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| UD women's basketball downs St. John's for first win |
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10:05 p.m., Dec. 5, 2002--Senior guard Allison Trapp scored a season-high 24 points as the University of Delaware women’s basketball team picked up its first victory of the year with a 63-47 non-league win over St. John's Wednesday night, Dec. 4, at the Bob Carpenter Sports/Convocation Center.
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| Allison Trapp |
Delaware (1-3) got 16 points and a game-high 11 rebounds from sophomore forward Julie Sailer, 10 points and 10 rebounds from sophomore forward Tiara Malcom and six points and 10 rebounds from senior center Christine Cole. The Blue Hens dominated the boards with a 51-25 rebounding advantage.
Delaware captured its home opener and extended its home winning streak against non-league opponents to 16 games since the 1997-98 season. The game was the first meeting between the two schools in women’s basketball.
St. John's, which shot just 28.8 percent from the field (15 of 52) and committed 23 fouls for the game, dropped to 3-3 despite 14 points and five rebounds from guard Shemika Stevens and 11 points from forward Crystal Andrews.
“We really needed this win,” Delaware Head Coach Tina Martin, who was previously 15-4 against St. John's while an assistant coach at Seton Hall, said. “We went after loose balls and defended this floor like it was our best friend. We weren’t going to let anyone come in here and steal a win.”
Delaware, which had just seven players see game action, took the lead in the opening minutes and never trailed in posting the double-figure victory. The Hens led by as many as 11 points in the first half before settling for a 27-20 halftime lead. The Hens held St. John's to just 24 percent shooting from the field (6 of 25) in the opening stanza to jump out to the lead.
The Red Storm never got the lead in the second half but stayed close, pulling to within six points at 46-40 with 7:02 remaining on a three-pointer by guard Reka Szavuly.
But the Hens took control from there, outscoring St. John’s 12-2 over the next four minutes to go up 58-42 with 3:30 left. St. John’s turned the ball over twice and missed three straight free throws during the run as Delaware took over. Five different UD players scored during the pivotal stretch.
Trapp scored 15 of her 24 points in the second half and nailed eight of 10 free throws, falling just two points shy of her career-high of 26 points scored against St. Francis (Pa.) during the 2000-01 season. Sailer also connected on eight of 11 free throws as the Hens held a 19-11 advantage at the foul line.
The game was the first of a three-game homestand. UD will next face Bucknell University at 1 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 8, and Marist at 2 p.m., Monday, Dec. 23.
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