University of Delaware Women's Basketball: 2001- 2002 Schedule & Results

2 0 0 1 - 2 0 0 2

Women's National Invitation Tournament
George Washington 78, Delaware 71
March 13, 2002

Blue Hens Fall Just Short in First NIT Appearance;
Cap Another Outstanding Season

WASHINGTON, DC -- Forward Cathy Joens scored 23 points and forward Erica Lawrence came off the bench to sink 10 of 11 shots from the field for 23 of her own as George Washington University got past the University of Delaware 78-71 in a Women's National Invitation Tournament first round game Wednesday night at The Smith Center.

Delaware, making its second straight post-season appearance but its first in the WNIT, ended one of the finest seasons in school history as the Blue Hens posted a 23-7 record, the second highest win total in school history, and placed second in their initial season in the Colonial Athletic Association with a 15-3 mark.

Seniors Christina Rible and Megan Dellegrotti closed out stellar careers in solid fashion with Rible scoring 14 points and pulling seven rebounds (finishing her career No. 4 all-time at Delaware with 975) and Dellegrotti erupting for 22 points, including four three-pointers.

Freshman Tiara Malcom contributed 13 points and five rebounds off the bench for the Blue Hens. Delaware shot just 35 percent from the field in the second half (8 of 23) and just 38 percent for the game. GW held a 33-28 rebounding advantage and forced 18 turnovers.

George Washington (21-8), the Atlantic 10 regular season champion with a 15-1 mark before being upset by Xavier in the tournament opening round, used 53 percent shooting from the field, including a 12 of 20 mark in the second half, to advance to the second round where the Colonials will play at Virginia Tech Saturday night.

"We've played against a size disadvantage all season and that was obvious again tonight," said Delaware head coach Tina Martin, who will welcome back two starters and the team's top three reserves next season. "George Washington is an outstanding team with some wide bodies that we just could not contain tonight. I'm so proud of my team. We never gave up and battled hard. There was nothing to hang our heads about tonight. It was another outstanding season."

George Washington 6-4 sophomore center Ugo Oha was just one of many inside forces the Hens had to contend with as the All-Atlantic 10 center scored 18 points and pulled four rebounds while blocking two shots. Joens hit on 7 of 14 shots from the field and also added three rebounds and five assists and Lawrence chipped in with seven rebounds and seven steals. The 6-0 Lawrence averaged just 9.3 points per game during the season.

After falling behind 38-33 at the half, Delaware gave George Washington all it could handle in the second half before running out of gas. The Colonials led the entire second half, but did not go up by double digits until a Lawrence jumper put GW up 58-48 with 9:18 left to play.

But the Hens chipped away at the lead and cut the GW advantage to just three points at 60-57 after freshman Julie Sailer capped a 7-0 run with two free throws with 6:20 left. Delaware still trailed by just four points two minutes later at 64-60 before George Washington made its final run. Joens followed with a jumper and the Hens then missed five straight shots from the field, resulting in a 71-60 Colonial lead with 1:46 left to play.

By the time Christine Cole converted a follow and Dellegrotti nailed a three-pointer, it was too late. George Washington iced the win by converting on seven free throws in the final 76 seconds of play.

AGATE:

Official Basketball Box Score

Official Basketball Box Score U. of Delaware vs George Washington Univ. 3/13/02 7 p.m. at The Smith Center, Washington, DC -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: U. of Delaware 23-7 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 40 Rible, Christina.... f 5-13 0-1 4-6 3 4 7 2 14 5 0 0 0 35 43 Davis, Lindsay...... f 2-7 2-4 2-2 1 4 5 2 8 1 0 0 2 27 54 Cole, Christine..... c 1-3 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 3 2 0 1 0 2 15 03 Trapp, Allison...... g 2-9 1-2 0-0 3 2 5 5 5 0 5 0 2 29 11 Dellegrotti, Megan.. g 6-10 4-5 6-10 0 0 0 4 22 2 5 0 3 34 04 Timmins, Carrie..... 0-0 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 1 2 1 2 0 0 7 15 Sailer, Julie....... 0-1 0-0 5-7 0 1 1 3 5 1 2 0 0 22 33 Malcom, Tiara....... 2-4 0-0 9-10 1 4 5 1 13 1 2 0 0 28 50 Howell, Tracey...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3 TEAM................ 1 1 Totals.............. 18-47 7-12 28-37 9 19 28 21 71 11 18 1 9 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-24 41.7% 2nd Half: 8-23 34.8% Game: 38.3% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4- 7 57.1% 2nd Half: 3- 5 60.0% Game: 58.3% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 9-10 90.0% 2nd Half: 19-27 70.4% Game: 75.7% 5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: George Washington Univ. 21-8 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 21 Montanana, Anna..... f 2-6 0-3 1-2 0 6 6 4 5 6 3 0 2 32 30 Darling, Alexis..... f 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 6 35 Oha, Ugo............ c 6-14 0-0 6-10 0 4 4 4 18 0 1 2 0 32 01 Joens, Cathy........ g 7-14 3-8 6-8 2 1 3 3 23 5 3 0 0 36 04 Dancause, Liz....... g 0-2 0-1 0-0 1 2 3 4 0 2 3 0 2 18 03 Lawrence, Erica..... 10-11 0-1 3-4 3 4 7 3 23 2 3 0 7 35 05 Witherspoon Marshei. 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 3 0 2 1 0 0 16 31 Outen Barlow, Greeba 3-6 0-1 2-2 1 2 3 3 8 3 3 0 3 25 TEAM................ 3 4 7 Totals.............. 28-53 3-14 19-28 10 23 33 25 78 20 17 2 14 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-33 48.5% 2nd Half: 12-20 60.0% Game: 52.8% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2- 9 22.2% 2nd Half: 1- 5 20.0% Game: 21.4% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 4- 6 66.7% 2nd Half: 15-22 68.2% Game: 67.9% 5,1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: John Morningstar, Angela Lewis, Janice Aliberti Technical fouls: U. of Delaware-None. George Washington Univ.-None. Attendance: 611 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total U. of Delaware................ 33 38 - 71 George Washington Univ........ 38 40 - 78
- DDD -