Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

RICHMOND, Va. -- University of Delaware freshman women’s basketball player Elena Delle Donne has been selected as the Player and Rookie of the Week by the Colonial Athletic Association after leading the Blue Hens to a 85-72 victory over Buffalo on Tuesday evening.

Delle Donne (at right), a forward/guard Naismith national player of the year candidate, lead Delaware with 39 points against the Bulls to tie UD’s single game record and earn the league’s ninth-best single game performance all-time. Her outing against Buffalo also marked the top points performance in a single game this season for any CAA women’s basketball player.

Delle Donne’s total also broke the 18-year old building mark at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark to lead the Blue Hens to their fifth straight overall and sixth consecutive home win dating back to last season, while her 39 points tied a 29-year old UD record set by Lori Howard vs. Temple on Jan. 27, 1981.

The Wilmington, Del. native shot 15-for-23 from the floor, 4-for-8 from three-point range and 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the Hens’ first series victory over Buffalo. In addition to draining 39 points, Delle Donne pulled down nine rebounds, four assists and two steals in 37 minutes of action.

Delle Donne has helped UD to rank atop the conference in three-point field goal percentage, as the Hens have connected on 52 of 129 from beyond the arc, good for 40.3 percent accuracy. Delle Donne alone ranks among the individual leaders in defensive rebounds (1st, 6.8 rpg), minutes played (1st, 37.1 mpg), assist/turnover ratio (1st, 1.7 ratio), scoring (2nd, 25.4 ppg), free throw percentage (2nd, 88.4%), rebounding (2nd, 8.8 rpg), three-point field goal percentage (3rd, 46.3%), field goal percentage (4th, 52.1%), blocked shots (5th, 1.4 bpg), three-point field goals made (5th, 2.4 3-pg), and assists (9th, 3.4 apg).

The Hens next take on the Minutewomen of Massachusetts on Wednesday, Dec. 30 at 7 p.m.