Delaware women’s basketball continued its hot streak, notching a seventh consecutive win Saturday afternoon, 73-66 over UNCW at the Carpenter Center.

This is the best start to conference play for the Blue Hens (7-0 CAA, 10-1 overall) since the 2012-13 team won all 18 of its CAA games. It’s UD’s the best overall start to a season since 2011-12.

After a back-and-forth first half, the Hens opened the third quarter on a 12-0 run. Delaware’s defense forced the Seahawks into eight turnovers during that stretch.

Delaware outscored UNCW, 24-10, in the third quarter, establishing a 56-39 lead. The Seahawks cut the lead to seven in the fourth quarter, but got no closer.

Jasmine Dickey scored 23 points and collected nine rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. It was the 13th straight game in double figures for Dickey and the 10th 20-point game of her career.

Junior guard Jewel Smalls had her best game in a Delaware uniform, draining a trio of three-pointers and scoring a season-high 16 points. Redshirt junior forward Ty Battle registered her CAA-leading eighth double-double of the season, pouring in 13 points and grabbing 14 rebounds.

MEN, UNCW 77, Delaware 70: The Seahawks ended the game on a 13-2 run to rally past the Blue Hens at Trask Coliseum.

Kevin Anderson nailed a three-pointer from the right wing to put Delaware (2-4 CAA, 4-6 overall) in front 68-64, but UNCW immediately answered with a Ty Gadsden three. Following a timeout, Jake Boggs drilled a three-pointer of his own to put the Seahawks in front for good.

“I give our guys credit for battling back in the second half, but it’s a disappointing ending for us,” said UD coach Martin Ingelsby. “We’ve got to be tougher and take better care of the basketball to earn a road win in this conference.

“Dylan Painter was fabulous for us, but we weren’t able to get him the ball late in the game. We just couldn’t finish during the last four minutes to get the W.”

Senior center Dylan Painter had another monster performance as he finished with 23 points while tying his career-high with 19 rebounds. Painter went 8-of-13 from the field and hit all seven of his free throw attempts, and has now grabbed at least 15 rebounds in four consecutive games.

Ryan Allen contributed 14 points and four assists, while freshman Andrew Carr chipped in with 11 points — all in the first half — eight rebounds and three blocks. Ebby Asamoah reached double figures for the fourth straight game with 10 points, while Anderson returned from an ankle injury to score nine.

Delaware committed 17 turnovers.

The Hens led by as many as eight points in the first half, and were still up 32-25 at the 4:53 mark following a baseline drive and dunk by Asamoah. However, UNCW took advantage, closed the half on a 14-3 run to take a four-point lead into the break.

The Seahawks led by as many as eight in the second half and were up 57-51 at the 11:17 mark, before the Hens used a 17-7 spurt to go back up four. However. UNCW counted with the 11-0 run to take control for good.