LITTLE ROCK — Getting to host a first round of the NCAA Division I Women’s Championship seemed like a good idea for the Arkansas-Little Rock.
That was until the Trojans were matched against Elena Delle Donne of the Delaware Blue Hens. Behind the talented 6-foot-5 do-everything Delle Donne, Delaware, a three-seed in the tournament, crushed 14th-seeded UALR 73-42 before a crowd of more than 3,000. Once considered the top high school player in the nation, Delle Donne, now a junior, finished with 39 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and a steal in 30 minutes, almost outscoring UALR (21-13) by herself.
“This was a great team effort,” said Delle Donne. “That was not about me going off and getting so many points. It was about our team winning.
“I thought our defense did a great job tonight. I think tonight was a lot about us introducing our team to everyone.”
While Delle Donne spearheaded an offense where everything smartly goes through her, a combined defensive effort on Taylor Gault also played a big role in the victory. Gault, who led the Trojans to the Sun Belt Conference tournament title and was the conference’s freshman of the year, finished with seven points on just 3-of-19 shooting.
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“She is a great jump shooter and is going to be a great player,’’ said Delaware guard Lauren Carra, one of three players who spent time defending Gault. “She loves to go to her left so we tried to make her go to her right.”
UALR coach Joe Foley blamed Gault’s troubles on inexperience.
“I think a lot of it was freshman nerves,” he said. “She did not get off to a good start and got a little down.”
With 12:03 left in the game, just before a media timeout, Delle Donne stepped off the court for the first time with 34 points and the Blue Hens leading, 49-28.
The only questions that remained was whether would she return, how many more points she would score, and the margin of victory for the Blue Hens. She came back in with 10:46 left, hit a 3-pointer and another jumper and left for the night with 9:12 remaining.
“It is fun to watch her play,” said Foley. “It is not fun to coach against her.
“To stop her you have got to have a special defensive player to play her man (to man).”
With the victory, Delaware (31-1) advances to tonight’s second-round game against the Nebraska-Kansas winner.
“All season long this team has been about making history,” said Delaware coach Tina Martin. “We won our first conference title and now we get this win.”
For both teams, it was their third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. Delaware was playing on its opponent’s home floor for the third straight time. It was the Trojans’ first time to host the event.
The high-energy crowd fueled UALR’s fast start that lasted until the first media timeout at the 15:49 mark. At that point, the Trojans led 6-4.
But the Blue Hens came out of the break strong. By the time Foley called time with 11:53 left the half, Delaware had put together a 13-0 run, led 17-6, and UALR had missed five straight shots and turned the ball over three times.
“We came out and hit a couple of shots and it got quiet in here and could start to communicate,’’ said Carra, who had 12 points in 28 minutes.
UALR closed it to 17-12 with 9:41 left in the half. By halftime Delaware led 32-22. Delle Donne had 20 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in the first half.
“I still felt like we were in at halftime,” said Foley. “But they come out and hit a couple of threes and it goes downhill from there.’’