PHILADELPHIA -- The University of Delaware women’s basketball squad cruised to its second straight 24-point plus victory Wednesday night as the Blue Hens ran past host Pennsylvania for a 73-49 victory at The Palestra.

Senior guard Tyresa Smith (at right) led three UD scorers in double figures with 20 points - her third straight 20-point effort - as she hit 14 of 16 free throws and added nine rebounds, two steals, and two assists in just 29 minutes of action. Chrissy Fisher added 15 points and seven rebounds and Melissa Czorniewy chipped in with 11 points as the Hens (5-1) won their fourth straight game.

The Hens, who earned votes in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Top 25 polls this week, were coming off a 71-54 win over San Francisco Saturday to capture the USF Odwalla Classic. The Blue Hens also downed No. 20 Kentucky 86-70 during the tournament.

Delaware overcame a tough shooting night by outrebounding Penn 40-27, including a 21-9 advantage on the offensive boards, and took advantage of 25 Quaker turnovers. The Hens dominated Penn for the second straight season after downing the Quakers 78-34 last year in Newark.

“We set the tone early and kept it throughout the game and picked up a big win on the road,” said Delaware head coach Tina Martin. “Tyresa was Tyresa tonight and was outstanding. She read the defense well and had a lot of opportunities to drive the lane and she took advantage.”

Monica Naltner led Penn (2-2) with 25 points, scoring over half her team’s points, including 12 of their 18 in the first half. She also pulled a team-high seven rebounds.

Delaware used a 13-2 run to go up 19-9 early on and scored the last seven points of the first half to take a 34-18 lead into intermission. Smith scored 16 of her points in the opening half, including 10 of 10 from the foul line as the Hens went 13 of 15 from the line on the way to the 16-point lead.

The Hens scored the first six points of the second half to go up 40-18 - taking advantage of a Penn scoring drought that lasted eight minutes and 28 seconds over two halves. Delaware upped the lead to as many as 30 points in the second half, going up 64-34 with 5:26 left to play as Fisher scored six straight points.

Delaware will return to Philadelphia to begin Colonial Athletic Association play Dec. 3 when the Hens travel to Drexel.

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