NEWARK, DE -- The University of Delaware women's basketball team has earned the No. 9 seed in next week's Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, which the Hens will host at the Bob Carpenter Center from March 13-16. UD, coming off a 58-55 loss at Towson in its regular-season finale, will face eighth-seeded UNC Wilmington in the first round on Thursday at 5 p.m.

Delaware went 7-23 overall this season and finished CAA play at 6-12, good for ninth in the league. The 16-13 Seahawks finished just a game ahead of UD in the conference standings, posting a 7-11 mark to tie for seventh place.

The teams last met on Jan. 17 in Newark, where UNCW scored a 58-50 victory on the strength of 15 points from guard Greta Luksyte and a 14-point, 10-rebound effort by guard Sahsha Taylor. Senior guard Kyle DeHaven (at right) and sophomore forward Sha'Ron Harrison led the way for Delaware with 14 points apiece. The Seahawks shot .556 from the floor and overcame 23 turnovers to notch the win, while UD went just 16-for-55 (.291) from the floor.

The Hens have shined in the CAA Tournament, reaching at least the semifinals all six years since they entered the league in 2001-02. Last season, Delaware advanced to the semifinals before falling to James Madison 67-56 at the BCC. UD's No. 9 seed this year, however, is its lowest ever.

DeHaven leads the Blue Hens in scoring (10.5 ppg), steals (4.6 spg), and assists (3.6 apg). She is the national leader in steals (128) and steals per game (4.6). The Seahawks are paced by freshman forward Brittany Blackwell, who ranks fourth in the league in scoring (14.3 ppg), seventh in rebounds (7.7 ppg), and third in field goal percentage (.509).

The Blue Hens are 5-2 all-time versus UNC Wilmington at the Bob Carpenter Center.

Thursday's other first-round games include No. 7 seed William & Mary facing No. 10 seed Georgia State at noon, No. 6 seed Northeastern taking on 11th-seeded George Mason at 2:30 p.m., and No. 5 seed Towson squaring off with No. 12 seed Hofstra at 7:30 p.m.

The winner of the Delaware-UNC Wilmington game will take on top-seeded Old Dominion in the quarterfinals on Friday at 5 p.m., while No. 2 seed James Madison will face the winner of the Williams & Mary-Georgia State game at noon. Third-seeded VCU will meet the winner of the Northeastern-George Mason game at 2:30 p.m., and No. 4 seed Drexel will take on the winner of the Towson-Hofstra game at 7:30 p.m.

The tournament semifinals will be held Saturday at noon and 2:30 p.m., with the final on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. All games will be held at the Bob Carpenter Center.

Old Dominion, ranked No. 16 in the nation in the latest Associated Press poll, has won 16 consecutive CAA titles dating back to 1992.

All 11 tournament games will be available via various multimedia platforms. Thursday's first-round games and Friday's quarterfinal contests will be webstreamed on caasports.com. Both of Saturday's semifinal games will be televised by CN8 and other CAA television affiliates. The semifinals can also be viewed on the internet at www.cn8.tv. Comcast Sports Net will televise the CAA championship game on Sunday afternoon. Visit www.caasports.com throughout the week for updated television listings.

Tickets can be purchased through the box office of your favorite CAA school by calling the University of Delaware box office at 302-831-2257 or by logging on to www.ticketmaster.com.

2008 CAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Schedule

Thursday, March 13 - First Round
Game 1: #7 William & Mary vs. #10 Georgia State - Noon
Game 2: #6 Northeastern vs. #11 George Mason- 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: #8 UNC Wilmington vs. #9 Delaware - 5 p.m.
Game 4: #5 Towson vs. #12 Hofstra - 7:30 p.m.

Friday, March 14 - Quarterfinals
Game 5: #2 James Madison vs. William & Mary/Georgia State winner - Noon
Game 6: #3 VCU vs. Northeastern/George Mason winner - 2:30 p.m.
Game 7: #1 Old Dominion vs. UNC Wilmington/Delaware winner - 5 p.m.
Game 8: #4 Drexel vs. Towson/Hofstra winner - 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 15 - Semifinals
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner - Noon
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner - 2:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 16 - Championship
Game 11: CAA Championship Game - Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner - 12:30 p.m.

CAA Women's Basketball Championship Web Site
CAA Women's Basketball Championship Bracket