Nick Wass/Associated PressLauren Carra of Delaware going to the basket against Myeisha Hall of Old Dominion on Friday.UPPER MARLBORO, Md.- The University of Delaware women's basketball team completed what head coach Tina Martin calls stage two of their season goals on Sunday. The Hens won the Colonial Athletic Association conference tournament for the first time in school history.
The first accomplishment the team checked off the list was having the best C.A.A. record and going undefeated in the conference. Martin credits team effort and chemistry to the success.
"You don't go 21-0, and win the regular season, and win the conference tournament, unless you are a team," said Martin, the C.A.A. Coach of the Year. "This finally answers all of those questions."
The conference tournament began for Delaware Friday when they faced eighth-seeded Old Dominion in the quarterfinal matchup. Despite not having played for nine days, Delaware blew out ODU 74-54, knocking the Monarchs out of the tournament.
Junior Elena Delle Donne led the team with a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds. Three other players scored double figures. Trumae Lucas had 14, and junior Lauren Carra and senior Jocelyn Bailey scored 12 each.
On Saturday, the team tacked on another win against fifth-seeded University of North Carolina Wilmington 66-39. Delaware sent the Seahawks home for a second year in a row.
Martin used 14 of her players. Sophomore Kelsey Buchanan scored a career-high 10 points off the bench, while junior Akeema Richards scored 13, and Delle Donne had 15. Junior Kayla Miller also had a game-high four assists.
Buchanan showed her improvement during the game by rebounding and running the floor, Martin said.
"KB, as we call her, is the most soft-spoken, sweetest kid you ever want to meet in your life," Martin said. "That is a good thing in life, but it's a bad thing sometimes on the basketball court…she is starting to show that toughness that I want from her."
Defeating the Drexel Dragons in a physical game marked the 20th straight win for the Hens. Delle Donne, the Tournament Most Outstanding Player, helped her team to make that happen with a game-high 27 points and 10 rebounds.
Carra, who scored 14, and Richards, who pulled a game-high 11 rebounds, also took home All-Tournament awards.
Carra said the team became C.A.A champs through hard work.
"I mean, we were up at 6 a.m. in the summer, we were on the track," Carra said. "We were doing so many things, and that all paid off for us today."
The next step of the mission, as Martin called it, is to win a game in the N.C.A.A. Tournament, which is something the Hens have never done. She said the hardest part will be the scramble to get film and learn about the team they will be playing.
But, she said, her team has an advantage because they just won a conference tournament championship.
"I think this team is battle tested; they've taken a lot this year, all different defenses," Martin said.
Kerry Bowden covers Blue Hen sports for The Review at the University of Delaware.
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