Blue Hens

Suffering from a high ankle sprain a few hours earlier, Delaware senior 6-foot-8 forward Harding Nana fought off the pain yesterday to score 25 points as the Blue Hens beat Drexel, 75-68, in a Colonial Athletic Association game at the Bob Carpenter Center. Nana, who enabled the Blue Hens (7-17, 3-12 CAA) to end a four-game losing streak, also matched a career high with 19 rebounds. Zaire Taylor added 17 points, and Calvin Cannon scored 10 points for the Blue Hens, who led by 38-19 at the half.

Last season: 12-3 overall, 6-2 in Colonial Athletic Association, (first) Head coach: K.C. Keeler (10th year), 74-42 career Returning starters: Eight on offense, seven on defense Key returners: Andrew Pierce (running back), Rob McDowell (center), Shea Allard (left tackle), Colin Naugle (tight end), Michael Atunrase (defensive end), Paul Worrilow (linebacker). Calling signals: After having a transfer quarterback to start nine straight seasons, the Blue Hens now turn their eyes to a homegrown player.

This time when the Villanova Wildcats put the hammer down, they didn't let up. Coming off uninspired effort in what should have been a much easier victory against overmatched Rider, the 'Cats' ears were ringing after coach Steve Lappas's postgame tirade. Last night, Villanova responded just as Lappas expected. Making a school-record 16 three-pointers, the Wildcats bombed away host Delaware, 90-54, in front 5,000 people, the second sellout of the Carpenter Center's three-year history.

Drexel's basketball season ended yesterday with sound and fury, and a second consecutive one-and-out loss in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament. Eighth-seeded Drexel allowed a four-point lead late in the second half to slip away in a 52-49 loss to ninth-seeded Delaware. The Blue Hens face top-seeded North Carolina-Wilmington today at noon. The way the Dragons lost will stick with them for a long time. A field goal by 6-5 sophomore Sam McMahon (season average 3.4 points)

Delaware's pitching might be the best in the nation. But in last night's championship game of the third annual Liberty Bell College Classic at Veterans Stadium, the Blue Hens' offense made the difference. Delaware hit four doubles in a six-run seventh inning and defeated Drexel, 8-3. The Blue Hens, who won the inaugural tournament, avenged a 6-2 loss to the Dragons in last season's title game. "I thought that one inning demonstrated what this ball club is all about," said Delaware coach Bob Hannah.

Confounding history, tradition and mind-boggling numbers. That's the task before the Delaware men's lacrosse team tomorrow, when the Blue Hens take on Johns Hopkins in the NCAA Division I semifinals at Baltimore's M & T Bank Stadium at noon. Consider the following: Duke, Cornell and Johns Hopkins - the other three teams involved - have a combined 94 NCAA Tournament victories. Delaware has three. The three schools have made 38 Final Four appearances. This is the first for the Blue Hens.

The pressure got to Delaware. No, not the pressure of the Women's NCAA Tournament. The No. 13 seed Blue Hens handled that just fine. What got to Delaware was the pressure from North Carolina State, a quicker, more athletic team. Turning up the pace toward the end of the first half and at the start of the second, the fourth-seeded Wolfpack pulled away to a 76-57 victory last night in the first round of the East Regional at Reynolds Coliseum. Delaware (26-5) was making its first NCAA appearance in school history, but showed no signs of intimidation despite playing a Wolfpack team - on its home floor - that has reached the postseason seven straight years.

Digger Phelps, well-known ex-Notre Dame coach and present television analyst, stood up, walked out onto the middle of the basketball court and said, "Steve, hey Steve, I've got a question. " Steve Steinwedel, the 6-foot-8 head coach at the University of Delaware, pivoted better than he ever did as a player and jogged over to Phelps. For a moment, practice stopped. Phelps wanted to know numbers. What number is Alex Coles? What number is Mark Murray? What number is Spencer Dunkley?

Four area football players were among 19 signing national letters of intent yesterday with Delaware. Defensive end Brian Heavens (6-foot-3, 250 pounds) of Valley Forge Military Junior College; defensive end Mike Mailey (6-4, 245) of St. Joseph's Prep; running back Brent Steinmetz (5-9, 184) of Pottsgrove; and running back Zach Thomas (6-0, 178) of North Penn headline a class that features players from 10 states. "We have expanded our recruiting base in the South, which has paid off with some outstanding prospects," Blue Hens coach Tubby Raymond said.

If you are looking for Anthony Ventresca during a Delaware football game, the bench is not the place to find him. Ventresca, a 6-foot, 180-pound senior halfback from Central Bucks West, is listed in seven statistical categories for the Blue Hens, who were ranked sixth nationally in Division I-AA after their 57-13 rout of Maine Oct. 31. Through seven games, Ventresca was first on the team in punt returns (12 for 107 yards) and kickoff returns (10 for 194 yards), third in all-purpose running (487 yards)

Tiffany Hayes scored 22 points and top-seeded Connecticut beat Kentucky, 80-65, on Tuesday night in Kingston, R.I., to advance to the Final Four for the fifth consecutive season. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis added 18 for UConn (33-4), which will play Notre Dame (34-3) on Sunday in Denver. Coach Muffet McGraw, a St. Joseph's alum, guided the top-seeded Irish to a rout of No. 2 seed Maryland (31-5) on Tuesday night in the Raleigh Regional in North Carolina. The Huskies matched their own school mark of five straight trips to the national semifinals.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Even Elena Delle Donne couldn't stop Kansas' improbable NCAA tournament run. The nation's leading scorer had 34 points, but Angel Goodrich answered with 27 of her own for the 11th-seeded Jayhawks, who rallied in the second half for a 70-64 win over the Blue Hens on Tuesday night. The only other loss this season by Delaware (31-2) was to No. 5 Maryland on Dec. 29. The school entered the tournament having never won an NCAA game before its opening-round win over Arkansas-Little Rock, in which Delle Donne scored 39 points in 30 minutes of action.

ELENA DELLE DONNE and Delaware are done, ousted from the women's NCAA Tournament by Kansas. Angel Goodrich scored 27 points to lead 11th-seeded Kansas past Delle Donne, the nation's leading scorer, and the third-seeded Blue Hens with a 70-64 victory last night in a Des Moines Regional game in Little Rock, Ark. The Jayhawks (21-12) move to the second weekend of the tournament for the first time since 1998. They'll face Tennessee on Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa. They advanced by rallying in the second half behind Goodrich, who fell one short of her career high in scoring.

WELCOME TO the NCAA Tournament, Elena Delle Donne. Stick around for a few more days, won't you? Delle Donne, the nation's leading scorer, had 39 points and 11 rebounds to lift third-seeded Delaware to a 73-42 win over 14th-seeded Arkansas-Little Rock in the Des Moines Regional in Little Rock yesterday. The Blue Hens (31-1) earned their first victory in three NCAA Tournament games and ran their winning streak to 21 in a row. It was also the tournament debut for Delle Donne, the former Connecticut signee who transferred back to her hometown Delaware and led the school to the WNIT the past two seasons.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Elena Delle Donne made the most of her first NCAA tournament appearance. The Delaware star had 39 points and 11 rebounds on Sunday to lift the third-seeded Blue Hens to a 73-42 win over 14th-seeded Arkansas-Little Rock. The Blue Hens (31-1) earned their first victory in three NCAA tournament games and ran their winning streak to 21 in a row. Delle Donne, the nation's leading scorer at 27.5 points per game, was making her first NCAA appearance after twice leading the Hens to the WNIT.

Delaware sensation Elena Delle Donne broke free from Drexel's stiffing defense in the second half and lifted the seventh-ranked Blue Hens to a 59-43 victory over the Dragons yesterday afternoon for their first Colonial Athletic Association championship. Held to just eight points in the first 20 minutes, the 6-5 versatile Delle Donne finished with 27, a few decimal points below her NCAA-leading scoring average to earn the most outstanding player award for the tournament at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md. The win gave the Blue Hens (30-1)

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. - Delaware sensation Elena Delle Donne broke free from Drexel's stifling defense in the second half and lifted the seventh-ranked Blue Hens to a 59-43 victory over the Dragons on Sunday afternoon for their first Colonial Athletic Association championship. Held to just eight points in the first 20 minutes, the 6-foot-5 Delle Donne finished with 27, a few decimal points below her NCAA-leading scoring average, to earn the outstanding player award for the tournament at the Show Place Arena, which often hosts equestrian events.

Kamile Nacickaite had 16 points and 15 rebounds to lead Drexel to a 67-50 semifinal victory over James Madison in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament on Saturday in Upper Marlboro, Md. The Dragons will face No. 7 Delaware at 12:30 p.m. Sunday for the title. Hollie Mershon ( Archbishop Carroll) added 15 points and Tyler Hale knocked down 12 as the Dragons never trailed in the second half. Drexel won in large part thanks to its ability to outdo James Madison on the glass.

By Mel Greenberg UPPER MARLBORO, Md. - Delaware sensation Elena Delle Donne broke free from Drexel's stifling defense in the second half and lifted the seventh-ranked Blue Hens to a 59-43 victory over the Dragons Sunday afternoon for their first Colonial Athletic Association championship. Held to just eight points in the first 20 minutes, the 6-foot-5 Delle Donne finished with 27, a few decimal points below her NCAA-leading scoring average, to earn the outstanding player award for the tournament at the Show Place Arena, which often hosts equestrian events.