Courtni Green scored 22 points for Delaware on Thursday.
Blue Hens Beat Huskies, Head To Quarters
Eric Rhew
Boxscore | Championship Central
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. – Junior guard Courtni Green led four players in double figures with 22 points, including 13 in the second half, as seventh-seeded Delaware held off 10th-seeded Northeastern to earn a 73-61 victory in the first round of the 2015 CAA Women’s Basketball Championship at Show Place Arena on Thursday afternoon.
The Blue Hens, who snapped a five-game losing streak, improve to 14-16 and will advance to the quarterfinals on Friday afternoon to play second-seeded Drexel at 5:00 p.m. Meanwhile, Northeastern will have its season end with a 4-25 record.
Holding a two-point lead to open the second half, Green led an 8-2 Delaware spurt by scoring six points as the Blue Hens extended their lead to 43-36 with 17:21 remaining. But, the Huskies responded by going on an 11-4 run to even the score at 47-47 with 10:49 left on a lay-up by senior guard Tanisha Hopewell.
The Blue Hens used seven points from Green and six points from senior forward Joy Caracciolo to tally 17 of the next 23 points, reclaiming a 64-53 advantage with 4:23 remaining. Northeastern trimmed the margin to seven points with 1:29 to go before Delaware scored seven of the final nine points to secure the victory.
After the Blue Hens sprinted out to an early 7-2 lead in the opening three minutes of the game, Northeastern answered by scoring 12 of the next 14 points, including 10 in a row to start the run, for a 14-9 advantage with 13:39 left on a lay-up by senior guard Amencie Mercier.
Led by six points from Green, Delaware countered with a 13-5 spurt of its own to reclaim the edge at 22-19 with 8:16 remaining. The Huskies battled to tie the game at 28-28 on back-to-back lay-ups by Hopewell before Delaware scored 7 of the final 13 points to take a 35-34 lead at the intermission.
In leading the Blue Hens to the victory, Green made 8 of 14 shots from the floor and converted all five of her free throw attempts. She also added six rebounds and five assists. Caracciolo added a double-double by scoring 13 points with 10 rebounds while sophomore forward Hannah Jardine contributed 14 points with seven rebounds.
Junior forward Samantha DeFreese, who earned third team All-CAA notice, paced Northeastern in the loss with a game-high 23 points with 10 rebounds. Hopewell added 10 points off the bench while sophomore center Francesca Sally tallied 11 points with five rebounds.