Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

RICHMOND, Va. -- University of Delaware freshman women’s basketball player Elena Delle Donne has been selected as the Rookie of the Week by the Colonial Athletic Association for her outstanding contributions during the Blue Hens’ opening games last week.

Delle Donne (at right), a forward/guard, opened her rookie campaign with 54 points on the week as the Hens started their 2009-10 season at 1-1. The Wilmington, Del. native averaged 27.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game last week. She put up 19 points in a 77-64 win at Saint Francis (Pa.) on Tuesday, before posting a UD freshman-best 35 points to go along with 10 boards against Princeton on Saturday. Her 35 points against Princeton rewrote a freshman single-game scoring record last set on Feb. 19, 1998 by Danielle Leyfert who scored 34 points against Northeastern University. Delle Donne’s double double, in the 68-59 loss to Princeton, was Delaware’s first of the season.

Delle Donne shot 17-for-35 (.486) from the floor, 5-for-11 (.455) from three-point range and 15-of-17 (.882) from the free throw line amidst the pair of contests. The 6-5 rookie also added six assists, three blocks and one steal on the week.

Delle Donne has helped UD to rank atop the conference in free throw percentage, as the Hens have connected on 39 of 50 from the charity stripe good for 78 percent accuracy. Delle Donne ranks among the individual leaders in scoring (2nd, 27.0 ppg), three-point field goals made (2nd, 2.5 3pg), rebounding (5th, 8.5 rpg), minutes played (2nd, 37.0 mpg), three-point percentage (4th, 45.5%), free throw percentage (5th, 88.2%), and defensive rebounds (5th, 5.5 rbg).

James Madison’s Dawn Evans and VCU’s D’Andra Moss shared the CAA Player of the Week accolade.

Evans guided the Dukes to a pair of home wins over Georgetown and Virginia Tech last week. The junior led the league averaging 28.0 points per game in her first two outings of the year. She also dished out 3.5 assists per contest and added 2.5 rebounds per game.

Moss, a senior, averaged 18.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game to lead the Rams to a 3-0 week. On the week, Moss shot 22-for-46 (.478) from the field and 5-of-12 (.417) from beyond the arc, while hitting a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe.

Delaware will continue its seven consecutive road game stretch when it travels to Colorado State to play Houston in the opening round of the Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational on Friday, Nov. 27 at 5 p.m. MT.