The University of Delaware women’s basketball team might be given little chance to win its opening game in the NCAA Tournament.
But that’s not how the 13th-seeded Blue Hens see it when they face No. 4 Maryland on Friday (approximately 5 p.m., ESPU) on the Terrapins home court.
UD is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013, but the Hens are 3-4 in their history in college basketball’s premier tournament, getting as far as the Sweet 16 in 2013 behind the brilliance of Elena Delle Donne.
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That history, of course, won’t help the current squad, but this group does have tournament experience.
Last season, the Hens made the Final Four of the WNIT, beating Fordham, Clemson and Villanova before losing to Rice in the semifinals.
The Hens returned four of five starters. That included two-time CAA Player of the Year Jasmine Dickey, who is third in the nation in scoring, averaging 25.1 points per game.
“I think we’re prepped, primed and ready for whoever,” UD coach Natasha Adair said.
Here is a look back at UD’s history in the NCAA Tournament:
No. 4 N.C. State 76, No. 13 Delaware 57
March 16, 2001, Raleigh, N.C.
Delaware hung tough in the first half of its first NCAA Tournament game in school history.
But N.C. State, playing on its home court, started the second half with a 7-0 run to take a 16-point lead, and the Hens never got closer than 14 after that.
When the game was over, former UD coach Tina Martin gathered her players under the basket as a tribute to departing seniors Cindy Johnson, who was the Hens’ all-time leading scorer at that time with 1,675 points, and Danielle Leyfert.
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Both had endured 9-19 and 6-21 seasons earlier in their careers.
“This is the best team in the history of Delaware women’s basketball,” Martin said. “And Cindy and Danielle established themselves as the standard. Everybody else who comes through our program … is going to be compared to (them).”
No. 5 Michigan St. 69, No. 12 Delaware 58
March 18, 2007, East Lansing, Michigan
This served as a finale for Tyresa Smith, who starred at Polytech before coming to UD. She led the Hens with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and finished her career second (at the time) on UD’s all-time scoring list with 1,635 points.
UD shot just 29.7% from the field and 3-for-15 from 3-point range as they struggled with Michigan State’s 6-foot-9 center Allyssa DeHaan, who blocked 6 shots.
No. 3 Delaware 73, No. 14 Arkansas-Little Rock 42
March 18, 2012, Little Rock, Arkansas
UD got its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory behind Elena Delle Donne’s 39 points and 11 rebounds.
When Delle Donne left the game for good with 9 minutes remaining, she had outscored the Trojans by herself, 39-30.
It was UD’s 21st straight victory as they improved to 31-1. After the game, Delle Donne received a congratulatory tweet from NBA star Kevin Durant.
“I think our team definitely did a great job of introducing ourselves to the country,” Delle Donne said.
No. 6 Kansas 70, No. 3 Delaware 64
March 20, 2012, Little Rock, Arkansas
Delle Donne had 34 points, but the defense couldn’t stop the Jayhawks, who shot 60.7% and opened the second half with a 13-0 run to take a 10-point lead.
Delle Donne still had one more year of eligibility remaining, and all five starters were returning for the 2012-13 season.
“I already started thinking about next year, you can trust me on that,” Martin said. “We will be back.”
They were, in a big way.
No. 6 Delaware 66, No. 11 West Virginia 53
March 24, 2013, Newark
For the first time ever, UD played an NCAA tournament game at the Bob Carpenter Center as the Hens served as one of the host schools for the first two rounds.
A sold-out crowd yelled and screamed as UD overcame a 7-point halftime deficit by scoring the first nine points of the second half to beat the Mountaineers. Delle Donne finished with 33 points.
“This was actually even better than I could have imagined,” Delle Donne said. “Our fans were absolutely crazy.”
No. 6 Delaware 78, No. 3 N. Carolina 69
March 26, 2013, Newark
Based on the seedings, UD’s win might have seemed like an upset. But the reality was the Hens weren’t going to be stopped on their homecourt, even by an ACC power like North Carolina.
A pregame pep talk from UD alum and then-Vice President Joe Biden didn’t hurt, either. Biden watched the game from the stands, along with 5,000 other fans.
They saw the Hens overcome a 10-point deficit in the second half to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history.
It was UD’s 27th straight win. Delle Donne led the way with 33 points and became the ninth player in NCAA women’s basketball history to score 3,000 points.
“I don’t think I wanted anything more than this win,” Delle Donne said about her last collegiate game at the Bob Carpenter Center.
No. 2 Kentucky 69, No. 6 Delaware 62
March 30, 2013, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Delle Donne came full circle for her final collegiate game by playing about an hour from UConn’s campus, where she began her collegiate career.
Delle Donne left UConn after a few days and transferred to Delaware to be closer to her family.
And fittingly, UConn was the top seed in the regional, awaiting the winner of the Hens’ game against No. 2 Kentucky.
But a UD-UConn matchup in the Elite Eight was not to be.
Still, the few thousand UConn fans in attendance were impressed by Delle Donne and the plucky Hens as they whittled a 16-point deficit down to 2 with 2:47 left.
UD couldn’t get any closer, and Delle Donne finished her career with 3,039 points, fifth all-time in NCAA women’s history.
That ended a two-year stretch in which UD went 42-0 in CAA play and 63-6 overall.
“Even as the days go on, we’ll be able to think back at what we’ve done and smile about it,” Delle Donne said.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.
