For University of Delaware Head Coach Tina Martin, excellence is the expectation, and the 2006-07 women’s basketball season did not disappoint. Despite playing their most ambitious schedule in history, the Fightin’ Blue Hens secured their seventh 20-win season in the last eight, were again among the elite teams in the ferocious Colonial Athletic Association and earned an invitation to the NCAA Division I national championship tournament.

The Fightin’ Blue Hens were one of three CAA teams in the tournament, joining champion Old Dominion University and runner-up James Madison University. The Hens had a tough opening round match, taking on Michigan State University of the Big Ten Conference on its home court.

The Hens fell 69-58 to Michigan State but put up a lively fight, particularly in the first half. UD led until late in the half and ultimately trailed by just five points at the break. In the end, the Hens had difficulty overcoming a serious size disadvantage as the Spartans’ center was 6-foot, 9-inch Allyssa DeHaan, who finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots.

“Our inability to hit shots tonight hurt us in this game,” Martin says of the loss. “Their rebounding and size difference wore us down; however our kids really competed tonight. Our three seniors did a tremendous job of leading us. It’s one of the best teams we have ever had. I’m really proud of the progress we have made as a program. The fact that we went up against a Big Ten school and pushed them to the limit says a lot.”

Throughout the season, UD was on the verge of breaking into the national top 25, earning votes consistently in both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN polls. That attention was built on victories over the likes of Villanova University of the Big East Conference and the nationally ranked University of Kentucky of the Southeastern Conference.

The Hens featured one of the premier players in the conference, senior guard Tyresa Smith, a first team All-CAA selection and the conference defensive player of the year. Smith led the conference in scoring, with 19.8 points per game, and was among the leaders in rebounding, with 7.5 per game.

The other two seniors for the Hens were forward Chrissy Fisher, who averaged 13.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, and veteran point guard Alena Koshansky, who had 106 assists and one of the best assists-to-turnover ratios in the nation.

Also making strong contributions were juniors Courtney Irving and transfer guard Kyle DeHaven, who gained a starting spot when Melissa Czorniewy’s season ended with a continuing back problem.

This was the first year UD hosted the CAA women’s championship tournament, and the Hens will be the host team again in 2008. The tournament had been held at the Patriot Center on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., for the past two seasons and before that was held at the Ted Constant Center on the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va.

“Delaware was selected from among several institutions that were interested,” CAA Commissioner Tom Yeager said in announcing the selection. “There is tremendous interest in women’s basketball in Delaware, and we know that the University will do an outstanding job of hosting our premier women’s championship.”

“This is exciting news for the University of Delaware,” UD Director of Athletics Edgar Johnson said. “We are proud that the CAA has chosen us to host this great event here at the Bob Carpenter Center. Since Delaware joined the CAA in 2001, we have observed the first-class job that Old Dominion and George Mason have done in hosting this event, and we are excited to continue that tradition.”