FAIRFAX, VA - Sophomore guard Tyresa Smith (Dover, DE/Polytech) scored
a game-high 14 points and dished out a career-best seven assists to lead
a balanced Blue Hen effort as the top-seeded University of Delaware
women’s basketball team cruised to a 71-56 victory over eighth-seeded Virginia Commonwealth in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament
Quarterfinals Thursday afternoon at the Patriot Center on the campus of George Mason University.
Senior Tiffany Young (Fairfax, VA/Fairfax) came off the bench to added
13 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, while sophomore guard Alena
Koshansky(Fairfax, VA/Chantilly) and senior guard Julie Sailer(Washington Crossing, PA/Council Rock) each scored 11 points and senior forward Tiara Malcom (Wilmington, DE/Caravel Academy) chipped in 10 as the Blue Hens improved to 24-4 on the season. Delaware, which has posted the second-most wins in a single season in school history behind only the 26-5 mark set by the 2000-01 team, will face the winner of Thursday’s second quarterfinal between No. 4 seed James Madison and No. 5 seed Towson in the first semifinal Friday at 5 p.m.
The Rams, who had defeated the Blue Hens, 68-65, in the teams’ second
regular season meeting at the Carpenter Center on February 13, ended their season with an 11-18 mark.
After Lauren Hogan scored the game’s first basket for VCU, Delaware
took control early by scoring nine straight points to take a seven-point lead at the 15:28 mark of the first half. After the Rams got within 15-9 on a lay-up by Hogan with 12:36 remaining, Delaware exploded on a 13-0 run to go up 28-9 with 7:04 left when junior guard Amanda Blackstone (Schenectady, NY/Mohonasen) hit a free throw.
Virginia Commonwealth closed within 32-16, but Koshansky drained a
three-pointer, Sailer converted a lay-up, and junior center Arek Deng
(London, England/Blair Academy) hit a lay-up to give the Blue Hens their largest lead of the half before Vera Chistova scored with two seconds on the clock to cut the Delaware advantage to 39-18 at the break.
The Blue Hens continuted to dominate early in the second half, scoring
six of the first eight points to extend their lead to 45-20 with 15:46 left when sophomore guard Liz Hayes (Easton, PA/Easton) buried a three-pointer. The lead grew to 26 when Sailer hit a free throw to make it 52-26 with 13:04 remaining before the Rams started to chip away. VCU slowly cut into the margin and eventually got within 63-51 when LaKea Jones nailed a three-pointer at the 3:29 mark, but Delaware responded with an 8-1 spurt to put the game out of reach. "I thought we came out strong and played our game,” Delaware ninth-year head coach Tina Martin said. “We felt with VCU’s game yesterday, we would have to
come out and play our game. It was a solid win in the opening round. We
moved the ball very well and attacked early. I'm really big on shot selection and we took very good high percentage shots today.”
In addition to leading the Blue Hens in points and assists, Smith
pulled down six rebounds and had three steals to give her a UD single-season record 92 this year, eclipsing Denise Wojciech’s previous mark of 91 set in the 1994-95 season. Malcom, who was named the CAA Player of the Year on Tuesday, added a game-high seven rebounds and dished out six assists, while Sailer went 5-of-7 from the field and Koshansky was 3-of-4 from behind the arc.
Delaware shot 48.1 (26-54) percent from the field while holding Virginia
Commonwealth to just 29.2 (19-65) percent shooting, as the Rams went
just 2-of-16 from three-point range. The Blue Hens, who have won 13 straight games away from the Carpenter Center, also hit 15-of-21 free throw attempts and dished out a season-high 22 assists.
AGATE:
VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH (11-18)
Giovannetti, 2-6 2-2 7, Hogan, 4-14 3-6 11, Cesnaviciute, 0-2 3-4 3,
Cosel,
1-9 0-0 2, Jones, 4-10 0-0 9, Evans, 1-9 2-2 4, Vaughn, 2-2 1-2 5,
Chistova,
3-7 4-4 10, Smith, 1-1 0-0 2, Pinkney, 1-5 1-2, 3, Totals, 19-65 16-22
56.
DELAWARE (24-4)
Sailer, 5-7 1-1 11, Malcom, 4-11 2-3 10, Koshansky, 3-5 2-2 11,
Smith, 4-7 6-8
14, Blackstone, 3-7 1-2 7, Livingston, 0-1 0-0 0, Czorniewy, 0-2 0-0 0,
Hayes,
1-1 0-0 3, Young, 5-7 3-5 13, Irving, 0-2 0-0 0, Deng, 1-4 0-0 2,
Totals, 26-54
15-21 71.
Halftime Score: Delaware 39, Virginia Commonwealth 18; Three-Point
Field Goals:
VCU - 2-16 (Giovannetti, 1-2, Cosel, 0-2, Jones, 1-4, Evans, 0-6,
Chistova,
0-2), UD - 4-6 (Koshansky, 3-4, Livingston, 0-1, Hayes, 1-1); Rebounds:
VCU -
41 (Hogan, 9), UD - 37 (Malcom, 7); Assists: VCU - 9 (Giovannetti, 3),
UD - 22
(Smith, 7); Total Fouls: VCU - 19, UD - 17.