Delle Donne, Carra Selected to CAA All-Conference Teams, Four Bring Home Academic Honors
March 9, 2011
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File Photos Courtesy of Mark Campbell
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.-- A pair of sophomores on the University of Delaware women’s basketball team have earned All-Colonial Athletic Association honors.
Blue Hen sophomore All-American Elena Delle Donne (at right) was named to the All-CAA first team for the second time in as many seasons while fellow sophomore Lauren Carra (bottom left) earned her first conference honors as an All-CAA third team selection.
The announcement was made at the league’s annual banquet Thursday evening prior to the opening round of the Virginia 529 College Savings Plan CAA Championship tournament.
Delaware (17-12, 10-8 CAA), the tournament No. 7 seed, will take on No. 10 seed Northeastern (8-21, 3-15 CAA) in the first round of the tournament Thursday at 5 p.m. at The Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md.
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Delle Donne was also named to the All-Academic first team, while juniors Meghan McLean and Kayla Miller and sophomore Chelsea Craig earned All-Academic honorable mention plaudits.
Delle Donne was joined on the first team by Brittany Blackwell of UNC Wilmington, Dawn Evans of James Madison University, Shante Evans from Hofstra University and Virginia Commonwealth University’s Courtney Hurt.
Evans, the CAA’s Preseason Co-Player of the Year, along with Delle Donne, was named the 2011 Player of the Year. UNC Wilmington’s first-year head coach Cynthia Cooper-Dyke was named the Coach of the Year after leading the Seahawks to a 22-7 overall record and the third seed in the conference tournament with a league record of 14-4. Last season UNC Wilmington went 12-19 overall and just 6-12 in the CAA.
The Seahawks' Alisha Andrews was named the CAA Rookie of the Year while Jasmine Parker of Old Dominion University was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year. William & Mary’s Lindsey Moller was the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award winner.
Despite missing 12 games this season with symptoms of Lyme disease, Delle Donne is Delaware’s leading scorer, averaging 25.0 points per game entering the tournament. Her points per game average tops in both the league and the nation, but she has not played in the required 75 percent of the team's games this season (22 games needed).
The Wilmington, Del. native, last season’s Rookie and Player of the Year, has been nearly automatic from the field this season, hitting 43.0 percent (135-314) attempts. Only six players in the league’s top 15 free throw shooters have attempted more shots than Delle Donne, who has taken 136 this season, hitting 126 of those attempts. On the season, she has converted 93.4 percent of her free throws, including 89 of her 95 attempts since returning to the line up on January 30.
Delle Donne averages a team second-best 7.8 rebounds per game, while leading the Hens in blocked shots (39). The 6-5 guard/forward has also handed out 31 assists this season, averaging nearly two per game. She has come up with 15 steals and leads the squad in minutes per game, averaging 35.2 per game, including 42 minutes in an overtime game against William & Mary.
In that same game against the Tribe, Delle Donne set a number of Kaplan Arena records, including free throws made (17) and attempted (19). Her made free throws in that game are tied for second for a single game in the CAA record books, while her attempts are tied for sixth. Early in the second half of the Hens’ 52-37 win over Northeastern on Feb. 3, Delle Donne hit a free throw to reach the 1,000 point mark in just her 38th career game. She became the fastest player in CAA and Delaware history to hit the benchmark, and tied for second fewest games in NCAA history.
A sophomore guard, Carra makes her first appearance on the All-CAA team. Carra was the only player to have started all 29 games for the Blue Hens this season. She leads the team in minutes played, logging 1,002, averaging 34.6 an outing.
The Dunmore, Pa. native is the team’s second leading scorer, putting up 11.8 points per game. Carra is also the team’s leader in assists, handing out 78 helpers. She is third on the squad in steals (32), fifth in rebounds per game (3.7) and is one of the top 250 free throw shooters in the country, ranking 221st (74.3 percent), converting 81 of her 109 attempts at the line.
Carra, a history education major at the University, leads Delaware in three pointers made and attempted, hitting 46 on 131 tries. She is currently second on the team and eighth in the conference in three-point percentage (35.1). On two occasions this season, Carra surpassed the 20-point mark, doing so in back-to-back games. She set a career mark for points in a game when she dropped 29 on Hofstra in the Hens’ 16-point come-from-behind victory in the CAA opener on January 2. Carra was stunning from the charity stripe against the Pride, going 14-of-15 in the win. The following game, she posted a 20-point effort against the Huskies of Northeastern in Boston on Jan. 6.
Four Blue Hen student-athletes landed on the conference’s All-Academic honor rolls as well. Delle Donne, an early childhood education major, earned her second academic nod this season. She was named to the league’s All-Academic first team for the second consecutive season. In mid-February, Delle Donne was named to the Capital One/CoSIDA District II All-Academic second team.
Named honorable mention, McLean earned her second All-Academic team plaudits since coming to Delaware. The sport management major was named to the All-Academic second team last season. The Pittsburgh, Pa. native played in 25 games this season, coming up with 15 steals while handing out 16 assists.
Miller joins McLean on the All-Academic honorable mention list, earning her second academic honors as well. After transferring to Delaware prior to last season, the exercise physiology major was selected to the second team last season. She has missed this season following back surgery to repair a herniated disk in early November.
A sophomore, Craig earned her second All-Academic honors, being named honorable mention for the second consecutive season. In 2010-11, Craig, who hails from Wooton, Md., logged time in seven games for the Hens this season. She tallied her first career points against Alcorn State in the Hens’ 76-36 victory at the Hilton Garden Inn Hokie Classic on Dec. 30.
AGATE:
2011 CAA Player of the Year: Dawn Evans, James Madison
2011 CAA Coach of the Year: Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, UNC Wilmington
2011 Rookie of the Year: Alisha Andrews, UNC Wilmington
2011 Defensive Player of the Year: Jasmine Parker, Old Dominion
2011 Dean Ehlers Leadership Award: Lindsey Moller, William & Mary
All-CAA First Team
Brittany Blackwell, UNC Wilmington
Elena Delle Donne, Delaware
Dawn Evans, James Madison
Shante Evans, Hofstra
Courtney Hurt, VCU
All-CAA Second Team
Andrea Barbour, VCU
Lauren Jimenez, James Madison
Kamile Nacickaite, Drexel
Jasmine Parker, Old Dominion
Martha White UNC Wilmington
All-CAA Third Team
Lauren Carra, Delaware
Chan Harris, Georgia State
Tia Lewis, Old Dominion,
Taysha Pye, William & Mary
Jasmina Roseel, Drexel
All-Rookie Team
Alisha Andrews, UNC Wilmington
Jacqueline Brewer, VCU
Kendra Long, Georgia State
Kate Loper, Hofstra
Kaitlyn Mathieu, William & Mary
All-Defensive Team
Alisha Andrews, UNC Wilmington
Brittany Blackwell, UNC Wilmington
Candace Bond, Hofstra
Jasmine Parker, Old Dominion
Martha White, UNC Wilmington
All-Academic First Team
Elena Delle Donne, Delaware
Denna Kerkhof, Northeastern
Angelee LaTouche, George Mason
Jaclyn McKenna, William & Mary
Cody Paulk, Georgia State
All-Academic Second Team
Candice Bellocchio, Hofstra
Nicole Capurso, Hofstra
Marisa Crane, Drexel
Courtney Hurt, VCU
Lauren Whitehurst, James Madison
All-Academic Honor Mention
Brittany Blackwell, UNC Wilmington
Mari Buchan, Old Dominion
Jessica Cohen, UNC Wilmington
Chelsea Craig, Delaware
Brittany Eley, George Mason
Dani Iervolino, Northeastern
Mia Mayberry, Northeastern
MegHan McLean, Delaware
Kayla Miller, Delaware
Lindsey Moller, William & Mary
Victoria Naylor, Towson
Jasmina Rosseel, Drexel
Jalissa Taylor, James Madison
Aamira Terry, Hofstra
Isoken Terry, Hofstra
Taylor Wootton, Drexel
