Boxscore

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Sophomore guard Tesia Harris (at right) took home the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award and the University of Delaware women’s basketball team was crowned Loyola Marymount Holiday Classic champions after beating the host Loyola Marymount, 66-60 in the finals on Monday night at the Gersten Pavilion.

Delaware, which improved to 8-3 on the season, has won six straight games and already surpassed its win total from the 2007-08 season (7). Loyola Marymount, who belongs to the West Coast Conference, suffered its first home loss of the season and fell to 9-4.

The Blue Hens were led by Tesia Harris, who tied a career high with 21 points on 6-16 from the field and 8-9 from the free-throw line. Fellow sophomore guard Vanessa Kabongo (All-Tournament Team Selection) was also in double-figures with 14 points as well as freshman guard Jocelyn Bailey with 10 points. Ariene Jenkins led the Hens with 11 rebounds, helping Delaware outrebound LMU 43-36.

Delaware took a 15 point lead into halftime on the strength of its defense, which held LMU to 18.5 percent from the field on 5-27 shooting. The Blue Hens, meanwhile, shot 34.4 percent from the field and 100 percent (12-12) from the free-throw line.

The two teams combined to commit 23 fouls in just the first half. The Blue Hens committed 12 of those 23, as three of their interior players (sophomore Eva Riddick, sophomore Ariene Jenkins and freshman Jasmine Gibson) each had three fouls in the first half.

Still, Delaware extended its lead to 17 just a little over two minutes into the second half when senior Ethlynne Thomas (season-highs with six points, six rebounds) made the second of two free-throws at the 17:43 mark.

But the host Lions would not go away, trading baskets with the Blue Hens for approximately the next nine minutes. Renahy Young (All-Tournament Team Selection) and Alex Cowling (All-Tournament Team Selection) each scored nine points in the second half, 16 for the game. Aleyse Evans also cashed in on a couple of easy layups for eight points in the second half, 10 for the game.

After a Tesia Harris three-pointer put the Hens up 54-38 with 8:49 left to play, LMU went on an 18-6 run, highlighted by four Aleyse Evans layups and three Delaware turnovers. Suddenly LMU had closed the gap to four points, 60-56, with 2:11 left to play.

During that stretch, Delaware got crucial baskets from Tesia Harris, Jocelyn Bailey and Jasmine Gibson. Due to foul trouble among Delaware’s starting interior players, the freshman Gibson saw a season-high 11 minutes of action. In that time, the 6-3 center from New Castle, Del. contributed six points (3-3 from the field), three rebounds and a blocked shot.

With the lead down to just four points, Vanessa Kabongo made a jump shot at 1:49 to push the lead back up to six, and then Corinthia Benison (3 points, 3 assists), Harris and Kabongo would combine to shoot 4-6 from the line to ice the game for Delaware.

After shooting 18.5 percent from the field in the first half, Loyola Marymount shot 48.4 percent in the second half and outscored Delaware 39-32 in that final period. The Blue Hens were up for the challenge, however, shooting 45.8 percent in the second half, as they hung on to beat LMU on its home floor.

“I’m just so happy for these kids,” said Blue Hen Head Coach Tina Martin. “They really had to battle at the end. Obviously Loyola Marymount is a very good team. I’m very happy with this victory and with where we’re at right now. We’ll be very happy to come back to The First State.”

Delaware, which went 1-1 in non-conference play last season, finished this year's non-conference schedule with an 8-3 mark. The Blue Hens will begin its Colonial Athletic Association schedule on Jan. 4 when they host Drexel at the Bob Carpenter Center at 1 p.m.

AGATE:

DELAWARE (8-3, 0-0 CAA)
Riddick, 1-4 0-0 2, Jenkins, 2-8 0-0 4, Kabongo, 5-11 3-4 14, Benison, 0-3 3-4 3, Harris, 6-16 8-9 21, Bailey, 4-7 2-2 10, McLean, 0-1 0-0 0, Thomas, 1-3 4-6 6, Gibson, 3-3 0-0 6.

LOYOLA MARYMOUNT (9-4, 0-0 West Coast)
Ysaguirre, 1-1 3-4 5, Evans, 5-6 0-0 10, Young, 5-18 5-6 16, Moore, 2-7 2-2 6, Helmers, 0-4 0-0 0, Cowling, 4-10 7-10 16, Vargas, 0-0 0-2 0, Nichols, 3-7 0-1 7 Goss,0-5 0-0 0.

Halftime Score: Delaware 34, LMU 21; Three-Point Field Goals: D - 2-6 (Harris 1-4, Kabongo 1-1) LMU - 3-17 (Young 1-4); Rebounds: D - 43 (Jenkins, 11), LMU - 36 (Cowling, 8); Assists: D - 7 (Benison, 3), LMU - 9 (Moore, 4); Fouled Out: None; Total Fouls: D - 19, LMU - 21.