NEWARK, Del. – The young and talented University of Delaware women’s basketball team showed exactly why the future is so bright for the program, battling tough with one of the country’s best in fifth-ranked Maryland, who visited the Bob Carpenter Center on Thursday afternoon.
The Blue Hens were within striking distance into the fourth quarter before the Terrapins used a late surge to come away with a 77-53 victory in front of a crowd of 1,423.
Graduate student Makeda Nicholas led Delaware with 12 points and eight rebounds on the day while junior Rebecca Lawrence added 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Freshman Jasmine Dickey, who missed Tuesday’s game against Gardner-Webb with a broken nose, collected 11 rebounds and six points for the Hens.
The Blue Hens took an early lead before Maryland pushed out to a 10-point lead late in the first quarter. Forced turnovers and solid interior play spurted a late first-half run that would see the lead get down to as low as six points before the Terrapins added a few late baskets to take a 35-23 advantage into the break.
Defensively, Delaware was outstanding in the first half, limiting Maryland to just 1-of-13 from long range and 10-of-35 from the field, while forcing them into 11 turnovers.