March 4, 2004

Box Score

NEWARK, DE -- Freshman guard Tyresa Smith led four scorers in double figures with a career-high 16 points and Tiara Malcom and Tiffany Young each added 12 points as the University of Delaware women's basketball team led wire-to-wire in a 67-58 Colonial Athletic Association victory over second place George Mason Thursday night at the Bob Carpenter Center.

The Blue Hens, who won their fourth straight game and fifth in their last six outings, closed out the regular season with an 18-9 record and clinched the No. 4 seed in next week's CAA Tournament in Norfolk, VA with a 10-8 record. The Hens will play either Virginia Commonwealth or UNC Wilmington March 11.

George Mason lost its second straight to fall to 16-9 (11-7 CAA) and will be either the the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in next week's CAA Tournament. Twelve-time defending champion Old Dominion will be the top seed and host of the tournament, which will be held March 10-13 at the Constant Convocation Center.

Among Malcom's points were a jumper with 17:21 left in the first half to put her over 1,000 points, making her just the 19th player in school history to reach the mark. Young had her 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench while Liz Hayes came off the bench to add 11 points, including three three-pointers. Senior Tracey Howell, playing in her final home game at Delaware, pulled nine rebounds. The Hens outscored the Patriots 25-9 from the foul line.

Forward Vernessa Neamo led George Mason with 14 points while also pulling down eight rebounds and dishing out a game-high six assists. Guard Jen Derevjanik added 13 points. George Mason shot just 36.8 percent from the field (21 of 57) for the game and hit just 7 of 32 three-pointers.

Delaware jumped out to a big lead early and never relinquished it the entire game. The Hens went up by as much as 19 points with 5:17 left in the opening half on consecutive three-pointers by Hayes that capped a 9-0 run. But George Mason rallied, outscoring the Hens 11-2 over the final three minutes and 29 seconds of the stanza to cut the UD halftime advantage to 37-27. Neamo scored two baskets in the final 1:28 to lead the comeback.

The Hens stayed in control the entire second half but had to hold off several Patriot surges to stay on top. George Mason cut the lead to five at 48-43 with 12:09 left, but Delaware's Amanda Blackstone and Hayes followed with three-pointers to built the lead back to 11.

George Mason paired the lead back to five several times but could never get any closers. Derevjanik connected on three free throws with 46 seconds left to cut the margin to 63-58, but the Hens hit on four free throws down the stretch to preserve the victory.