File Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

Boxscore

HARRISONBURG, Va. - Despite an impressive comeback in the waning moments of the game, the University of Delaware women's basketball team fell to Towson, 40-37, in first round action of the Colonial Athletic Association Championships at the JMU Convocation Center on Friday afternoon.

The 77 points was the fewest combined points in a game in Delaware program history.

The No. 9 seeded Blue Hens (15-15) struggled offensively in the first half, shooting just 26.3 percent from the field and commiting 15 turnovers.

According to Head Coach Tina Martin, who has seen her squad exit in the first round of the tournament the last two seasons, the first half did Delaware in.

"It was a very frustrating game," said Martin, whose lineup featured numerous freshmen and sophomore and just one senior. "We knew Towson was a good rebuounding team, but we couldn't keep them off the boards. We got ourselves in a hole, and even though we fought hard, Towson just outmatched us."

The No. 8 seeded Tigers played suffocating defense on Delaware's third team All-CAA selection, Tesia Harris all afternoon, holding her to just six points on 2-of-8 from the field. Harris had scored 29 and 27 points in respective games against Towson during the season, but could not find a rhythm on this day.

"Tesia rushed a lot of her shots today," Martin said. "She did get some good looks, and she normally makes them, but today they just weren't falling for her."

Leading Delaware was sophomore forward Ariene Jenkins (at right) who pulled down 10 boards and added eight points, and junior guard Corinthia Benison recorded nine points and three assists for the afternoon.

First team All-CAA selection Shanae Baker-Brice led the Tigers in the early-going, scoring her team's first six points to grab a 6-2 lead at just over five minutes into the game.

After Jenkins' jumper at 15:37, Delaware went scoreless for the next five minutes as Towson's Dovile Miliauskaite hit a three-pointer and third team All-CAA selection Katrina Wheeler made three free throws to up the lead to 12-2.

Delaware managed just six points in the first 11 minutes of the game and turned the ball over 10 times in that span as Towson went up by as much as 12, 18-6 at 8:57.

The Blue Hens then used a 13-5 run in the last eight-and-a-half minutes, led by Harris' four, and closed the gap to just four with 43 seconds left before intermission.

Towson's Alis Freeman would then hit a jumper just before the buzzer to put the Tigers back up six to end the half. The basket stood after the officials looked at a replay.

Towson used the momentum from Freeman's buzzer-beater to go on an 8-0 run to start the second half. After Wheeler made the second of her two free-throws at 13:09, Towson was up 33-19. The Blue Hens did not score for nearly eight minutes into the second half before Benison's lay-up at 12:27.

Much like in the first half though, the Blue Hens came fighting back. Following Benison's lay-up, Kabongo and sophomore forward Eva Riddick both hit jumpers to shrink the lead to eight, 33-25.

After a jumper by Wheeler and a free throw by Baker-Brice increased the Towson lead to 10 anearing the 10-minute mark, Delaware went on a furious 10-1 run in the next six-and-a-half minutes, forcing five Towson turnovers in that span, and shrinking the Tigers' lead to just one point, 37-36 at 3:31.

A foul by Jenkins sent Wheeler to the line at 2:09, and she made the first but missed the second. Sophomore guard Vanessa Kabongo would miss a jumper on the Blue Hens' next possession, but on the Tigers next trip down the floor, Jenkins stepped in front of Baker-Brice's pass to Wheeler in the post, and fed to Benison who drove all the way to the basket and drew a foul by Freeman.

Benison missed her first free-throw, but made the second, and the Towson lead was again down to just one. Benison would then steal the ball away from Baker-Brice as a result of the Blue Hens' full-court pressure that forced three turnovers in the final four minutes of the game.

Martin called a time-out from the Delaware bench, and the Blue Hens drew up an inbound play with 1:08 left in regulation. The result was a deep three-point attempt by Harris that rimmed out.

Delaware then forced a Haliena Snowden miss and Benison blocked the follow-up attempt after Towson melted the clock down to 21 seconds left in regulation, and Jenkins grabbed the rebound as Martin called Delaware's final timeout with 19 seconds left.

The Hens inbounded the ball to Benison who dribbled around the top of the key, slipping to the ground as she passed to Kabongo. The sophomore guard from Canada could not find an opening, so she found Jenkins in the post. Jenkins then kicked back out to Benison who drove into the lane and put up a running tear-drop shot that bounced off the right side of the rim and then trickled out of bounds.

Towson called a timeout, and on the ensuing inbounds play, Freeman would throw a deep pass pay to Baker-Brice who outran Kabongo to the ball and scored a layup with two seconds left to close the game out 40-37.

Delaware says goodbye to its one and only senior - Ethlynne Thomas, who competed in her 100th career game this afternoon. The Blue Hens return everyone on the roster including freshman Danielle Parker who missed most of this season due to an ACL injury.

"I'm hoping we'll grow from this experience," Martin said. "We're playing with mostly freshman and sophomores and we finished the season .500. We' ve got a lot of talent, and next year, we'll be back."

AGATE:

DELAWARE (16-16)
Riddick, 2-6 0-0 4; Jenkins, 3-9 2-5 8; Kabongo,1-8 4-6 6; Benison, 3-10 3-4 9; Harris, 2-8 2-2 6; Bailey, 0-1 2-3 2; Gibson, 1-1 0-0 2; McLean, 0-1 0-0 0; Thomas 0-0 0-0 0; Totals, 12-44 13-20 36.

TOWSON (17-12)
Wheeler, 1-9 5-10 7; Snowden, 1-3 0-0 2; Miliauskaite, 3-9 4-4 11; Baker-Brice, 5-16 2-4 12; Freeman, 1-3 0-0 2; Black, 0-0 0-0 0; Fields, 0-2 0-0 0; Parker, 1-8 0-0 3; Petronye, 0-0 1-2 1; Davis, 1-1 0-3 2. Totals, 13-51 12-23 42.

Halftime Score: Towson 25, Delaware 19; Three-Point Field Goals: UD – 0-6 (Harris 0-5), Towson – 2-12 (Parker, 1-5); Rebounds: UD – 36 (Jenkins 10), Towson – 42 (Miliauskaite 11). Assists: UD – 8 (Benison, Harris 3), Towson – 8 (Freeman 6). Total Fouls: UD – 20, Towson – 16.