Photos Courtesy of Chris Permar (top) and Keith Lovett (bottom)

Boxscore

NEWARK, Del. -- University of Delaware freshman sensation Elena Delle Donne did not disappoint in her debut before the home crowd Friday night as the 6-5 forward scored 26 points, pulled six rebounds, and dished out three assists to lead the Blue Hens to a 67-50 women’s basketball victory over Navy at the Bob Carpenter Center.

Delle Donne (top right), a Naismith National Player of the Year candidate who enjoyed an All-American high school career at nearby Ursuline Academy in Wilmington, got the chance to play at home for the first time in her collegiate career after a season-opening seven-game road swing and led the Blue Hens (5-3) to their third straight win.

The game drew a crowd of 3,040, the highest ever for a home opener in school history for the UD women and the second highest ever for a game that was not a doubleheader.

Fellow freshman Danielle Parker added 13 points and six rebounds, junior Tesia Harris (bottom left) added 12 points, and sophomore Jocelyn Bailey pulled down a game and career-high 11 rebounds to lead a balanced effort for the Hens.

“It was a grind-it-out win that we really needed,” said Delaware head coach Tina Martin. “I think it's really going to come full circle. We need to get through this next week and a half. It's a critical stretch because if we can make it through La Salle (Sunday), we have about a week to practice and heal. The continuity, the movement of our offense, is not as sharp as I'd like it to be. It was a great crowd. If we can get that again with La Salle and again against Buffalo (Dec. 22), it will be huge for our team.”

Navy (7-4), which got a team-high 15 points off the bench from guard Kristin Bowen and 14 points from center Cassie Consedine, lost for the second time in the last three games. The Midshipmen drained a BCC-record 12 three-pointers in 34 tries but made only four other field goals and were outrebounded 43-25. Navy, which committed 17 turnovers, hit just 8 of 31 shots from the field in the second half (.258) and shot just 30.2 percent (16 of 53) for the game.

Delle Donne, who entered the game ranked second in the Colonial Athletic Association with 24.2 points per game, hit 11 of 17 shots from the field, including two three-pointers, and made her only two free throw attempts. She scored 16 points on 7 of 10 shooting in the first half to stake the Hens to a 33-25 lead at halftime.

Navy, which has now lost three straight games in the series vs. Delaware, tied the game for the third time with 7:04 left in the first half at 19-19, but Delaware ran off eight straight points to take control before a three-pointer by Bowen snapped the string.

Harris opened the second half with a three-pointer and Parker followed with a layup to push the lead to 13 points at 38-25 and Navy never got closer than 10 points until the final two minutes when a Bowen three-pointer cut the UD lead to 59-50 with 1:46 left. Delaware answered by scoring the final eight points of the game, including four by Delle Donne, to put the game away.

Delaware will continue action Sunday when the Hens host La Salle at 1 p.m. at the Bob Carpenter Center.