The University of Delaware’s Blue Hens simply had too much experience and athleticism for the University of Maine women’s basketball team on Monday night.
And they also had Jasmine Dickey.
The youthful Black Bears ran into the reigning Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year in Dickey and simply had no answer for the Blue Hens’ 5-foot-10 senior guard-forward who torched the Black Bears for 30 points as Delaware triumphed 83-60 at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor Monday night.
Delaware improved to 2-1 while UMaine fell to 0-3.
Dickey also had eight rebounds, two steals and two assists. Ty Battle chipped in with 18 points and 10 rebounds and Tyi Skinner had 11 points and seven assists.
Dickey used her lightning quickness to drive the lane time and time again to create layups and easy shots for herself. She also showed her ability to hit a mid-range jumper if UMaine clogged up the lane.
“I took what they gave me,” Dickey said. “I just attacked the basket, trying to get them in foul trouble early. My teammates got me open and I got them open. We played team ball. And it started with our defense. We scouted them and had to make sure they didn’t get a lot of threes and back doors.”
“She is one of the top players in the country. She has a shot you can’t guard,” said UMaine coach Amy Vachon.
Delaware coach Natasha Adair said her team followed the game plan perfectly and played with a lot of energy.
“We defend, rebound, run and score in that order,” Adair said. “We got back to basics.”
She added that they “shortened their shots and didn’t settle for three. We knew we had a height advantage so we got the ball inside.”
Maeve Carroll’s 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists, Anne Simon’s 13 points and four rebounds and Alba Orois’ nine points, nine assists and eight rebounds led UMaine.
Delaware shot 53 percent from the floor and 28.6 percent behind the 3-point arch while UMaine shot 40 percent and 21.4 percent, respectively.
Delaware outrebounded the smaller Black Bears 39-32.
Delaware started four players who were seniors or graduate students and UMaine started one in graduate student Carroll along with junior Simon, two sophomores and a freshman.
The gritty and entertaining Black Bears kept within striking distance, trailing by nine entering the fourth quarter, but Delaware opened the final quarter with a game-clinching 9-0 run triggered by five points off two UMaine turnovers.
That swelled Delaware’s lead to a comfortable 64-46 margin and they continued to pull away.
Carroll said their demise began at the outset of the third period.
“We came out really flat. We didn’t come out with any energy and we never recovered from that,” Carroll said. “The fourth quarter wasn’t us. It looked and felt like we had already given up.”
“We played really well for two and half quarters,” Vachon said. “I loved how we competed. There were some points we left on the board with [missed] layups. And we didn’t execute, necessarily, on defense. But they hit some tough shots in the first half. Then the wheels fell off.”
The Blue Hens were coming off a 24-5 season and trip to the WNIT semifinals where they were ousted by Rice 85-75.
Delaware and future UMaine opponent and defending CAA champ Drexel were the preseason favorites to win the CAA this season.
Baltimore native Dickey had 15 first-half points as Delaware built a 39-32 lead. The preseason CAA Player of the Year also grabbed five rebounds and had two steals.
Redshirt senior forward Battle added nine points and four rebounds.
Carroll’s 11 points, three rebounds and two assists paced UMaine. Orois had seven points and five assists and Simon netted six points.
Delaware used a 17-9 run beginning with a short Dickey jumper at the end of the first period and spanning the first five minutes of the second period to build a 33-23 lead.
UMaine visits Yale on Friday for a 6:JMaine