Delle Donne drops 39 points in Delaware win and Delaware made history in dominant fashion while Elena Delle Donne’s considerable skills flourished on a national stage at NCAA Tournament.

Washington / NationalTurk – Elena Delle Donne made the most of her first NCAA tournament appearance. The Delaware star scored 39 points and grabbed 11 rebounds on Sunday to lift the third-seeded Blue Hens to a 73-42 win over 14th-seeded Arkansas-Little Rock.

Delle Donne, the junior national player of the year candidate, scored 39 points, three off her season high, in just 30 minutes. She also had 11 rebounds.

Delle Donne propels Delaware to first ever NCAA win

The Blue Hens (31-1) earned their first victory in three NCAA tournament games and ran their winning streak to 21 in a row.The Blue Hens scored the first postseason win ever by a Delware basketball team, taking command early and pulling away late to down Arkansas-Little Rock 73-42 on the Trojans’ homecourt in the first round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

Delle Donne, the nation’s leading scorer at 27.5 points per game, was making her first NCAA appearance after twice leading the Hens to the WNIT. The junior collected 20 points and nine rebounds in the first half.

Delle Donne lifting Delaware to new heights

Marian Kursh had 12 points for the Trojans (20-13), who were making their third straight NCAA appearance.

Delaware entered the tournament as a trendy pick for a deep run, because of Delle Donne and the team’s success this season. The Blue Hens’ only loss was an 85-76 decision at No. 5 Maryland on Dec. 29. Neither the Delaware men’s or women’s team had ever won a postseason game. The Delaware men are 0-6, with one CIT, one NIT and four NCAA losses. The women were 0-8, with six WNIT and two NCAA defeats.

Delle Donne ‘s Blue Hens will face either Nebraska or Kansas in Tuesday’s second round

The 6-foot-5 Delle Donne had 39 of Delaware’s first 56 points before taking a seat on the bench for good midway through the second half. She went 14 for 27 from the field, including 5 for 8 from three-point range.

Lauren Carra added 12 points for the Blue Hens, who had 10 players score. Delaware limited Sun Belt freshman of the year Taylor Gault, a 5-9 guard, to seven points — 14 below her average — on 3-for-19 shooting.

UALR, which trailed by 32-22 at halftime, was just 16 of 51 (31 percent) from the field. Taylor Gault, the Trojans’ leading scorer, was 3 of 19 and finished with seven points.

Delle Donne is belle of Delaware

The Blue Hens, particularly Delle Donne, put the game away for Delaware in the second half – hitting her 16 of 31 shots and Delaware leading by as many as 34 points.