Vol. 20, No. 12 |
March 15, 2001 |
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Women's basketball heads to NCAA tourney Friday The University of Delaware women's basketball squad, fresh off its 69-64 overtime victory over Vermont in the America East championship game Saturday, will make its NCAA Tournament debut Friday, March 16, against host North Carolina State. The Blue Hens, who set a school record for wins in a season with a mark of 26-4 this season under fifth-year head coach Tina Martin, will be one of four teams gathered in Raleigh, N.C., as part of the East Regional at Reynolds Coliseum. No. 5 seed Villanova (21-8) will take on No. 12 seed Drake (23-6) in the first game Friday evening at 5 p.m., followed by No. 13 Delaware taking on No. 4 seed and 18th ranked North Carolina State (20-10) at 7:30 p.m. The winners will advance to Saturday's game with that winner moving on to Pittsburgh for the NCAA Regionals beginning March 30. Tickets for the doubleheader went on sale Wednesday, March 14, on a first-come, first-serve basis at the Delaware ticket office The Hens won their first ever America East title and first league title of any kind since capturing the East Coast Conference crown in 1991. Senior guard Cindy Johnson was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player as she scored 18 points in the championship game victory over host Vermont. It was Delaware's first-ever win against Vermont in Patrick Gym in 13 tries. The Blue Hens are led by Johnson, a two-time first team All-America East guard who averages 17.2 points per game and is the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,655 points. Junior forward Christina Rible, a first team All-America East selection, averages 12.7 points per game and set a school record with 318 rebounds this season. Her 10.6 rebounds per game leads America East and ranks among the top 20 in NCAA Division I. Senior forward Danielle Leyfert, a three-time second team America East all-star, chips in with 11.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, while junior point guard Megan Dellegrotti averages 10.1 points per game and is the team's top three-point threat with 49 made. North Carolina State, an at-large selection from the Atlantic Coast Conference, will be making its 16th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Hens are one of 10 schools making their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Coach of the year UD's women's basketball team was well represented on the all-conference teams announced at the America East league banquet March 6.
The awards, selected from a vote of the 10 league coaches, were presented at the America East Women's Basketball Awards banquet at the University of Vermont, site of the 2001 tournament at Patrick Gymnasium. Martin, a 1986 graduate of Lock Haven, becomes the first UD head coach to win league Coach of the Year honors since Joyce Perry won the award for the second time in the East Coast Conference in 1989. Delaware set school records for consecutive wins (17), consecutive regular season conference wins (24) and consecutive home wins (19). In addition, the Hens' 23 wins ties the school record set by the 1988-89 squad which went 23-6 and won the East Coast Conference title. Photo by KATHY FLICKINGER |
in Delaware Field House. The game will be broadcast live on the Blue Hen Radio Network on WJBR 1290 AM and WDOV 1410 AM and on the University of Delaware student station WVUD 91.3 FM. No television broadcast is scheduled at this time.
Fifth-year head coach Tina Martin, who led the team to its best regular season finish in school history, was named America East Coach of the Year, while senior guard Cindy Johnson and junior forward Christina Rible were named first team all-conference and senior forward Danielle Leyfert was named second team all-conference.