The University of Delaware is on to the second round of the NCAA Women's basketball tournament for a second straight year.
The Blue Hens handled West Virginia 66-53 in front 4,532 fans on their home floor at the Bob Carpenter Center.
[audio:http://www.wdde.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/fans.mp3|titles= Listen to UD players Elena Delle Donne, Danielle Parker and Kelsey Buchanan discuss the crowd's impact on Sunday's NCAA tournament win.]
“To win a game like this in front of our home crowd, which was electric. I knew the crowd would be electric and they were. There no other way I can describe it other than I am totally thrilled right now," said UD head coach Tina Martin.
The 15th ranked Hens overcame a lackluster first half to beat the Mountaineers. Delaware trailed 33-26 at halftime, but dominated the second 20 minutes after switching to a bigger line-up and a zone defense. The Blue Hens held the Mountaineers' without a field goal for the first 7:47 of the second half to move in front by three. They followed with an 11-4 run to extend their lead to 9 with under 7:30 to play. West Virginia would never get closer than 6 points the rest of the way.
Elena Delle Donne lead UD with a game high 33 points, 20 coming during the Hens’ second half surge.
“When coach switched the defense, I had a lot of confidence that was going to help us. I was able to more of a guard spot. So I was able to get away from their players a little bit, instead of banging around with them inside," said Delle Donne. "So, I think getting out a playing the guard was helpful and like coach said I was able to elevate and shoot over people.”
[caption id="attachment_27314" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Elena Delle Donne and Lauren Carra begin to celebrate as they close out their win over West Virginia. (Click to enlarge)"]
Delle Donne also had 7 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
UD also got a major boost from the play of center Kelsey Buchanan off the bench. As part of the Blue Hens' move to a bigger line-up and a zone defense, the 6-3 junior matched her career-high with 10 points and added 5 rebounds in a season-high 29 .
"[Buchanan] came to play today," said Martin. "I told [assistant coach Jeanine] Radice don't take her off the floor. She was really really to play today mentally and her size and our big front line really posed some problem for West Virginia."
Buchanan, who averaged just 8.2 minutes of action per game during the season, says she was ready when the opportunity came to contribute significant minutes.
"[I felt] pretty confident. I was just really prepared to go in when I got time and do the best I could," said Buchanan. "I always play a lot better when I get momentum and get going. So, I felt a lot more comfortable in the second [when I played more].
And Delaware's biggest concern entering the game - dealing with the Mountaineers' pressing defense - was never a factor. When West Virginia did press, the Hens handled it well. UD committed just 9 turnovers in the game, while West Virginia had 17.
Delaware also out-rebounded 36-33 for the game, after being down in that category 21-15 after the first half.
Guard Trumae Lucas says, despite the sluggish start, the senior laden Hens' confidence never wavered.
"There was never a moment where we were like 'Dang, what's going to happen now.' We were still motivated to come out in the second half and do what we did," said Lucas.
Delaware’s school record win streak is now at 26. The 31-3 Hens try to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history with a win Tuesday against 13th ranked North Carolina in Newark. UNC edged Albany 59-54 in its first round game at the Bob Sunday.