Photo courtesy of Mark Campbell

Boxscore

BALTIMORE - The University of Delaware women’s basketball team scored four players in double digits to lead the Blue Hens past host University of Maryland Baltimore County, 70-61, on Saturday afternoon at RAC Arena.

Delaware’s (3-3 overall) four in double digits, freshman forward/guard Elena Delle Donne, junior guard Tesia Harris, freshman guard Lauren Carra, and sophomore guard Jocelyn Bailey, were the most since four Hens recorded double-digit efforts in a 79-58 Colonial Athletic Association quarterfinal victory over Virginia Commonwealth University on March 9, 2007.

Delle Donne (at right) returned to the hardwood after missing two games due to an ankle injury. The Wilmington, Del. native led the game with 20 points to help the Hens snap UMBC’s (4-3 overall) three-game winning streak. Harris added 15 points, Carra 14, and Bailey 11.

An early 15-0 run awarded the Blue and Gold a steady double-digit advantage which they held through much of the game. Seven first-half three-pointers helped Delaware to a 12 point, 35-23, lead at the half.

Delaware opened the second stint of play with a basket, but the Retrievers responded to cut the Hens’ lead to just eight at 15:50. Delaware dominated the next seven minutes and outscored UMBC, 15-6, to lead by as many as 17 with 9:07 remaining in the game. But the Retrievers mirrored the Hens’ efforts as they went on a 18-6 run of their own to bring the game within five at 2:11.

UD kept a step ahead in the waning moments and responded to the Retrievers’ late run to finalize all scoring at 70-61 with a layup by Carra.

The Retrievers tallied the first basket of the game on a Tope Obajolu three-pointer before shooting 0-15 over the next 7:55, allowing the Hens to piece together 15 unanswered points to take a commanding 15-3 lead at 11:12.

Delle Donne drained the Hens’ first points of the game from beyond the arc before Carra backed them with a pair of her own to take a 9-3 Delaware lead.

Three straight blocks from Delle Donne in the 16th minute caused a Retriever shot clock violation that ultimately led to a three-pointer from Harris at 14:39. Freshman forward Danielle Parker hit the back-end of her free throws to send the Hens down the floor to play defense. With the help of a strong zone defense, Delle Donne pulled down a rebound before scoring the following two points on a layup in the paint.

The Retrievers tallied their fourth and fifth points of the game in the 10th minute before the teams played a balanced game and exchanged basket after basket to close out the half. UMBC worked its way back to cut the deficit to just seven at 1:37, but Delle Donne recorded a jumper with 48 seconds on the clock and a steal by junior forward Eva Riddick led to a 12-point Delaware lead at the break.

With four seconds remaining in the first frame, Riddick’s steal led to a three-point play by Bailey with just 0.4 seconds lingering on the clock. Bailey drove right for a layup and converted on her ensuing free throw to polish-off a 35-23 Blue Hen advantage at intermission.

Delaware’s seven first-half three-pointers matched a season-high that the Hens swished on Nov. 27 against Houston at the Coors Rocky Mountain Invitational hosted by Colorado State University. Delaware finished with eight on the day.

Back to the court for the second half, Harris hit a jumper to tip-off scoring. UMBC went on to score four points before Bailey, who was a perfect 5-5 from the foul line, hit a pair from the charity stripe at 18:17. Obajolu recorded a layup on the next possession before Delle Donne, who also was a solid 4-for-4 from the stripe, hit two from the line.

Sophomore guard Michelle Kurowski scored two buckets for the Retrievers before the Hens went on a 15-6 run to lead the game by 17 points at 9:07. Despite Delaware’s dominance, UMBC responded with a streak of their own, scoring 18 points to the Hens’ six, to trail by just five with 2:11 left in the contest.

Harris hit a pair of jumpers that were broken up by a Carlee Cassidy foul shot before Cassidy drained one of the Retrievers’ seven three-pointers to again bring the game within five. Carra and Parker each notched a free throw with 23 seconds remaining to lead by seven, and a Carra steal on UMBC’s final drive solidified the win as she took it in for a layup.

Delle Donne, Parker and Bailey each crashed the boards to pull down eight rebounds each, while Kurowski led all players with nine rebounds for the Retrievers.

Delaware outshot UMBC, as it shot 42.6 percent from the field and 72.7 percent from the foul line. UMBC tallied a 33.3 percent field-goal percentage and a 63.1 percent performance at the charity stripe.

“I felt really good about the win this afternoon,” said veteran head coach Tina Martin. “We needed this ‘W’ to get our kids’ confidence back up. Now we head to Maine before finally opening at home on Dec. 11 -- our team’s very excited.

“Tonight was the first we faced the box-in-one and I think we handled it very well. I thought Elena [Delle Donne] played strong, she looked good and I subbed her when I thought she need it. Same with Lauren [Carra].

“We had four in double figures. It has been awhile since we’ve done that. It’s a really good step for us. I’m thrilled. That’s what good teams do, they pass the ball and spread the wealth,” concluded Martin.

Delaware will next travel to Maine on Tuesday, Dec. 8 for a 7 p.m. game that will finalize UD’s seven-game road streak that begins its 2009-10 campaign. The Hens’ home opener is set to tip-off on Friday Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. against Navy in the Bob Carpenter Center.

AGATE:

Delaware.....35.....35........70
UMBC.........23.....38........61

Delaware (3-3): Delle Donne 7-11 4-4 20, Harris 6-12 0-0 15, Carra 4-10 3-4 14, Bailey 3-8 5-5 11, Parker 1-5 3-7 5, Riddick 2-2 0-0 4, Kabongo 0-5 1-2 1, Jenkins 0-0 0-0 0, Gibson 0-0 0-0 0, Benison 0-1 0-0 0; Totals: 23-54 16-22 70.

UMBC (4-3): Cassidy 5-16 3-5 17, Kurowski 6-17 4-6 17, Colabella 3-11 1-1 8, Brooks 4-6 0-0 8, Obajolu 3-10 0-0 7, Robinson 0-0 2-2 2, Brokans 0-0 1-3 1, Barker 0-3 1-2 1; Totals: 21-63 12-19 61.

Halftime: Delaware 35, UMBC 23; Three-Point Field Goals: DEL 8-18 (Carra, 3; Harris, 3), UMBC 7-27 (Cassidy, 4); Rebounds: DEL - 49 (Delle Donne, 8; Parker 8, Bailey 8), UMBC - 33 (Kurowski, 9); Assists: DEL - 11 (Delle Donne, 4), UMBC - 14 (Kurowski, 5); Fouled Out: None; Fouls: DEL - 17, UMBC - 17; Attendance: 410.