Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

Boxscore

ORONO, Maine - Freshman Elena Delle Donne drained a jumper with 1.1 seconds left on the clock to lift the University of Delaware women’s basketball team to a thrilling 52-50 victory over former America East rival Maine at the Alfond Arena on Tuesday evening.

Delle Donne (at right) finished the contest with a game-high 26 points and added 12 rebounds for her third double-double of the season for Delaware (4-3 overall). Amanda Tewksbury chipped in with 13 points and 12 rebounds for Maine (2-5 overall).

In a game that was tied on 13 separate occasions and had 16 lead changes, Delaware landed the final blow in the waning moments of the contest. After the Blue Hens fell behind by three at 50-47, Delle Donne answered the challenge. With 45 seconds remaining in regulation, the freshman standout drained a three-pointer to knot the game at 50.

With newfound life, a strong Delaware zone defense caused a Black Bear shot clock violation that resulted in a UD timeout. The Hens’ plan worked. Delaware inbounded the ball and got it into the hands of Delle Donne. Jocelyn Bailey quickly set a screen, and after Delle Donne worked her way though a pair of defenders, she swished a shot from the left elbow to clinch the victory.

“It was a pretty rough game, definitely some ups and downs,” said Delle Donne. “I had no doubt that we were going to get the win. My teammates set screens to get me open, and I was able to get the shot off.”

Along with Delle Donne’s double-double, Bailey and Ariene Jenkins both scored seven points for Delaware. Lauren Carra also dished out three assists.

“I’ll tell you what -- it was one of the most physical games we’ve played all year,” said veteran head coach Tina Martin. “Every time someone went to the basket, it was very physical.”

Early in the game, neither team could pull away as the squads traded buckets. Delle Donne opened all scoring with a jumper from the right elbow at 19:08 before the Black Bears knotted the game at two. Still tied at seven, Maine went on a short run, aided by six straight points from Katia Bratishko, to grab a 16-12 lead.

Delaware fired back, turning a layup by Bailey and a three-pointer from Delle Donne into a one-point lead at 17-16. Later, a beautiful left-handed layup by Bailey and another baseline three by Delle Donne helped the Hens pull out to a two-point edge at 22-20.

Still leading by two with halftime quickly approaching, Delaware could not quite hold onto its lead as a Katelyn Vanderhoff layup at the horn retied the game at 26 heading into intermission.

Following the break, Maine opened the second half with four straight points as Amanda Tewksbury and Samantha Wheeler both drained buckets to give the hosts a 30-26 lead. Tesia Harris quickly made the contest a one-possession game when she hit a pair of free throws. Then, after the teams exchanged layups, Delaware grabbed the lead on a three-point play by Delle Donne.

The six-foot, five-inch, Wilmington, Del. native pulled down an offensive rebound and went straight up for the bucket. Fouled on the play, she hit the ensuing free throw to put Delaware ahead for the first time in the second half at 33-32.

After the Black Bears pieced together four unanswered points to secure a one-point edge for Maine with under 10 minutes remaining, Danielle Parker brought the contest to a stalemate after she sunk a free throw to tie the game for the eighth time at 36-36.

Maine answered with a Baranowski bucket and two points from Kristin Baker at the charity stripe to put the Black Bears back up by four. Delle Donne quickly responded, draining two free throws of her own that were backed by a Jenkins basket to knot the game at 40.

Later, a layup by Delle Donne and a free throw from Jenkins gave Delaware a modest one-point advantage at 45-44. Still hanging onto that edge with under four minutes left to play, the Blue Hens could not withstand back-to-back jumpers from Barnowski and Tewksbury that vaulted Maine back into the lead at 50-47.

Trailing by three with time running out, the Blue Hens leaned on Delle Donne for some late-game heroics. Fittingly, the star freshman came through as she dropped in the final five points of the game to seal the victory.

“We got a couple good looks late in the game, but they weren’t going in,” said Martin. “At the end, we got the screens that we needed. The shot dropped -- Elena carried us tonight. Jocelyn Bailey set a great screen, and Elena stepped through two defenders to get the shot off.”

Following seven consecutive road games that opened the Hens’ 2009-10
campaign, Delaware will host Navy on Friday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. at the Bob
Carpenter Center in its home opener.

“Our kids and the coaching staff, we’re all tired of playing on the road,” said Martin. “Boy-oh-boy are we anxious to get back home.”

AGATE:

Delaware.....26.....26..... 52
Maine.........26......24......50

Delaware (4-3): Delle Donne 9-19 5-5 26, Bailey 3-4 1-2 7, Jenkins 3-3 1-2 7, Harris 1-9 2-2 4, Parker 1-3 1-2 3, Kabongo 1-3 0-0 2, Gibson 1-4 0-0 2, Benison 0-3 1-2 1, Carra 0-2 0-1 0, Riddick 0-0 0-0 0; Totals: 19-50 11-16 52.

Maine (2-5): Bratishko 5-7 4-4 14, Tewksbury 5-16 2-2 13, Baranowski 3-4 2-2 8, Wheeler 3-7 0-1 6, Vanderhoff 2-7 2-2 6, Baker 0-12 3-4 3, Wellington 0-1 0-0 0, Rush 0-3 0-0 0; Totals: 18-57 13-15 50.

Halftime: Delaware 26, Maine 26; Three-Point Field Goals: DEL 3-1 (Delle Donne, 3), UM 1-18 (Tewksbury, 1); Rebounds: DEL - 34 (Delle Donne, 12), UM - 41 (Tewksbury, 12); Assists: DEL - 9 (Carra, 3), UM - 15 (Baker, 9); Fouled Out: UM - Wheeler; Fouls: DEL - 14, UM - 19; Attendance: 1320.