WBB Report - Jan. 28
CAA
4-1-1:
• Delaware is the last undefeated team in conference play at 6-0, while Drexel
and James Madison follow with 6-1 records. Hofstra follows with a 4-2 mark.
• Delaware's Elena Delle Donne was named to the John Wooden award mid-season
Top 20 List. She was the only non-BSC candidate listed.
• Hofstra's Shante Evans, who leads the nation in career double-doubles,
recently became the Pride's all-time scoring leader and previously this season
became the Pride's all-time rebounding leader. There are only two other active
women's players who are also their school's all-time scoring and rebounding
leader.
• Delaware returned to the AP Top 25 on Jan. 28 at No. 25. The Blue Hens
received votes in the USA Today/Coaches Poll last week. The Blue Hens were
picked No. 1 for the second consecutive week in the CollegeInsider.com's
Mid-Major Poll receiving 24 first-place votes.
• The 11 CAA teams have posted a 64-60 record in the season in non-conference
play.
• The most recent RPIRatings.com report posted that the CAA was ranked 14th
among the 33 conferences with Delaware ranked at 30 leading the CAA.
• The College of Charleston has accepted an invitation of membership to join
the CAA beginning July 2013.
• The CAA Women's Basketball Championship will return to the Show Place Arena
in Upper Marlboro, Maryland in 2013 for the third straight season (Mar. 14-17).
PLAYERS OF THE
WEEK:
Kirby Burkholder •
James Madison
Bridgewater,
Va./Turner Ashby, Jr., Guard/Forward
Burkholder
collected CAA Women's Basketball Player of the Week accolades after scoring a
team-best 24.0 points per game as the Dukes went 2-0 with wins over George
Mason and Hofstra last week. The junior exploded against the Pride with a
career-high 28 points on 8-13 shooting. She finished the week shooting 60.9
percent (14-23) from the floor, 72.7 percent (8-11) from long range and 85.7
percent (12-14) from the line for JMU. Burkholder also led the Dukes on the
glass pulling down 7.5 rebounds per game and added four assists and four steals
on the wee.
Elena Delle Donne •
Delaware
Wilmington,
Del./Ursuline, Sr., Guard/Forward
Delle Donne
received CAA Women's Basketball Player of the Week honors after averaging 25.0
points per game on strong 60.6 percent (20-33) shooting from the floor as the
Blue Hens remained unbeaten in conference play at 6-0. The senior added 7.0
rebounds per game to go along with five blocks, two assists and one steal in 65
minutes of action. Delle Donne also shot 55.6 percent (5-9) from beyond the arc
and went 5-7 from the free throw line.
Hollie Mershon •
Drexel
Malvern,
Pa./Archbishop Carroll, Sr., Guard
Mershon was awarded
CAA Women's Basketball Player of the Week honors after averaging 25.0 points
per game, including a career-high 33 points in the Dragons' win over
Northeastern. The senior shot 75.0 percent (12-16) from the floor against the
Huskies and went 4-5 from beyond the arc. Mershon led the Dragons on the boards
pulling down 6.5 rebounds per game, while dishing out a team-best 15 assists on
the week.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Precious Hall •
James Madison
Tallahassee,
Fla./Maclay School, Fr., Guard
Hall received CAA Women's Basketball Rookie of the Week
honors after assisting the Dukes to a 2-0 week while averaging 18.0 points per
game on 50.0 percent (12-24) shooting from the floor. The rookie scored a
career-high 20 points in JMU's win over George Mason and recorded a JMU
freshman record seven steals. Hall finished the week averaging 5.5 rebounds to
go along with three assists.
CAA AT NO. 14 IN RPI RANKING (Through Jan. 27): The CAA is ranked 14th among the
nation's 33 Division I conferences in women's basketball according to the RPI
report compiled by Collegiate Basketball News. Delaware jumped to No. 28 in the
team RPI ranking. Drexel (81) and James Madison (87) both joined UD in the Top
100, while Northeastern (134), Hofstra (140), and Old Dominion (142) round
out the CAA teams in the Top 200.
CAA IN THE TOP 25: The Delaware Blue Hens, who are now 15-3, returned to
the Associated Press Poll Top 25 for the first time since Nov. 12. They were
ranked at No. 25. The Blue Hens received votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll
for the first time since No. 19 on Jan. 21. Delaware opened the 2011-12 and
2010-11 seasons receiving votes in the AP Poll, but it was the first time in
program history that the Blue Hens were ranked in the preseason. The Blue Hens
were ranked in the AP Top 25 for 16 weeks during their record-setting season a
year ago. UD went undefeated (18-0) in league play and claimed the conference
tournament title in 2012. Delaware, which finished last season with a 31-2
record, climbed as high as seventh in the national rankings and advanced to the
NCAA Tournament Second Round following its first postseason win in school
history. All-American Elena Delle Donne recently returned after missing six
contests this season, as she had been sitting out during treatment for Lyme
Disease.
DELAWARE RANKED NO.
1 IN COLLEGEINSIDER.COM MID-MAJOR POLL; FOUR OTHERS RECEIVE VOTES:
Delaware improved to No. 1 in the CollegeInsider.com Jan. 22 edition of the
mid-major poll with 24 first-place votes. Drexel (51), Old Dominion (27), James
Madison (24) and Hofstra (12) received votes. The women's Mid-Major Top 25 is
comprised of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun,
Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Great West, Horizon, Independents, Ivy,
Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio
Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West
Coast Conferences.
AWAITING
A SPOT AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS: Delaware's Elena Delle
Donne is averaging 24.5 points per game. Delle Donne is not currently listed
among the CAA or national leaders, due to her six games missed earlier this
season, but if she plays every game and continues her stellar scoring she
should join the national leaders after the Feb. 14th game. To be ranked, a
player much appear in at least 75 percent of their team's games. Delle Donne
led the nation in 2011-12 scoring 28.1 points per game. In 2010-11, she
missed 11 games while being treated for Lyme Disease symptoms, but played in 22
contests scoring 25.3 ppg -- Oral Roberts' Kevi Luper led the nation in 10-11
averaging 23.7 ppg. Delle Donne ranked third nationally at the conclusion
of her rookie campaign after pouring in 26.7 points per game in 29 outings.
DELLE DONNE MAKES TOP 20 WOODEN AWARD MID-SEASON LIST: Delaware's Elena Delle Donne awas
named to the John R. Wooden Award Women's Mid-Season Top 20. The senior landed
herself on another prestigious honor list as the only non-BCS nominee listed.
Delle Donne averages 24.4 points and 9.3 rebounds for the Blue Hens, despite
sitting in six of her team's first seven games due to fatigue resulting from
issues related to Lyme disease. The Big East led all conferences with six
selections, followed by the ACC with four, the Big 12 and Big 10 with three
each, the SEC has two, the CAA and Pac-12 with one apiece.
HOFSTRA'S HISTORY BOOKS: Senior forward Shante Evans set the
program's all-time scoring record on Jan. 13 against George Mason and currently
has 1,900 career points. Evans, who is averaging a team-leading 16.9 points, is
on pace to be Hofstra's first 2,000-career point scorer. Evans became Hofstra's
all-time leading rebounder on Nov. 28 and currently has 1,170 rebounds and also
ranks in the CAA top 10. Entering this season, Evans has averaged over 330
rebounds per year during her career with the Pride. The CAA record is held by
James Madison's Meredith Alexis (2004-07) with 1,313 and Evans is on pace to
challenge Alexis' mark this season.
HIGH-NUMBERS: Hofstra's Shante Evans, who currently has 1,900 career
points and 1,170 career rebounds, ranks among some of the top current players
in the nation regarding her career numbers. Evans is third among players who
have passed 1,600 points and 1,000 rebounds, as Howard's Saadia Doyle (2085
pts, 1067 rbs) and Baylor's Brittney Griner (2833 pts, 1119 rbs) rank higher
than her. Evans ranks at #50 among the all-time list currently with stats
dating back to 1999-00 in the same category and if we shorten the list to 1,900
points and 1,100 rebounds all-time Evans ranks at #34 among stats dating back
to 1999-00.
DOUBLE-TROUBLE
ALL-TIME LEADERS: In addition to Hofstra's Shante Evans,
there are only two other active women's players who are also their school's
all-time scoring and rebounding leader. Sametria Gideon from Kennesaw State and
Alex Cowling are their program's all-time scoring and rebound leaders.
IN THE [CAA RECORD]
BOOKS: Shante Evans entered the CAA's top 10 list in career
scoring on Jan. 6 and most recently entered the CAA record books in field goals
made in a career on Jan. 20. Delaware's Elena Delle Donne jumped into the CAA's
top 10 list in free throws attempted, while Georgia State's Cody Paulk entered
the league's top 10 list in blocked shots during the week ending Dec. 30. On
the first weekend of the 2012-13 season the league had two women's basketball
players crack the CAA all-time record books -- JMU's Kirby Burkholder sank
seven three pointers against Virginia, while William & Mary's Emily Correal
grabbed 21 rebounds against East Carolina. Kirby's seven trey's ranks her tied
for ninth in the CAA record books, while Correal's 21 rebounds is tied for
fifth for rebounds in a single game. Hofstra's Shante Evans jumped into the CAA
record books in career rebounds on Nov. 28th.
REACHING THE
MILESTONE - 1,000 CAREER POINTS: Northeastern's Deanna
Kerkhof is the 15th player in Northeastern's program to reach 1,000 career
points as she passed the milestone on Jan. 24 with a three-pointer in the
contest against Drexel. Drexel's Hollie Mershon became the Dragon's 20th player
in program history to reach 1,000 career points on Dec. 21 after pouring in a
team-high 23 points. Delaware's Lauren Carra reached 1,000 career points as she tallied 16 against nationally-ranked Maryland
on Dec. 20. Carra became the 23rd Blue Hens to reach the plateau. William
& Mary's Emily Correal poured in a career-high 28 points against
Radford on Dec. 8th and in the same outing became the Tribe's 17th WBB player
to reach 1,000 career points. George Mason's Amber Easter and William &
Mary's Janine Aldridge have scored their 1,000th career points this season.