Ursuline Academy

Wilmington's Elena Delle Donne, the nation's top high school girls' basketball recruit last season, announced yesterday that she will attend the University of Delaware. Last week, the 6-foot-5 shooting guard decided not to enroll at the University of Connecticut, where she had signed a letter of intent last year. UConn coach Geno Auriemma, whose team is this season's NCAA favorite, announced Delle Donne's reversal in a release sent by the university Saturday. Auriemma, in an e-mail to several newspapers yesterday, said he would not grant Delle Donne a release from her commitment.

Elena Delle Donne sat at the scorer's table long after the final buzzer, signing autographs for the many admirers who came to watch the nation's top high school player compete against Council Rock North. Delle Donne, a 6-foot-4 junior with awe-inspiring skills, rated No. 1 in the nation by scout.com and numerous publications, did not disappoint. She scored 19 of her game-high 25 points in the second half as Ursuline Academy (Del.) pulled away from the Indians and posted a 56-36 victory at Council Rock South in the Frankford Hospitals' Bucks County Classic.

While rehabbing from a knee injury that wiped out her senior season, Germantown Academy's Caroline Doty has stayed close to the action. Doty is like another assistant coach for the Patriots. She charts shots during games, offers advice and suggestions to teammates, and, when necessary, carries the ball bag or handles other unglamorous duties. "Except for the days I have to go to rehab, I'm usually with the team," Doty said. "I enjoy being around the girls, doing whatever I can to help.

Archbishop Carroll's gym vibrated from the buzz of nearly 1,000 fans, many college coaches and at least one corporate representative. Yes, even athletic apparel mammoth Nike was in Carroll's house yesterday. There was also plenty of hype and hope. Carroll, ranked No. 7 by one national publication and No. 1 in Southeastern Pennsylvania by The Inquirer, hosted Ursuline Academy (Del.) in the fifth of eight games at the second annual Blue Chip Basketball Super Saturday. Hundreds of fans from Ursuline made the trip north from Wilmington, and they didn't leave disappointed.

Elena Delle Donne's 33-point performance was one thing. But the real backbreaker for Germantown Academy yesterday against Ursuline Academy (Del.) was a miserable third quarter, during which the Patriots committed seven turnovers and shot 1 for 11 from the field. "We didn't take care of the ball, and we couldn't hit a shot," GA wing guard Maggie Lucas said. "And they were making everything. " Ursuline put together a 16-4 run in the third quarter, led by as many as 29 points in the second half, and topped the Patriots, 57-44, in the Kobe Bryant Scholastic Play-by-Play Classic at Villanova University.

Last spring, before taking a three-month break from basketball, Elena Delle Donne played in AAU tournaments for the Delaware County-based Comets. Kerri Shields was one of her teammates. "Elena has become one of my really good friends," Shields said. "I can't say enough about her - as a player and as a person. " Shields, a junior point guard and Division I prospect at Archbishop Carroll High, was pitted against Delle Donne and Ursuline Academy of Wilmington yesterday in the annual Blue Chip Basketball Super Sunday Showcase.

When Elena Delle Donne takes the floor in today's Scholastic Play-by-Play Girls' Classic at Cardinal O'Hara, she will do so as an all-American whose every move is being studied by the nation's top college basketball coaches. The prized 6-foot-5 sophomore, the centerpiece of a nationally renowned Ursuline Academy team, is an immense talent. More important to friends and family, the 16-year-old has a poise that suggests she can and will handle all the acclaim as the inexorable countdown to college and the pros continues.

When Tara Rastelli of Mullica Hill enrolled at Ursuline Academy in Wilmington, few South Jersey sports fans took notice. Come to think of it, Rastelli has been at Ursuline for five years now, and few South Jersey sports fans have taken notice. But perhaps they should. In Delaware diving circles, Rastelli is the first name on people's lips - and the only name needed, actually. She has won four straight Delaware state titles after finishing second as an eighth grader. Rastelli has high scores of 449.50 in 11-dive competition and 260.0 in six-dive competition.

For one of the few times in the last three years, the Bishop Eustace girls' basketball team went into a game as the underdog. That was because yesterday, at St. Joseph's University in the championship game of the Seagull Classic, the Crusaders were on the same court with Ursuline Academy - the three-time defending Delaware state champ and the No. 21-rated team in the USA Today national poll. When the contest was over, however, Eustace had added a mighty team to its list of conquests.

Caroline Doty, the former star guard of Germantown Academy, has had her sensational freshman season with top-ranked Connecticut cut short by another knee injury. The mishap occurred Saturday with 27.9 seconds left before the half against Syracuse in what had been Doty's best performance with the unbeaten Huskies (17-0). The 5-foot-10 guard from Doylestown had connected on 5-of-11 treys and scored 17 points in 19 minutes during another Connecticut romp. The game ended up a lopsided 107-53 victory.