By Skye Tulio
Sports Assignment Editor
The women’s basketball (3-4) team lost its fourth consecutive game Wednesday night with a 68-58 loss to Delaware (3-2).
The Bonnies compete in the Toledo Glass City tournament in Ohio this weekend, facing Southern University for their first round matchup tomorrow at 12 p.m.
In their second meeting against the Delaware Blue Hens, the Bonnies shot 42.9 percent (12-28) in the first half, shooting 71.4 percent (5-7) from the three-point range. Both teams were even on the boards, 18-18 and committed four turnovers each.
With Preseason All-American forward Elena Delle Donne unable to play for the Blue Hens due to illness, the Bonnies capitalized on the advantage early. The team jumped out to an 11-2 lead less than seven minutes into the game with senior captain Alaina Walker and junior guard Ashley Zahn adding nine of those eleven points.
Last season, the Blue Hens traveled to the Reilly Center and defeated the Bonnies, 61-49.
Delle Donne scored 26 points and grabbed 18 rebounds and senior guard Lauren Carra contributed 18 points, in last year’s contest.
Wednesday, Carra propelled Delaware to its third victory of the season by recording her first ever double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds.
CeCe Dixon jumpstarted the offense by hitting three shots from beyond the arc to account for nine of the team’s 30 first half points.
Freshman forward Katie Healy scored four points and nabbed four rebounds in nine minutes of play. Both senior guard Jordan McGee and junior guard Ashley Zahn each recorded a game-high four rebounds.
The Blue Hens cut the lead to five, gaining an 18-13 lead on the Bonnies with 9:19 left.
The Bonnies fought back with an 11-2 run, grabbing their largest lead of the game, 29-15.
The Brown and White went into the half with a five -point lead(30-25) after a 10-1 Delaware run.
In the second half, Delaware took control of the game, leading 33-32 on an 8-2 run. Freshman Emily Michael tied the score at 35 for the Bonnies with a three-pointer.
The Blue Hens quickly regained the lead on a 14-3 run, giving them a 49-38 advantage with only 8:13 left to play.
Delaware sunk two free throws with 4:51 left, increasing their lead to 13. After a short run, the Bonnies cut the lead to seven with a lay-up by junior forward Doris Ortega in the last 43 seconds of play. The Brown and White had a chance to cut it to five after the Blue Hens missed both free throws, but failed to get the rebound. Delaware tacked on three free throws to solidify the win.
Dixon lead the Bonnies offense with 14 points. Ortega added 13, Zahn recorded 10 and Healy and freshman Emily Michael added nine and six.
This serves as the team’s first four-game losing streak since the 200-06-07 season. The team lost four consecutive games between Feb. 4-15 against UMass, Saint Louis, Geroge Washington and St. Joseph’s. The Bonnies nabbed a victory against Duquesne Feb.18 to break the streak.
After two away games against Buffalo Dec. 5 and West Virginia Dec. 8, the women will retake the Reilly Center Dec. 16 against the Canisius Golden Griffins.
