Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

Boxscore

NORFOLK, Va. - A late rally by the University of Delaware women’s basketball team came up just short as the Blue Hens dropped a 54-52 decision to Old Dominion during a Colonial Athletic Association battle on Thursday evening at the Ted Constant Center.

Delaware (15-8, 7-5 CAA), who has now dropped five CAA games by a total of nine points, was quick to fall behind Old Dominion (12-10, 10-2 CAA), but made a valiant comeback to lead the last seven minutes of the first half before giving up the lead early in the second. The Lady Monarchs took control for good just 2:12 into the second half as the Blue Hens were never able to regain control.

An 11-0 ODU run and a 13-0 Delaware stretch highlighted the first frame of which Delaware came out on top at the half, 28-27. After exchanging buckets in the first minute of the second, the Lady Monarchs took over. Old Dominion led by as many as 10 on two occasions before Delaware brought it to a one-point ball game at 1:17. The Hens were not able to piece together a late-game play to secure the victory.

ODU jumped out to a commanding 11-0 advantage over the first two and a half minutes, before freshman forward/guard Elena Delle Donne went to the line to connect two. The teams then exchanged buckets before Delle Donne (at right) went on to score the first six of UD’s points. Junior guard Tesia Harris backed it with a baseline basket to bring the score to 13-8, but the Lady Monarchs went on a 5-0 run to extend the lead to a double-digit advantage.

Freshman guard Lauren Carra notched a pair from the charity stripe at the 11-minute mark and Delle Donne, a 6-5 All-American candidate and Naismith Player of the Year nominee, tallied another before sophomore center Tia Lewis got a bucket in the paint for the Lady Monarchs.

Sophomore Jocelyn Bailey tipped off the start of a 13-0 Blue Hen streak highlighted by three three-pointers. The next eight points came from Harris on a pull-up jumper and a pair of three-pointers to give Delaware its first lead of the contest at the seven-minute mark.

A Delle Donne three made it a five-point advantage, 25-20, before junior guard Shadasia Green would connect on a three-point play at 4:18 to score the Lady Monarch’s first points in over five minutes. Green went low for a layup to knot the game at 25 before Delaware pulled back ahead with three free throws. Two ODU foul shots with just a second lingering on the clock brought the game to 28-27 at intermission.

The second stint began as ODU pulled back in front with a Kquanise Byrd bucket but junior Ariene Jenkins reversed it with a layup. Old Dominion then recorded nine unanswered to pull ahead, 38-30, at 15:31. Freshman guard Jaquetta May notched her first points of the game at 14:42 but a Carolann Cloutier three-pointer extended the Lady Monarch’s lead to 41-32.

Delle Donne got a pair of points at the foul line and ODU swished one too before May would bring the game to 42-36 with a layup over two minutes later.

ODU notched six of the game’s next eight points to reinforce the 10-point lead. Bailey pulled the game back within eight and Delle Donne dwindled it to five with a 7:34 conversion from beyond the arc, but Byrd hit a three to restore the Old Dominion dominance.

Bailey drove an open right endline at 5:40 bringing the game to 51-45. Delle Donne then hit one at the foul line before senior forward Jessica Canady scored in the paint for ODU. Sophomore guard Kayla Miller and Bailey combined for back-to-back points to bring the Hens within three at 1:44.

Delle Donne was next to score to bring the game within one on an inbound layup feed from Miller. After a Lady Monarch turnover down the floor, Delaware called a timeout but came up short on their game plan.

Canady fired as the ODU shot-clock ran low and a scramble at the baseline was awarded to the Lady Monarchs in their own territory with merely 7.8 seconds on the clock. Delle Donne fouled on the next inbound play to collect the Hens’ sixth of the half before Jocelyn Bailey fouled Parker to send her to the line for a one-and-one with 5.7 left.

Parker hit the front end to finalize all scoring at 54-52. Bailey pulled down the rebound on Parker’s second attempt, but the outlet down the floor came too late and the Hens were unable to shoot prior to the final buzzer sounding.

Delle Donne led all scorers with 21, while Harris added 10 for the Hens, and Bailey eight. Delle Donne also pulled down 10 boards to record her 10th double-double of the season and added five blocks to boot. Miller led the Hens with five assists and Bailey tallied three steals.

Old Dominion was led by Lewis with a 12-point, seven rebound performance and Green with 11 points and nine rebounds. Parker added game-highs of nine assists and six steals.

Neither team shot the lights out, though Delaware connected on 38.6 percent of all field goals to ODU’s 34.9 percent. Both squads tallied just four three-pointers on the night.

Delaware will next return home to take on Georgia State on Sunday, Feb. 14 at 12 p.m. for the Pink Zone Game at the Bob Carpenter Center.

AGATE:

Delaware...............28.....24........52
Old Dominion.......27.....27........54

Delaware (15-8, 7-5 CAA)
Delle Donne 7-19 5-6 21, Parker 0-0 2-2 2, Miller 0-1 2-4 2, Carra 0-2 2-2 2, Harris 4-12 0-1 10, Bailey 4-6 0-0 8, May 1-3 2-2 4, Riddick 0-0 1-2 1, Jenkins 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 17-44 14-19 52.

Old Dominion (12-10, 10-2 CAA)
Canady 3-7 1-1 7, Green 5-13 1-3 11, Lewis 6-10 0-0 12, Parker 2-10 1-2 6, Byrd 2-7 0-0 5, Buchan 0-3 2-2 2, Voronina 0-3 0-0 0, Cloutier 3-5 0-0 8, Guilford 1-4 1-2 3, Collier 0-1 0- 0. Totals: 22-63 6-10 54.

Halftime: Delaware 28, Old Dominion 27; Three-Point Field Goals: DEL 4-15 (Harris, Delle Donne - 2), ODU 4-18 (Cloutier, 2); Rebounds: DEL - 39 (Delle Donne, 10), ODU - 36 (Green, 9); Assists: DEL - 11 (Miller, 5), ODU - 12 (Parker, 9); Fouled Out: None; Fouls: DEL - 14, ODU - 20; Attendance: 2,992.