Boxscore

Photo by Mark Campbell

NEWARK, Del. -- The University of Delaware's six-game win streak came to a heartbreaking end Sunday afternoon as the Blue Hens let a late six-point lead slip away and dropped a 60-59 decision to Old Dominion in both team's Colonial Athletic Association women's basketball opener at the Bob Carpenter Center.

Old Dominion (3-8, 1-0 CAA), which snapped a two-game losing streak that included losses to Saint Joseph's and No. 4 Tennessee, went ahead on a three-pointer by Jasmine Parker with 1:15 left and held on for the win. The win was the first road victory of the year for the perennial CAA power Monarchs, who downed the Hens for the sixth straight time.

Delaware (8-4, 0-1 CAA), which lost for the first time since a 75-63 setback to Columbia on Dec. 2 and also had a seven-game home win streak that dated back to last season snapped, had the chance to win the game in the final seconds but freshman Lauren Carra misfired on a layup with five seconds left and Old Dominion grabbed the rebound and ran out the clock.

Blue Hen 6-5 freshman Elena Delle Donne (at right), UD's Naismith national Player of the Year candidate, once again led Delaware as she scored 28 points, pulled seven rebounds, and collected six steals but not other UD player reached double figures. Carra and Tesia Harris each added nine points for the Hens, who were hurt by 20 turnovers and shot and just 36 percent from the field (10 of 28) in the first half.

“It’s a tough loss,” said Delaware head coach Tina Martin, whose team has just one senior and features five freshmen and sophomores in its eight-player rotation. “It’s frustrating that we didn’t execute at the end, but we got a good look. We have to bounce back and get ready for George Mason on Thursday. We will learn from this, both players and coaches. It’s all a learning process.”

Parker scored a team-high 15 points for the Monarchs while Shadasia Green added eight points and five rebounds and Tia Lewis recorded six points and a team-high seven rebounds.

The Hens held Green and Lewis well below their team-leading scoring averages of 13.6 points per game, but nine different ODU players got into the scoring column in a balanced effort. ODU overcame 26 turnovers by hitting on 6 of 14 three-pointers and 8 of 9 free throws and held a 33-26 advantage on the boards.

The Monarchs, who have won 17 of the last 18 CAA Tournament titles, entered the game with the nation’s toughest schedule that included non-league losses to national powers Tennessee, Louisville, and Stanford as well as Maryland, Florida, Mississippi State, and Syracuse.

Old Dominion held the lead for the final six minutes of the first half and went into intermission up 30-28. The second half featured four ties and seven lead changes and neither team ever led by more than six points.

Delaware went up by four points twice in the first six minutes of the second half, taking a 41-37 lead on a three-point play by Delle Donne with 14:08 remaining. But Old Dominion countered with eight straight points, highlighted by a three-pointer by Kquanise Byrd and a jumper by Parker, to go back up 45-41 with 11:04 left.

The Monarchs held that lead until the Hens regained it on two Delle Donne free throws with 8:14 remaining and Delaware built that lead to 55-49 just over a minute later on a three-pointer by Carra at the 5:52 mark.

Parker answered with a three-pointer and Vicki Collier hit a layup for ODU to cut the UD lead to 55-54, and after a layup by Delaware’s Carra increased the lead to three, the Monarchs tied the score on another three-pointer by Byrd at 57-57 with 2:34 left.

Delle Donne broke the tie with two free throws with 2:08 left to go for a 59-57 UD lead, but the Hens would not score again as Parker nailed her third three-pointer of the game with 1:15 left to put ODU up for good.

Delaware got the ball back with the chance to win when Delle Donne blocked a layup attempt by Green with 32 seconds left, but the Hens could not come through with the game-winner as Carra received a pass under the basket but could not hit the a layup under pressure in the closing seconds.