Second-straight upset leaves Hens one win away from NCAA berth

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. – Elena Delle Donne is used to wowing fans and opposing players with her offense. Saturday afternoon she did plenty of that, scoring a game-high 29 points.

But it was her defense that stole the show.

Less than 24 hours after a monumental upset over second-seed Old Dominion, seventh-seeded Delaware (20-12) earned another upset against third-seeded UNC Wilmington (23-8) 62-47 in the CAA tournament semifinals.

Delle Donne had a career-high seven blocks. The team had 11 total, tying the tournament record.

The Hens are one win away from an NCAA tournament berth. A week ago, that seemed nearly impossible, but now the Hens will meet first-seed James Madison (25-7) in the CAA final Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

"As I told my team in the locker room, we are where we belong," Delaware head coach Tina Martin said. "That's in the championship game."

Delle Donne, who missed the Hens' only meeting against UNCW this year while being treated for symptoms of Lyme disease, made an impact on every single part of the stat sheet. She earned her second straight double-double with 10 rebounds and dished out four assists.

Her 6-5 frame caused trouble all day for the Seahawks' shorter guards. UNCW shot a season-low 27 percent from the field.

"We knew we had to defend their posts because their posts are phenomenal," Delle Done said. "They're seniors; we've seen what they can do. Basically we came out with a lot of fire and knew what we had to do and executed that."

Offensively, Delle Donne could not be contained, even though she was doubled-teamed or tripled-teamed by the Seahawk defense for most of the game. Not even a bloody nose in the second half could stop Delle Donne's dominant performance on both sides of the ball.

When Delle Donne was on the bench for treatment or being swarmed by the defense her teammates filled the void. Jocelyn Bailey, still wearing a protective mask due to a nose injury she suffered Thursday against Northeastern, dropped 11 points and Sarah Acker grabbed eight rebounds.

"We did outstanding handling the physicality," sophomore forward Danielle Parker said of UNCW's defense.

For the third straight game, Delaware outrebounded its opponent. The Hens pulled down 41, the same number as they did Friday night. They have totaled more than 40 rebounds every game this tournament.

An 11-0 run in the latter stages of the first half set the Hens in motion. It was started with help from newly found spark plug Jaquetta May. For the second straight game, the sophomore guard came off the bench and provided instant offense. She scored 6 points, all coming within two minutes.

The Seahawks trimmed the deficit to 43-39 with 7:45 left in the game. But Delaware quickly reeled off a 10-0 run to keep UNCW at bay. Free throws within the final three minutes helped the Hens close the game out.

"We just need to transfer what we did today into tomorrow," Bailey said. "We need to come out with energy."

Delaware is the lowest seed to qualify for the CAA championship game since William & Mary did it as a seven seed in 1993.

The Hens have been to the final round twice in its CAA history, losing to Old Dominion both times. The first time was in 2003, 66-58, and the second was a heartbreaker in 2005, 78-74 in overtime.

The Hens hope to use the momentum they have accrued over the past three days to get their third-ever NCAA tournament bid.

"We are like a freight train right now," Martin said. "Those kids were so fired up in that locker room."

Standing in their way is defending champion James Madison. The Dukes overcame a tough VCU squad 67-57 Saturday afternoon. They are led by CAA Player of the Year Dawn Evans.

The Dukes were victorious the one time the two teams met this year, a 69-64 decision Feb. 20 in Newark.

If the Hens manage to pull off yet another upset, they will become the lowest seeded team everto win the championship.

"I think this team does have destiny," Martin said. "Right now, we're just trying to make history. We're trying to win this conference."