Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

Boxscore

RICHMOND, Va. -- The University of Delaware women’s basketball team dropped a 60-59 heartbreaker to Virginia Commonwealth University at Verizon Wireless Arena at the Siegel Center on Thursday evening.

In what appeared to be in true “buzzer-beater” fashion, VCU’s (13-5, 6-0 CAA) senior forward D’Andra Moss drained a three-pointer to give the Rams a one-point lead as time expired. After the officials reviewed the play 0.4 seconds were awarded to the clock, though UD (11-6, 3-3 CAA) was unable to get a shot off before time truly dried up.

In the first frame the Rams led all but the first 33 seconds of action, and by as many as 11 points, but the Blue Hens brought the game back to 29-28 at the break. It was the second stint that housed the night’s entertainment. In a game that was tied on five times and had the lead change on 13 separate occasions, each squad scored 32 in the latter half allowing the Rams a one-point victory.

Three freshman led the Hens as Elena Delle Donne, Delaware’s 6-5 All-American candidate and Naismith Player of the Year nominee, finished with 27 points, five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. Guard Jaquetta May hit 5-of-9 and two at the foul line for career-highs of 12 points and nine rebounds. Forward Danielle Parker also pulled down seven boards, as the Hens outrebounded VCU, 40-30.

With her second consecutive 27-point game, Delle Donne (bottom left) broke the freshman scoring record previously set by Danielle Leyfert with 358 points in the 1997-98 season. Delle Donne has recorded 379 points since November. Delle Donne, who broke three UD records on the night, also upset the freshman three-pointer record previously held by current director of basketball operations, Liz Hayes. Hayes had drilled 33 treys during the 2003-04 season; Delle Donne now has 34.

The Rams were led by Moss who shot just 7-of-25 from the field and 3-of-5 at the charity stripe for a team-high 19 points, while sophomore forward Courtney Hurt added 16, and senior guard Kita Waller 14. Moss also led the Rams with nine boards.

Despite Delaware notching the first points of the contest, VCU, aided by 7-for-8 shooting at the foul line, outscored the Hens 19-6 to lead by 11 at 10:39. UD wasted little time before bringing the game within three with the help of eight unanswered points tallied by May (top right) and Delle Donne.

The back-and-forth physical contest continued as the Rams scored five straight before Delaware notched four back-to-back. A jumper from Hurt, her 10th and 11th points of the game, put the Rams ahead by six at 3:47, but Delaware dwindled that to just one.

The teams would exchange buckets before junior guard Tesia Harris hit a pair from the charity stripe and a May steal led to a breakaway layup to bring the game to 28-27 entering intermission.

The second frame was held scoreless for nearly three minutes until May broke the ice to put the Blue Hens ahead. Broken up by a Harris jumper, VCU recorded a Waller layup and a non-traditional three-point play by Hurt to lead 33-31 at 16:18.

Delle Donne hit 3-for-3 from the free throw line at 15:09 to knot the game and break her third record of the night, Delaware’s consecutive free-throw record. The record of 31 stood since the 1990-91 season when Linda Cyborski was perfect from Nov. 25 to Jan. 23. Delle Donne connected on her 32nd consecutive free throw at 15:10, a streak that began at George Mason on Jan. 7 with 3:48 remaining in the game.

May collected a jumper at 14:38 before a trio of three-pointers riddled the scoreboard. Moss, Delle Donne and Waller, respectively, drained shots from downtown before a duo of free throws from freshman guard Lauren Carra put the Hens ahead 42-41.

The lead would again change before UD regained it with a Delle Donne baseline jumper. The Hens extended their advantage as junior co-captain Eva Riddick drove the lane for a layup before Delle Donne drained one from beyond the arc at 10:21 to lead 49-43.

The Blue Hens continued their dominance with another Delle Donne basket to take its largest lead of the game, but Moss brought the game to 52-45 at 9:03. Delle Donne connected on the following play but the Rams would drop the next four points to trail by just four at 6:03.

Delle Donne hit Delaware’s fourth consecutive field goal at 4:15 allowing UD a six-point cushion, but a Moss free throw and a layup by sophomore guard Jennifer Lane brought the game within three. The game was then brought to a draw on a baseline three by Rams’ Waller.

Sophomore Jocelyn Bailey was successful on the ensuing play with a layup with 27 seconds lingering on the clock, but Waller again came up big to tie the game. Down in Delaware territory, Bailey did just as Waller did, she responded. Delle Donne zipped a pass to Bailey who went up for a layup at the right block to go ahead 59-57 with merely 11 seconds on the clock.

The Hens’ luck was soon to end. Following a VCU timeout, Lane found Moss open on the perimeter. She hit nothing-but-net with less than a second on the game clock to give the Rams a one-point victory. Delaware had 0.4 seconds to inbound the ball, but was unable to get a shot off before the final buzzer sounded.

The Hens shot 46.8 percent from the field, to the Rams’ 36.1 percent, though VCU outdid the UD at the line as it connected 73.3 percent to the Hens’ 63.2 percent. Delaware tallied seven blocks on the night, but led the game in turnovers, 19-8.

Delaware will next travel to Hofstra on Sunday, Jan. 24 for a 2 p.m. contest.

AGATE:

Delaware........27.....32........59
VCU...............28.....32........60

Delaware (11-6, 3-3 CAA)
Delle Donne 10-19 5-5 27, Parker 1-5 0-0 2, Miller 1-2 1-4 4, Carra 0-3 2-2 2, Harris 1-4, 2-2 4, Bailey 2-3 0-0 4, May 5-9 2-4 12, Riddick 2-2 0-0 4, Gibson 0-0 0-2 0 Totals: 22-47 12-19 59.

VCU (13-5, 6-0 CAA)
Moss 7-25 3-5 19, Hurt 7-14 1-1 16, Lane 2-4 0-1 4, Patterson 0-3 5-6 5, Waller 5-9 2-2 14, Hobson 1-1 0-0 2, Solomon 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor 0-5 0-0 0, Snyder 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 22-61 11-15 60.

Halftime: Delaware 27, VCU 28; Three-Point Field Goals: DEL 22-47 (Delle Donne, 27), VCU 22-61 (Moss, 19); Rebounds: DEL - 40 (May, 9), VCU - 30 (Moss, 9); Assists: DEL - 7 (Delle Donne, 3), VCU - 17 (Patterson, 8); Fouled Out: None; Fouls: DEL - 17, VCU - 14; Attendance: 492.