PHILADELPHIA — Delaware’s dream of putting two teams in the NCAA Tournament is still alive.

But it took a near-miracle on Saturday to keep it that way.

Tyi Skinner sank a pair of foul shots with just 0.4 seconds showing on the clock to give the No. 2 Blue Hens a remarkable 56-55 win over No. 3 Towson in the CAA women’s basketball tournament semifinals.

Delaware (23-7) will face host and top-seed Drexel in the league championship game at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

The Hens are trying to join UD’s men’s team as CAA champions. The Delaware men will find out where they’re going in the NCAA Tournament when the bracket is revealed on Sunday starting at 6 p.m.

The women’s bracket will then be unveiled at 8 p.m. on Sunday.

The Delaware women looked like their NCAA tourney bid night end when Tarriyonna Gary buried a three-pointer to give Towson a 55-54 advantage with just eight seconds left.

After a timeout, the Hens’ Ty Battle drove to the basket but her contested shot bounced off the rim. The Tigers grabbed the rebound, and with no time remaining, began to celebrate.

The referees, though, had called a foul on Towson under the basket. Skinner was hit from behind as she started to go after the rebound.

After a delay while officials checked to see if there was time left, Skinner sank her two foul shots to give the Hens their slim advantage. Following two more timeouts, Battle intercepted a lob toward the basket and Delaware’s players celebrated the hard-earned win.

“Well that was fun, right?,” said Blue Hen coach Natasha Adair. “We told our team a couple days ago that March doesn’t care. Anything crazy can happen in March and you have to embrace the moments.

“From start to finish, our players made the extra plays, played together, made the hustle plays -- they made the plays that elite teams make this time of year to win. I am super proud of how we represented our program,”

Prior to the Gary three, Jasmine Dickey sank a pair of free throws that put Delaware on top, 54-52, with 11 seconds on the clock.

Dickey finished with a game-high 22 points and 16 rebounds for her second straight double-double. With the 16 rebounds, Dickey surpassed 1,000 for her career, becoming the sixth Delaware player in program history with 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

Battle also notched her second double-double and 21st of the season, recording 11 points and 13 rebounds. Skinner was the third Blue Hen in double figures, tallying 10 points.

Former Caesar Rodney High player Kylie Kornegay-Lucas netted nine of her 15 points in the fourth quarter for Towson (24-7). Gary also had 15 with Sanford grad Allie Kubek adding 12.

The Hens face a tall order against Drexel (26-4). They’ve lost three in a row and 14 of their last 16 meetings with the Dragons.

Delaware fell to Drexel, 63-52, in last year’s CAA title game. The Hens last went to the NCAA tourney in 2013, when they reached the Sweet 16.
“We just put ourselves in a position to be where we want to be,” said Adair. “And now we have to finish.”

Basketball

BOYS, Tower Hill 79, Salesianum 43: The third-seeded Hill stormed out to an 18-4 first-quarter lead and never looked back in stunning the top-seeded Sals to capture the program’s first state title on Saturday evening.

Tower Hill (20-3) was up 34-9 at halftime and led by as many as 37 points in the second half before avenging an eight-point loss to Sallies during the regular season. One of the Hillers’ three losses was a 14-point setback at Seaford in December.

The Sals (15-9) lost only three games to in-state teams this winter.
Dylan Shepherd scored a game-high 24 points after going 5-of-7 from the floor and 12-of-14 from the foul line. Davis Bland added 23 points after hitting 7-of-10 three-pointers.

The Hillers shot 63.9 percent from the floor (23-of-36) including 13-of-21 shooting from beyond the arc. They hit 11-of-13 shots in the second half alone.
Brett O’Hara had a team-high 13 points for Sallies, which shot just 28.6 percent (16-of-56).

Field hockey

Woodzell named CR coach: Dr. Rebecca Woodzell, a former University of Delaware standout, has been named the new head field hockey coach at Caesar Rodney High.

She will be the Riders’ fourth head coach in the last five seasons.

Woodzell has worked as a physical therapist in the CR School District for a decade. Woodzell was a first-team All-America East selection during her playing career with the Blue Hens later served a volunteer assistant coach.

She earned her doctorate in physical therapy from Temple University in 2003. Woodzell played both field hockey and lacrosse at Boyertown (Pa.) High.