Boxscore

FAIRFAX, Va. -- Sophomore guard Vanessa Kabongo led the University of Delaware with 17 points as the Blue Hens closed out the regular season with a 64-42 win over host George Mason in Colonial Athletic Association women's basketball action Wednesday night at the Patriot Center.

The Blue Hens (15-14, 7-11 CAA), who won their third straight game, finish the regular season with a winning record for the 10th time in 11 seasons, rebounding from a 7-24 season a year ago.

“We did what we needed to do to turn this program around,” said 13th-year Delaware head coach Tina Martin. “We had our ups and downs, but our attitudes were good all year. I’m really glad we’re back on the winning side. This young team has a bright future.”

Delaware will be the No. 9 seed in the CAA Tournament at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. which starts on Thursday, Mar. 12. The Hens will take on No. 8 seed Towson at 12 noon.The Hens and Tigers split their two games during the season with each winning on its home floor.

Kabongo, who scored a career-high 25 points in the win over George Mason back on Jan. 25, scored a team-high 17 points to go with six rebounds and six steals. Sophomore forward Ariene Jenkins posted her sixth double-double of the season with 15 points and 13 rebounds and also contributed a block and three steals.

Junior guard Corinthia Benison continued her tear of CAA opponents in the latter half of the season with 14 points, six assists and two steals. Benison has now scored in double figures in 12 of the last 13 games.

George Mason (4-25, 2-16 CAA), which celebrated Senior Night despite not having any healthy seniors on its roster, was forced to play with just a six-man roster. Both Brittany Poindexter (concussion) and Brittney Wilkins (knee) suffered injuries in Mason’s 71-59 loss against Hofstra on Sunday.

Mason sophomore guard Brittany Eley stepped up big for the Patriots with a career-high 20 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field and 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. She scored 11 of Mason’s 19 second half points as Delaware held Mason to just three field goals on 26 attempts (11.5 percent) in the second half.

Becky Cox pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds and dished out five assists but committed nine of the Patriots' 28 turnovers.

Delaware shot 43.3 percent from the field in the first half, led by Kabongo and Harris with nine and eight, respectively. Mason would hang around, led by Eley’s nine points and three rebounds, and Delaware would only take a 30-23 lead at the break.

Eley made Mason’s first field goal of the second half at 12:58 when she canned her second three-point field goal of the game. But the Blue Hens would not allow another Patiot field goal for over eight minutes until Rachel Robinson grabbed the offensive rebound off a Rashauna Hobbs miss and put in a layup at 4:19.

The Patriots did shoot 12-of-14 from the free throw line during the second half, but Delaware’s highly-touted defense held Mason to 11.5 percent field goal shooting and forced 17 turnovers in the period as the Blue Hens outscored the Patriots 34-19 in the second half.

Delaware lost the rebounding battle 47-34, but the Hens forced 28 turnovers on the night and had just 13 of their own. UD scored 27 points off Patriots turnovers.

Delaware now owns a 14-10 advantage in the all-time series vs. George Mason and has won 10 of the last 11 meetings. The Blue Hens have swept George Mason five times since joining the CAA.

CAA Pairings:
First round action tips off at Noon on Thursday as #8 Towson takes on #9 Delaware. At 2:30 p.m., #5 UNC Wilmington meets #12 George Mason. Beginning at 5 p.m., #7 Hofstra will play #10 William & Mary, followed by #6 Northeastern versus #11 Georgia State at 7:30 p.m.

In Friday’s quarterfinals, top-seeded Drexel will face the Towson/Delaware winner at Noon, while #4 Old Dominion takes on the UNC Wilmington/George Mason victor at 2:30 p.m. In the 5 p.m. contest, #2 VCU goes against the Hofstra/William & Mary winner, before host #3 James Madison plays the Northeastern/Georgia State victor.

The semifinals are set for Noon and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, with the championship game taking place at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 15.

All 11 games of the CAA Women’s Basketball Championship will be available via various multimedia platforms. Thursday's first-round games, Friday's quarterfinal contests and Saturday’s Semifinal match-ups will be webstreamed on CAASports.com. Both semifinal games on Saturday will also be televised by The Comcast Network and other CAA television affiliates. Comcast SportsNet will televise the CAA championship game on Sunday afternoon. Visit www.caasports.com throughout the week for updated television listings.

Tickets can be purchased through the box office of your favorite CAA school, by calling the James Madison box office at 540-568-3853 or by logging on to JMUSports.com.

AGATE:

DELAWARE (15-14, 7-11)
Riddick, 0-0 0-0 0; Jenkins, 5-9 5-5 15; Kabongo, 8-17 1-2 17; Benison, 5-11 3-4 14; Harris, 3-12 0-0 7; Bailey, 2-6 3-6 7; Thomas, 0-0 0-0 0; Gibson, 0-0 1-2 1; McLean, 1-3 0-0 3; Totals, 24-58 13-19 34.

GEORGE MASON (4-25, 2-15)
Broadus, 2-7 1-2 5; Robinson, 2-6 2-4 6; Cox, 2-15 0-1 4; Hobbs, 0-8 2-2 2; Eley, 5-13 8-8 20; Epps, 1-3 3-4 5; Totals, 12-52 16-21 47.

Halftime Score: George Mason 23, Delaware 30; Three-Point Field Goals: UD – 3-12 (Harris 1-5), Mason – 2-17 (Eley, 2-5); Rebounds: UD – 34 (Jenkins 13), Mason – 47 (Cox 13). Assists: UD – 11 (Benison 6), Mason – 8 (Cox 5). Total Fouls: UD – 16, Mason – 17. Attendance – 1,010.