Delle Donne Hits 1,000 Career-Point Mark as Blue Hens Cruise Past Northeastern 52-37
February 3, 2011
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Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell
NEWARK, Del. -- University of Delaware sophomore All-American Elena Delle Donne (at right) celebrated her first home game appearance in over two months in exciting fashion as she scored a game-high 24 points, including the 1,000th of her young career, as the Blue Hens cruised to 52-37 Colonial Athletic Association women's basketball victory over Northeastern Thursday night at the Bob Carpenter Center.
The Blue Hens (12-9, 5-5 CAA) snapped a two-game losing streak in a big way as they jumped out to 17-2 lead in the first seven minutes and never looked back in downing the Huskies (8-13, 3-7 CAA) for the 18th straight time since the 1998-99 season.
Delle Donne, who had missed 11 straight games earlier this season with symptoms of Lyme Disease before returning to action last Sunday by scoring28 points in a 81-68 setback at Hofstra, played at home for the first time since Nov. 23 and treated the appreciative Carpenter Center crowd of 2,031 to a special night. She hit on 8 of 19 shots from the field, including four three-pointers, and finished with 24 points and a team-high eight rebounds in just 26 minutes of action. She is averaging 26.0 points per game this season and would lead the nation in that category but has not played enough games to qualify.
She knocked down two free throws just 28 seconds into the second half to reach the 1,000-point mark, hitting the milestone in just 38 games. She reached 1,000 points faster than any player in school or CAA history and the 38 games it took her to get there is second fastest mark in NCAA history, trailing only the record of 37 by Maree Jackson of LSU in 1976-78, Carol Menken of Oregon State in 1979-81, and by Sandra Hodge of New Orleans in 1981-84. Kathy Miller of Weber State also reached the mark in 38 games in 1976-79.
“It's amazing and so incredible to achieve something like that and to have my teammates behind me through the whole thing,” said Delle Donne of the feat. “My teammates had to remind me at halftime that I was one point away, but definitely I was aware. It feels awesome.”
Lauren Carra added 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists for Delaware while Sarah Acker came off the bench to add eight points, four rebounds, and four steals.
Delaware's defense harassed the Huskies all night, forcing Northeastern into 19 turnovers and 27.5 percent shooting from the field. NU hit on just 14 of 51 shots from the field for the night and managed to connect on just 5 of 27 three-point attempts.
“I think we are finding ourselves,” said Delaware head coach Tina Martin, whose team had lost four of its last five games entering the contest. “It's been a long process because of everything that has happened to our team. Elena is really, really talented. The craziness of it all is that she has missed a third of the year. Honestly the thing that has impressed me the most about her coming back is that right away she is trying to be a leader. She is just a sophomore and with what she’s been through and what the team has been through, I think the kids responded well.”
Guard Dani Iervolino was the lone Northeastern player in double figures as she came off the bench to score 13 points, including four three-pointers. Mia Mayberry added eight points and Tiffany Crews contributed eight rebounds. Guard Deanna Kerkhof, the Huskies’ second leading scorer with 13.0 points per game, hit just 1 of 14 shots from the field and missed on all 10 three-point attempts but did finish with five rebounds and a team-high five assists.
Delaware put the game out of reach early as the Hens jumped out to a 10-0 lead on a Delle Donne three-pointer just four minutes into the contest and built the lead to 17-2 on a layup by Acker with 13:08 to go in the half. The Hens led by as much as 19 points on a Carra three-pointer with 10:36 remaining as the Huskies misfired on 9 of their first 10 shots from the field.
The Blue Hens took a 36-16 lead into intermission thanks to two Delle Donne treys in the final 1:17 and went up 38-16 just 28 seconds into the second half when Delle Donne hit two free throws, with the first giving her 1,000 career points.
Delaware led by as much as 24 points on a jumper by Acker with 12:37 left but the Hens did not score again until over seven minutes later when Vanessa Kabongo hit a driving layup with 5:13 left for a 49-31 lead.
Despite scoring just 16 points in the second half, Delaware never allowed Northeastern to get closer than 14 points during the final 20 minutes of action. The Huskies hit just 5 of 23 shots from the field in the first half and just 9 of 28 in the second stanza as the Hens put in their best defensive effort since a 76-36 win over Alcorn State back on Dec. 30.
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