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Quick
Facts Athletics
Staff Sports
Information Women's Basketball
Information Starters Returning (3): Cindy Johnson (Sr., G, 5-8, 17.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1st team All-America East); Danielle Leyfert (Sr., G, 5-11, 14.4 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 2nd team All-America East); Christina Rible (Jr., F, 6-1, 11.9 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 3rd team All-America East) Starters Lost (2): Christine Koren (G, 5-6, 6.6 ppg, 3.9 apg); Renee Baker (F, 6-0, 5.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg) Other Lettermen Returning (4): Megan Dellegrotti (Jr., G, 5-6, 7.7 ppg, 1.5 rpg, missed final 8 games with torn ACL); Lindsay Davis (Jr., F, 5-10, 4.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg), 12-34 3 pt. FG); Christine Cole (So., F, 6-2, 3.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg); Carrie Timmins (So., G, 5-7, 1.1 ppg, 0.7 rpg) Other Player Returning (1): Valerie Katsorhis (Jr., G, 5-8, dnp in 1999-2000 due to injury) Other Lettermen Lost (2): Karen Mulligan (F, 5-10, 3.1 ppg, 1.5 rpg); Suzanne Street (C, 6-4, 5.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg) Newcomers (6): Allison
Trapp (So., G, 5-9, Transfer from East Carolina, 8.6 ppg
in 1998-99 at ECU); Kim Tingley (Jr., G, 5-8,
Transfer from West Virginia, 2.5 ppg in 1998-99 at WVU);
Kristin Mills (Fr.r, G, 5-9, Newark, DE, sat out
redshirt season in 1999-2000, All-State at Caravel Academy
in Delaware); Jayne Boyer (Fr., F, 6-2, Lancaster,
PA, 10.5 ppg, 10.4 rpg at Hempfield HS); Tracey
Howell (Fr., F, 6-0, Newark, DE; 16.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg at
A.I. duPont HS); Brianna Maloney (Fr.r, F, 5-11,
Wilmington, DE; team manager in 1999-2000, led Padua Academy
to 1999 Delaware state high school title) Experience Blue Hens Thinking This Could be Their Season
With three starters returning from a 21-win team a year ago, including two 1,000-point scorers, optimism is running high in the Delaware camp this winter.
You might even say their time has arrived. Head coach Tina Martin has brought the Blue Hen women's basketball team to the forefront of America East and her squad is poised in 2000-2001 to make a run at the conference title and a bid to the team's first ever NCAA Tournament appearance. The Blue Hens' 21 wins (21-9) last season were the most since 1989-90 and almost resulted in Delaware's first ever post-season WNIT invite.
Not bad when you consider Martin's teams won just 15 games in her first two seasons. You might even say they've gone full circle. "We feel like we are in a position to challenge for the league championship," said Martin, a fifth year coach whose No. 3 seeded Blue Hens fell to Maine in last year's league semifinals. "If things go our way and we stay injury free and have good chemistry, I think we are in a good position." And when discussing Delaware's success, you can't do that without talking about seniors Cindy Johnson and Danielle Leyfert. Johnson and Leyfert each topped the 1,000-point mark last season and became the first UD duo to top the mark together in their junior seasons. Johnson, a first-team All-America East selection last year, begins this season with 1,153 career points &endash; ninth on the UD career scoring list - just 403 shy of all-time leader Colleen McNamara. The 5-8 shooting guard averaged 17.3 ppg to lead the Blue Hens last year, amassing a total of 502 points &endash; the second-highest single-season total in school history. She also averaged 5.5 rpg. Leyfert, one of the top all-around players in America East, begins the season right on the heels of Johnson on the UD career scoring list. She is just 33 points behind Johnson and 436 behind McNamara. A second-team All-America East selection last year, she averaged 14.4 ppg (seventh in the league) and 7.4 rpg (10th in the league). "They are the cornerstone of our program," said Martin. "They were the first two young ladies that we really targeted when I came to Delaware and they have had really solid careers. It would be great to see them go out as champions. They will be our leaders on and off the court. Leadership is something you earn over a period of time and they have done that." Joining Johnson in the backcourt will be the duo of 5-6 junior Megan Dellegrotti (7.7 ppg, team-high 29 three-pointers before a season-ending knee injury in early February) and sophomore Carrie Timmins (1.1 ppg in 11 games). Together they will try to fill the void at point guard with the loss of Christine Koren, who now serves a a Blue Hens assistant coach. The Blue Hens also gain the services of three redshirts, including two transfers in 5-9 sophomore guard Allison Trapp (8.6 ppg at East Carolina in 1998-99) and 5-8 junior Kim Tingley (2.5 ppg at West Virginia in 1998-99). "Allison is probably as talented an athlete as we have had here...in the same class as Cindy Johnson, and Tingley is a tough kid," said Martin. "They will see significant minutes." Adding to the swing position is junior Lindsay Davis (4.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 12 three-pointers), who made her mark as a fine all-around player off the bench last season as a sophomore. Also providing depth in the backcourt will be redshirt freshman Kristin Mills, a 2,000-point scorer and three-time all-state selection at nearby Caravel Academy, and sophomore Valerie Katsorhis, who saw action in four games last season before a season-ending foot injury. In the frontcourt, 6-1 junior Christina Rible and 6-2 sophomore Christine Cole return to provide a strong starting frontline. A fierce rebounder, Rible was a third-team All-America East selection last year when she led the team in rebounds (9.4 rpg) and averaged 11.9 ppg despite playing with torn knee ligaments. She is the top returning rebounder in America East. Cole had an outstanding rookie campaign for the Blue Hens in 1999-2000 when she averaged 3.5 ppg and 4.3 rpg in 27 games with nine starts. "They are both talented young ladies who will be the key inside force for us," said Martin. "I think Rible really established herself last year as a force. With both Jamie Cassidy (Maine) and Karalyn Church (Vermont) graduating, I think Rible ranks as one of the top forwards in the league." But after Rible and Cole, Martin will have to look to a pair of talented but untested freshmen in 6-2 Jayne Boyer of Lancaster, PA and 6-0 Tracey Howell from nearby A.I. duPont HS in Wilmington. Boyer averaged 10.5 ppg and 10.4 rpg in leading her high school team to two sectional titles while Howell (16 ppg) was a first team All-State player who led A.I. duPont to the 2000 state semifinals. "We will be a little bit undersized up front, but those two will need to contribute right away with the graduation of Renee Baker (5.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg) and (6-4) Suzanne Street (5.0 ppg, 2.7 rpg)," said Martin. In addition, 5-11 forward Brianna Maloney, a native of Wilmington, DE, will walk-on to the team this season after serving as a manager last year. The Blue Hens open the season with their first ever Pre-Season WNIT berth as they take on 2000 NCAA participant George Washington in the opening round. Also on the Hens' slate is a trip to the University of Maryland Tournament.
Copyright, © 2000, University of Delaware. All
rights reserved.
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