ELON, N.C. — For over two months, Delaware has been the best women’s basketball team in the CAA.

But when it came time to prove it one more time, the title slipped through the Blue Hens’ hands.

Top-seeded Delaware couldn’t hang onto a nine-point halftime lead as No. 3 Drexel stormed back in the second half to stun the Hens, 63-52, in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament championship game on Saturday evening.

The Dragons out-scored Delaware, 20-5, in the third quarter to take control and the Hens simply couldn’t hit enough shots to mount a comeback.

In the second half, Delaware (21-4) shot just 15.6 percent (5-for-32) while Drexel was hitting 59.3 percent (16-of-27). The Dragons (14-8) out-scored the Hens, 38-18, after halftime.

“I just don’t think we played Delaware basketball,” said Delaware coach Natasha Adair. “I think we let the fact that the ball wasn’t going in dictate just the tempo a little bit. It’s heavy right now.

“I think we’ve had nights where we didn’t shoot the ball well. Our defense is where we get our energy and momentum. But a lot of it was just really good offense by Drexel. When we were contesting shots, they knocked them down. Where they needed to make big plays, they did.”

Drexel joined its men’s basketball squad as CAA champions and earned the NCAA Division I Tournament berth that goes with it.

The Hens were hoping to earn the program’s first NCAA tourney berth since 2013. Receiving an at-large berth isn’t totally out of the question but probably a longshot for Delaware.

“This game doesn’t dictate our season,” said Adair. “This game doesn’t dictate all the work that we’ve done. I’m still proud of our basketball team. This is a basketball team that I think the resume is still good enough, for sure.”

It was a tough ending for a Delaware squad that was predicted to finish only sixth in the CAA this winter. The Hens also beat Drexel twice during the regular season to snap an 11-game losing streak against the Dragons.

The Hens out-rebounded Drexel by a 44-25 margin but netted only 14 second-chance points.

Delaware used a 13-0 run to open up a 34-25 halftime advantage. The Dragons, though, owned the second half.

Paris McBride netted a team-high 11 points for the Blue Hens while standout junior guard Jasmine Dickey, the CAA’s Player of the Year, finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds. But she went scoreless in the second half and hit only 4-of-23 shots in the game.

“We’re going to live with those shots Jasmine Dickey took today,” said Adair. “She takes them in every game. They didn’t go in.

“I’m going to live with those shots all day. Her shots got us here — all of her efforts got us here. I just think they just didn’t fall.”

After netting a school, tournament record 35 points in an overtime win over James Madison on Friday, Drexel junior guard Keishana Washington tallied 30 more on Saturday. She was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.