Local college roundup: UD women end skid vs. JMU

Considering that Delaware hadn’t beaten James Madison in eight years, it was probably going to take everything the Blue Hens had to put that streak to rest.

Delaware needed that kind of effort on Saturday night.

Jewel Smalls hit a tying three-pointer with only 18 seconds left in regulation and the Blue Hens pulled away in overtime to earn a 94-88 win over JMU in a CAA women’s basketball showdown.

The victory snapped a 16-game losing streak for Delaware (14-1 CAA, 17-2 overall) against the Dukes (7-5 CAA, 11-8 overall). The last time the Hens beat JMU was in 2013.

Smalls, a junior transfer from Western Carolina, finished with a season-high 24 points after sinking 8-of-9 three-pointers.

Jasmine Dickey finished with a game-high 30 points while Ty Battle (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Chyna Latimer (10 points) also scored in double figures.

The Hens squandered a 72-62 advantage with 7:27 remaining to fall behind by three in the final minute of regulation. They needed Smalls’ three-pointer from the top of the key to knot the score at 79-79 and then had to withstand a final JMU possession before going to OT.

Delaware never trailed in overtime, going up by as many as seven before posting the hard-earned win.

The two teams meet again today at JMU at 6 p.m.

Men’s lacrosse

Delaware 15, NJIT 4: Mike Robinson found the back of the net four times with one assist while Mark Bieda posted a hat trick and added two assists, to pace the Blue Hens (1-1) to their first victory of the season.

Delaware put 35 shots on goal to 13 for the Highlanders. Goalie Matt Kilkeary allowed just two goals with nine saves for a .818 save percentage.

The first half was all Delaware, as the Hens built a 7-0 advantage. They picked up right where they left off in the second half, scoring the first three goals and taking an 11-1 lead into the final quarter.

The fourth quarter started with four more Hen goals as Delaware’s lead reached 15-1 before the Highlanders tallied the last three goals.

Women’s lacrosse

Temple 17, Delaware 10: With the contest tied 3-3, the Owls went on a 6-0 run to take control and down the Hens in their season opener.

Junior attack Danika Swech led Delaware with three goals. The Hens also got a pair of goals each from senior attack Kate Bradford, junior midfielder Kendra Schweizer and freshman attack Jenna McHale.

Temple opened the second half with five straight goals to build a 15-5 lead midway through the period.

Women’s volleyball

James Madison 3, Delaware 0: The Blue Hens fell to the Dukes in straight sets (17-25, 20-25, 23-25).

Due to the CAA’s divisional format for this spring season, the match does not counts towards the conference standings with Delaware in the north division and JMU in the south.

Redshirt sophomore Adelina Rivera led the way for the Hens (1-1) with eight kills and two blocks. Sophomore Lauryn Richardson picked up all six of her kills in the third set. She had a pair of blocks and hit .364 in the third.

Sophomore Ezgi Basaranlar picked up 21 assists and seven digs while redshirt junior Michaela Putnicki had seven kills and six digs.

Bowling

Hornets third in MEAC event: Delaware State split four Baker matches and posted a total pinfall of 4,631 to stand in third place among five teams after day one of the three-day Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference bowling roundup.

The Hornets averaged 185.2 per game in their four contests, trailing host and nationally-ranked No. 13 North Carolina A&T (206.3) and second-place Monmouth (189.2).

The roundup will determine the seeding for the MEAC Tournament March 19-21 in Chesapeake, Va. The MEAC Tournament champion earns an automatic bid the NCAA national championship tournament.

Women’s Tennis

Hornets sign three: Delaware State first-year women’s tennis coach Pavel Zinchenko has announced that three future players have committed to attend the university.

Zinchenko, who joined the Hornet staff last November, has signed Samara Guillory of Playa Del Rey, Cal., Lucia Corte of Gijon, Spain, and Kit Yi Kaye Au-Yeung from Hong Kong.

“I’m very excited about each of these ladies, as I believe they will bring great value to the program on and off the court,” Zinchenko said. “Their style of play is perfectly suited for college tennis and I can’t wait to help them develop as athletes and as individuals.”