CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s not every day Delaware beats an ACC program by double digits.
It’s even rarer that one player throws in two half-court buzzer beaters in the same …
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s not every day Delaware beats an ACC program by double digits.
It’s even rarer that one player throws in two half-court buzzer beaters in the same game.
Freshman Tyi Skinner tossed in a pair of half-court shots as the Blue Hens ran away to an 87-74 win over Clemson in the second round of the WNIT basketball tournament on Saturday.
The second win in the tourney sends Delaware (23-4) to the regional finals, where it will face Villanova on Monday at 7 p.m. in the Bojangles Coliseum. The Wildcats downed Florida, 77-57, in their game on Saturday.
The winner advances to the WNIT Final Four in Memphis next weekend.
After a Clemson basket with three seconds left in the second quarter, Skinner dribbled to half court and heaved a shot that banked in to give the Hens a 44-39 halftime lead.
Then, at the end of the third quarter, the 5-foot-5 Skinner intercepted a Tigers in-bounds pass, took two dribbles, and swished another half-court shot to put Delaware ahead 64-56.
The two unlikely baskets were the highlight-reel moments of a career-high 22-point day for Skinner. The youngster, who hit 7-of-14 shots from the field, saw more playing time in the contest after starter Paris McBride went down with a serious knee injury.
Jasmine Dickey had a team-high 26 points, 20 in the first half.
A fast-break layup by Destiny Thomas gave Clemson a 54-51 lead with 4:47 left in the third quarter. But Delaware closed the period on a 13-2 run to take a 64-56 lead into the fourth. The Hens went by as many as 20 points in the fourth quarter against the Tigers (12-14).
For the first time in program history, the Hens beat two ACC teams in the same year. They also won at Pittsburgh, 85-79, on Dec. 6.
Junior forward Ty Battle rounded out the Hens in double figures, pouring in 14 points off a 7-of-9 shooting night, and grabbing nine rebounds. Senior forward Lizzie Oleary corralled a career-high 13 rebounds.
Delaware had a strong shooting performance overall, knocking down 45.9 percent (34-of-74) of its field goals and 37.5 percent (6-of-16) of its threes while holding Clemson to 37.5 percent (24-of-64) from the field and 26.7 percent (4-of-15) from beyond the arc.
The Hens had nine steals among 18 forced turnovers, which they converted into 23 points.