First State basketball fans sold out the Carpenter Center Tuesday night to see Elena Delle Donne’s return to Delaware
The University of Delaware alum and last season's WNBA Rookie of the Year led her Chicago Sky to a 76-69 win over the Washington Mystics in a special WNBA preseason match-up.
The crowd gave Delle Donne a standing ovation when she took the court for the first time in over a year and erupted when she scored the game’s first basket.
[caption id="attachment_61462" align="alignright" width="300"]
The Sky dominated the first half, but the Mystics rallied in the 3rd quarter and the two teams exchanged the lead 8 times before Chicago was able to put the game away late
Delle Donne led the way with a game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds. Chicago guard Courtney Vandersloot added 15 points.
Delle Donne said she got chills walking back on to her collegiate home court where her last appearance was a win that sent the Blue Hens to their first ever NCAA Sweet 16 just over a year ago.
“These fans are incredible, nobody can match them," said Delle Donne. "I’m seeing faces that I saw in 8th grade so it’s incredible that they’ve been following me this long. To be able to come back and play in front of them to kick off the season, there’s nothing better than that.”
Chicago Sky coach Pokey Chatman said that she was amazed by the crowd of 5,500 fans who came to support Delle Donne and the Sky.
“This even exceeded what I thought it would be in terms of a preseason game," said Chatman. "It’s not coach speak, I’m not overstating the obvious, but the minute we planted the seed to come here everyone has just been so welcoming. It’s just nice to see everything come to fruition.”
Chatman added that while there is plenty of work to be done, she was pleased that the Sky managed to get 16 offensive rebounds en route to the win.
"Everything else - timing, chemistry, players playing together - we can work with. But I like winning the greedy parts of play. That's a positive that we will take away from here."
Tuesday’s win allowed the Sky to finish their preseason with a 2-1 record.
Delle Donne and the Chicago Sky begin their 2014 regular season on Friday with a home game versus the Indiana Fever.
