Boxscore / File Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

NEWARK, Del. -- Vanessa Kabongo and Ariene Jenkins combined to score 12 of their team’s 15 points in overtime and Tesia Harris (at right) netted a career-high 29 for the game as the University of Delaware captured its third straight victory with a 64-59 Colonial Athletic Association women's basketball triumph over Towson Sunday afternoon at the Bob Carpenter Center.

Harris scored the Hens' first 10 points and 20 of the team's first 23 and finished with 29 points while Corinthia Benison and Kabongo each chipped in with 10 points apiece and Jenkins added nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds as the Hens (11-9, 3-6 CAA) avenged a season sweep by the Tigers last season.

Benison, who fouled out with 1:48 left in regulation, also dished out three assists and had five of Delaware’s 17 steals.

Towson (12-7, 4-5 CAA), coming off a big 61-51 win over league-leading James Madison on Thursday, got 15 points and 11 rebounds from Katrina Wheeler and 14 points, seven assists, and six steals from Shanae Baker-Brice but could not overcome 30 turnovers and 4 of 23 shooting from beyond the arc.

Wheeler, who hit 6 of 8 shots from the field and also added two blocks and three steals, posted her team-leading eighth double-double of the season.

Harris, a sophomore guard, topped the 20-point mark for the third time in her career and the 29 points were the most by a Delaware player since former WNBA player Tyresa Smith scored 32 for the Hens on Feb. 22, 2007 against James Madison. Harris had 16 of the Hens’ 18 points in the opening half.

"Today was a great team effort," said Delaware head coach Tina Martin, whose young team has bounced back from a six-game losing streak with three straight wins. "This young team grew up a lot today. It was a defensive struggle from beginning to end and we stepped up and made plays when we had to."

Both teams struggled offensively all afternoon as they combined for 54 turnovers, including 30 by Towson and 24 by Delaware, and shot a combined 36.2 percent (41 of 113) from the field, including just 8 of 34 from beyond the three-point line.

After Towson fought back from a late four-point deficit to force overtime, the Hens took over in the extra session behind the play of Kabongo and Jenkins. Towson’s Wheeler hit a layup 90 seconds into overtime to knot the score for the 10th time, but the Hens followed with two free throws each by Jocelyn Bailey and Jenkins to take the lead for good.

The Tigers cut the Delaware lead to a single point twice more, but Jenkins answered with a layup with 2:21 left and Kabongo, who overcame a tough 3 for 16 shooting performance, hit an off-balance 15-footer just before the shot clock expired with 1:11 remaining to keep Delaware in front.

Jenkins added two more free throws with 37 seconds left to push the lead to five points and Kabongo drained three free throws of her own over the final 27 seconds to ice the victory.

Harris, the team’s leading scorer at 12.2 points per game, single-handedly kept the Blue Hens in the game in the first half as Delaware overcame 4 of 23 shooting to trail just 22-18 at the break. She scored the team’s first 10 points and converted two free throws with 8:41 left to tie the game at 15-15.

Towson followed with a 7-0 run highlighted by a three-pointer from Simona Petronyte, but Harris connected on a jumper and hit one free throw over the final 90 seconds to cut the Tiger lead to four at the break.

The Hens scored seven of the first nine points of the second half to regain the lead at 25-24 on a Benison layup with 15:11 left, but Towson rallied back with a 10-4 run of its own, capped by a three-pointer from Meredith Kennedy with 12:15 left, to take its biggest second half lead at 34-29.

Delaware’s Eva Riddick gave the Hens the advantage at 35-34 with 9:33 remaining and UD held at least a share of the lead for the next nine minutes. Jenkins gave the Hens a 48-44 lead with 2:04 left in regulation on a layup, but the Tigers’ fullcourt press forced three Delaware turnovers over the next minute of play and the Tigers regained the lead at 49-48 with 50 seconds left after Baker-Brice scored consecutive layups and Wheeler hit one free throw as part of a 5-0 run.

Jenkins missed the front end of a two-shot free throw situation with 23 seconds left, but drained the second to knot the score for the ninth time at 49-49.

Towson had the chance to win the game in regulation but a three-point attempt from the left corner by Omara Parker missed and teammate Haliena Snowden, who grabbed the rebound underneath, could not get a shot off before the buzzer.