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UD women’s basketball defeats James Madison
8:20 a.m., Feb. 23, 2007--The University of Delaware women's basketball team won a key game Thursday night, defeating Colonial Athletic Association frontrunner James Madison University 77-67 before 3,005 fans at the Bob Carpenter Center. James Madison came into the contest on a 16-game winning streak and ranked No. 22 in the most recent Associated Press poll. The Dukes earlier had defeated the Fightin' Blue Hens 73-65 in Harrisonburg, Va. In the game, James Madison jumped out to an early lead at 7-2 but the Hens responded with a 12-0 run powered by seniors Tyresa Smith and Chrissy Fisher. UD took a 38-31 lead into the half and extended that lead to 47-34 early in the second half. With Smith scoring 20 points in the second half, and a career high 32 for the game, the Hens were able to hold off the Dukes for the win. Fisher scored 22 points and had nine rebounds and guard Kyle DeHaven had 10 points and six assists. “Our kids really came to play and our crowd was incredible,” UD Head Coach Tina Martin said. “Beating a nationally ranked opponent is great and I'm very happy for our kids. Everything we wanted to do game plan-wise, we did. We executed and we shared the ball.” Martin had particular praise for Smith. “Tyresa is the best guard to ever put on a Delaware uniform. Period. She is an incredible athlete and more importantly a great kid. She does everything for this team,” she said. Smith is the CAA's leading scorer at 19.5 points per game and is an All-America candidate. Against James Madison, she hit on 10 of 19 shots from the field, drained 12 of 15 free throws, and also pulled down nine rebounds. She reached the 20-point plateau for the seventh straight game, the longest streak for a UD player since Lori Howard scored more than 20 in eight straight in 1979-80, and set a new school single season point record with 538, breaking the previous record of 520 set by Cindy Johnson in 2000-01. With the victory, UD improved to 23-4 overall and 14-2 in the conference, where the Hens stand in third place. James Madison fell to 24-3 overall and 15-1 in the conference, still good for first place. Old Dominion University is in second place at 18-8 overall and 14-1 in the conference, with their lone loss to the Dukes. The Hens have just two regular season games remaining. They will remain at home to face Drexel University at 1 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 25, at the Bob Carpenter Center and then will close on the road at Northeastern University at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 1. UD will host the CAA championship tournament, which will be played March 8-11 at the Bob Carpenter Center. |
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