Photos Courtesy of Mark Campbell

Boxscore

NEWARK, Del. -- University of Delaware freshman sensation Elena Delle Donne (bottom left) led a comeback that sent the game into overtime, but she misfired on a potential game-winning jumper in the second extra session and the Blue Hens dropped a 70-67 heartbreaker to rival Drexel in a Colonial Athletic Association women's basketball thriller Sunday afternoon at the Bob Carpenter Center.

Delle Donne, Delaware's 6-5 All-American candidate and Naismith Player of the Year nominee, finished with 27 points, including nine in overtime, but her jumper under pressure from the foul line that would have given Delaware the lead with just seven seconds left, was off the mark, dashing the Hens' hopes.

Defending CAA champion Drexel, which had gone up 68-67 on a layup by Jen Stjarnstrom with 31 seconds left, then iced the game as Marisa Crane hit two free throws. A desperation shot by Delle Donne just inside midcourt was off the mark as the buzzer sounded.

Delaware (11-5, 3-2 CAA), which had won 9 of its last 10 games and was riding a three-game win streak, got 27 points, seven rebounds, six blocks, and five assists from Delle Donne, 11 points from Tesia Harris, a team-high 12 rebounds from Danielle Parker and eight points from Lauren Carra (top right), lost to the Dragons for the fifth straight time. The double overtime contest was the first for the Hens since an 80-77 win over William & Mary on Jan. 27, 2002.

Drexel (10-6, 4-1 CAA) got 20 points each from 2009 CAA Player of the Year Gabriela Marginean and Jasmina Rosseel while Crane finished with 11 points and six assists and Kamile Nacickaite shook off a tough 4 for 19 shooting performance to contribute 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Marginean, a senior forward and the CAA’s all-time leading scorer who entered the game averaging 22.5 points per game, fouled out with 1:54 left in the first overtime period.

"It was a great game,” said Delaware head coach Tina Martin. “Definitely promising, absolutely. Yet, it's very frustrating and really hurts right now. I'm sure it was enjoyable for the fans, but we have got to win games like this, that's the bottom line."

The Dragons converted just 9 of 30 shots from the three-point line for the game but came up with several clutch long distance shots down the stretch, including a trey by Rosseel with eight seconds left that tied the game at 58-58 and sent the game into a second overtime. Another three-pointer by Rosseel with 1:45 remaining in the second overtime pulled the Dragons to within 67-66, setting up Sjarnstrom’s game-winning layup just over a minute later.

Delle Donne converted all 11 of her free throws, but the rest of the Blue Hen lineup struggled, hitting a combined 8 of 19, including several misses in overtime that came back to spell the difference.

Three-pointers by Delle Donne, Harris, and Kayla Miller in the first two minutes of the second extra session helped the Hens built a 67-63 lead, but Rosseel’s three-pointer with 1:45 left cut the Delaware lead to 67-66.

Miller later missed a jumper with 1:13 left and Dragons took advantage. After missing two shots and grabbing the offensive rebound each time, the Dragons went ahead as Stjarnstrom grabbed another offensive rebound, the 18th of the day for Drexel, and scored what proved to be the winning layup with 31 seconds left.

Delaware set up for the winning shot, but Delle Donne was contested on her foul line jumper and misfired with seven seconds left. Hollie Mershon pulled the rebound for Drexel and Crane followed with two free throws with five seconds left to preserve the win.

The Hens trailed by as much as eight points at 35-27 with 10:08 left in regulation and were still down 40-33 with 4:44 remaining before mounting the comeback. Delle Donne drained a three-pointer with 3:04 left to cut the Drexel lead to 40-39 but the Dragons answered with a three-pointer by Marginean at the 2:33 mark to push their lead to 43-39. Delaware’s Miller hit one of two free throws with 1:16 remaining and freshman Carra buried a three-pointer from the top of the key with 31 seconds left to knot the score at 43-43.

Both teams had the chance to win in regulation but Marginean’s short jumper with six seconds left was blocked out of bounds by Delle Donne and the Dragon senior was whistled for a charging foul a second later. Delaware had the chance to win but Delle Donne’s halfcourt shot at the buzzer hit the backboard and bounced off the front of the rim as time expired.

Delaware appeared to take control in the first overtime period as Delle Donne converted a rare four-point play with 1:54 left to give the Hens a 53-50 lead with 1:54 left and added two free throws with 56 remaining to push the lead to 55-50. But the Dragons rallied back as Nacickaite hit a layup, and after Miller converted one of two free throws, drained a three-pointer with 26 seconds left to cut the Delaware lead to 56-55.

Miller hit two free throws for Delaware with 16 seconds left to give Delaware a 58-55 lead, but Drexel came right back to send the game into a second overtime as Rosseel buried a three-pointer with eight seconds left. The Hens had the chance to win again, but Delle Donne’s desperation three-pointer just inside midcourt bounced off the rim.

Delaware will return to action Thursday when they head to CAA-leading Virginia Commonwealth Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. in Richmond, Va.