prestigious honor list as the only non-BCS nominee listed. The Big East
led all conferences with six selections, followed by the ACC with four, the Big
12 and Big 10 with three each, the SEC has two, the CAA and Pac-12 with one
apiece.
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 2,001 career points. Evans, who is averaging a team-leading
17.4 points, became Hofstra's first 2,000-career point scorer on Feb. 10. Evans
became Hofstra's all-time leading rebounder on Nov. 28 and currently has 1,244
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.
HIGH-NUMBERS: Hofstra's Shante
Evans, who currently has 2,001 career points and 1,244 career rebounds, ranks
among some of the top current players in the nation regarding her career
numbers. Evans is third among players who have passed 1,600 points and 1,000
rebounds, as Howard's Saadia Doyle (2,115 pts, 1094 rbs) and Baylor's Brittney
Griner (2,943 pts, 1,160 rbs) rank higher than her. Evans ranks at #50
among the all-time list currently with stats dating back to 1999-00 in the same
category and if we shorten the list to 1,900 points and 1,100 rebounds all-time
Evans ranks at #34 among stats dating back to 1999-00.
DOUBLE-TROUBLE ALL-TIME LEADERS: In addition to Hofstra's Shante Evans, there are only three
other active women's players who are also their school's all-time scoring and
rebounding leader. Sametria Gideon from Kennesaw State, Loyola Marymount's Alex
Cowling and Northern Arizona's Amy Patton 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 entered the CAA record
books in field goals made in a career on Jan. 20. The senior most recently
entered the record book in field goals attempted in a career on Feb. 3.
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. Full list of updated CAA career record book listings are
on page 13 of these notes.
REACHING
THE MILESTONE - 1,000 CAREER POINTS: Delaware's
Danielle Parker became the most recent CAA player to register her 1,000th
career point on Feb. 7 as she became the 24th player in Delaware WBB history to
reach the milesone. The Blue Hens now have three 1k career scorers
currently on the team. Northeastern's Deanna Kerkhof is the 15th player in
Northeastern's program to reach 1,000 career points as she passed the milestone
on Jan. 24 with a three-pointer in the contest against Drexel. 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 reached 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 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.