Guru Report: Delaware Gets It’s Revenge Holding Off Drexel for First CAA Title Since the Delle Donne Era While No. 7 Texas Upsets No. 4 Baylor for Big 12 Title

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

PHILADELPHIA — “The job is done!”

So proclaimed Delaware coach Natasha Adair Sunday afternoon here in Drexel’s Daskalakis Athletic Center after the Blue Hens gained revenge for last year’s defeat to the Dragons in the Colonial Athletic Association title game.

But in true form of the long-running Delaware/Drexel rivalry from these two schools located an hour apart, the ultimate outcome wasn’t determined until near the end with the Blue Hens heading back south  with a 63-59 victory to Newark and an automatic bid to the expanded 68-team NCAA field, whose bracket and draw was to be revealed several hours later on ESPN.

Drexel, the No. 1 seed this weekend with Delaware second, will play later this week in the WNIT, whose field was due to come following the NCAA announcement. The pairings and rest of that information was due to be announced Monday afternoon.

Jasmine Dickey, voted the most outstanding player of the CAA tourney, scored 27 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, tying a personal best, for Delaware (24-7) while Tyi Skinner scored 10 points and Ty Battle, who made the all-tournament team, grabbed 12 rebounds to go with her eight points. 

Drexel’s Keishana Washington, who was the mop last year in the Dragons’ upset triumph, finished with 22 points, while Bucknell transfer Tessa Brugler had 17 points and eight rebounds, and Hannah Nihill scored 13.

For Delaware, the triumph became the flag plant at the mountain top by Adair, in her fifth year, leading the Blue Hens to a new era of success following the all-American days of Elena Delle Donne a decade ago.

This was all set to happen 12 months ago when the Blue Hens stormed through the regular season but Drexel (26-5), then a third seed, took down James Madison and then made a second-half comeback.

“Not disappointed with the effort today,” said Amy Mallon, who moved up a year ago succeeding Denise Dillon, who returned to her alma mater at Villanova. “Obviously when you reach this point of the season, we knew it was going to be a battle. Unfortunately, some shots didn’t fall for us when we needed them to, as everybody saw, this team fought to the very end, the last second.

“We didn’t play our best today, but I couldn’t be prouder of the leadership and the way we finished the season and where we are.”

Having just escaped elimination the night before on the final ticks of the clock on a foul call that sent the Hens to the line to clip Towson Adair’s squad was anything but drained from the tightly-fought encounter.

Delaware, which out-rebounded the home team 47-34 overall, came blasting out connecting on seven of eight shots and jumping to a 16-4 lead in the first five minutes. 

But after a timeout by Mallon, the Dragons worked their way back into contention, working their way to being short just three points, 35-31.

However, in a building loaded with energy with fans from both sides creative a nice crowd, the Blue Hens came out of the break with a second surge, outscoring Drexel 17-7 in the third period for a 52-38 lead, but it wasn’t over yet.

The Dragons, who rallied from a nine-point deficit in last year’s championship, developed a closing surge, rallying from a 58-42 deficit to come within three points with 37 seconds left.

Drexel grabbed a steal and went to the line, missing the first shot and perhaps intentionally missing the second, but Delaware got the rebound and Jewel Small snuffed out the last chance with a foul shot.

The Blue Hens won back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013 in Delle Donne’s junior and senior years but then receded in the annual conference chases until becoming a frontrunner again last season.

“Every day we just worked,” Adair said. “We said the road back here was going to be the hardest road, as long as we stay the course, as long as we stay together, everything along the journey was going to prepare us for this day. From day one, they believed.”

Dickey, one of Adair’s first recruits, became a new star in the program history, setting marks either right behind or passing the ones associated with Delle Donne.

“Coaches dream about this, coaches work hard and they never experience this but to experience it with such an amazing group of young women, it felt like a home game, we didn’t do this alone.”

Nationally noted: Five other conferences completed championships to complete the list of 32 automatic qualifiers, the most noteworthy in the Big 12, where, just when fourth-ranked Baylor, this season under new coach Nicki Collen, seemed poised to continue the run of titles, along came seventh-ranked Texas, under second-year coach Vic Schaefer, to beat the Bears 67-58, likely depriving the squad of a No. 1 seed in the field.

Schaefer had previously built Mississippi State into a power that receded after he left and on Saturday the school announced the hire of longtime Louisville assistant Sam Purcell.

Freshman Rori Harmon scored 20 points for the Longhorns (26-6), while Joanne Allen-Taylor scored 14 points and reserve Aaliyah Moore scored 12 points.

Baylor (27-6) got 21 points and 10 rebounds from NaLyssa Smith, considered a potential No. 1 overall draft pick in next month’s WNBA draft, while Ja’mee Asberry and Jordan Lewis each scored 13 points. 

Elsewhere, host Mt. St. Mary’s beat surprising seventh-seed Bryant 60-42 to capture the bid from the Northeast Conference; American U. took the Patriot League, beating Bucknell, 65-54; Incarnate Word beat SE Louisiana 56-52 for the Southland crown; and Illinois State edged Northern Iowa 50-48 for the Missouri Valley Crown.

We’ll be back with all the NCAA and WNIT information to come.