NEWARK, DE   --  University of Delaware guards Tyresa Smith and Melissa Czorniewy combined for 44 points as the Blue Hens reached the 20-win mark for the sixth time in the last seven seasons with a 73-51 Colonial Athletic Association women’s basketball victory over Northeastern Sunday afternoon at the Bob Carpenter Center.

Smith scored a game-high 23 points, her fifth 20-point effort of the season, to go with five assists, four steals, and four rebounds while Czorniewy netted 21 points and handed out four assists as Delaware (20-6, 12-5 CAA) stayed in strong contention for the No. 2 seed in the upcoming CAA Tournament. Courtney Irving added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Blue Hens.

Delaware won its second straight game and reached the 20-win mark for the second straight year and for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. The Hens are also now 11-1 at home this year. The Hens swept the season series from Northeastern, having downed the Huskies 78-56 in Boston back on Jan. 15 when Smith (17 points) and Czorniewy (28 points) combined for 45 points.

Northeastern (7-19, 3-14 CAA), which entered the game in last place in
the CAA standings as a first-year member of the league, lost its eighth
straight game overall and its sixth straight road game. Forward Erica
Sheppard led the Huskies with 14 points and nine rebounds while Ashlee
Feldman added 12 points, Stefanie Hodell had 10 points, and Jody Burrows
dished out seven assists and pulled eight rebounds before fouling out.

The game was delayed for 37 minutes with 17:34 left in the first half due to a wet playing surface at one end of the court. UD crews used mops, towels, and blowers to finally dry the court.

The contest was close for the first eight minutes of the game as two free throws by Northeastern’s Joanna Ausmann with 12:04 left cut the Delaware lead to 14-11. But Delaware followed with a 7-0 run over the next four minutes to take control at 23-11 with  7:43 remaining. Smith scored seven of Delaware’s points during the run as the Hens took
advantage of three turnovers and two missed shots by the Huskies.

Delaware later used an 8-2 run to close the half and take a 39-22 lead into intermission. The Hens shot 50 percent from the field for the half (16 of 32), extending their streak of shooting 50 percent or better in four straight halves over three games.

Northeastern made a brief run to get back in the game to open the second half,  outscoring the Hens 8-0 over the first four minutes to cut the margin to 39-30 with 15:48 left. Hodell scored six of Northeastern’s eight points during the run as NU took advantage of Delaware missing its first six shots from the field.

But the Hens recovered, answering with an 8-0 run, including four points from Smith, to push the lead back to 17 points at 47-30 with 13:25 remaining and led by double digits the rest of the way.

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