NEWARK, DE -- Tyresa Smith (right) came up with a big steal with 29 seconds left and hit the game-winning shot on a put back with one second remaining to lift the University of Delaware to a thrilling 57-55 Colonial Athletic Association women’s basketball victory over Drexel Friday night at the Bob Carpenter Center.

Smith, the CAA leader in steals, went up high to intercept a pass by Drexel’s Christina Scanlon with the score tied at 55-55 to give Delaware its final possession. After calling a timeout with 26 seconds left, the Hens worked for the final shot with Melissa Czorniewy missing a 12-footer from the left side. But Smith gathered in the rebound and put back the game-winner just before the final buzzer.

Delaware won its fourth straight game to improve to 13-2 (5-1 CAA) and extended its regular season home winning streak to seven games as Czorniewy dropped in a team-high 18 points to go with a career-high nine rebounds while Smith added 13 points and Courtney Irving came off the bench to contribute eight points and seven rebounds. Alena Koshansky was held to just one point but dished out a career-high seven assists.

Drexel, which was picked No. 3 in the pre-season CAA poll, dropped its fourth straight game to fall to 6-9 (1-5 CAA) despite Scanlon’s game-high 21 points and six rebounds. Narissa Suber hit five of the Dragons’ nine three-pointers and finished with 15 points while Candice Williams had eighth points and six rebounds and Nicole Hester added six
points, six assists, and seven rebounds.

The Blue Hens, who overcame 16 turnovers, defeated Drexel for the 15th straight time overall and downed the Dragons for the sixth straight time at the BCC. Delaware, which entered the game ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division I in scoring defense at 51.4 points per game, held the Dragons to 37.5 percent shooting from the field (18 of 48). The Hens have held seven of their last eight opponents to 56 points or less.

The Dragons held the lead for the first 14 minutes of the game, going up by as much as five points at 17-12 with 12:20 remaining. Delaware finally tied the game at 21-21 with 6:16 remaining and scored the final 12 points of the stanza, including the first four by Karleena Tobin, to take a 30-21 lead into intermission.

The lead was extended to 10 points at 41-31 with 13:39 remaining on a three-pointer by Blue Hen guard Geneva Livingston, who was making her first appearance of the season following an off-season knee injury. The Hens still led by 10 at 45-35 with 10:26 left before the Dragons followed with a furious rally, scoring eight straight points, including
five from Scanlon, to cut the lead to two at 45-43.

The Blue Hens held off Drexel until a three-pointer by Suber capped a 4-0 run and tied the score at 55-55 with 1:29 remaining. Smith missed a layup for Delaware with 56 seconds left, giving the Dragons possession, but promptly stole the ball back 25 seconds later to set up her winning basket.

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