PISCATAWAY, NJ --Deyonce Thompson scored 22 points and Kiarra Mcelrath had 13 more, but the Hornets fell to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 82-48 on the road Wednesday.
Thompson led the Hornets (0-6) with 22 points, six rebounds and two blocks. Mcelrath added 13 points off of the bench and Denijsha Wilson chipped in as well with seven points.
McKenzie Stewart pulled down three offensive rebounds to lead an offense that racked up second chance opportunities for Delaware State, grabbing 16 boards and turning them into two second chance points.
Delaware State did a great job disrupting Rutgers shots in the contest, coming away with five blocks. Arianna Johnson led the way individually for the Hornets with two rejections.
How It Happened
Delaware State started out the scoring by going on a 7-0 run to take an early lead with 6:23 left in the first quarter. The Hornets then lost some of that lead, but still entered the quarter break with a 20-16 advantage. Delaware State did most of its first quarter damage in the paint, scoring 14 of its 20 points close to the basket.
The Hornets could not maintain their lead in the second quarter and entered halftime trailing 41-27.
Rutgers continued to increase its lead after halftime, building a 56-28 advantage before Delaware State went on a 7-0 run to trim its deficit to 56-35 with 2:23 to go in the third. Rutgers countered and stretched its lead to 64-38 heading into the fourth. Delaware State took advantage of four Rutgers turnovers in the quarter, scoring six points off of takeaways.
Rutgers kept widening its lead in the fourth, constructing a 73-38 advantage before Delaware State went on a 5-0 run, finished off by Thompson's layup, to shrink the deficit to 73-43 with 5:54 to go in the contest. Rutgers responded and outscored the Hornets the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 82-48. Delaware State fired away from deep in the quarter, knocking down two shots to account for six of its 10 points. Deyonce Thompson, Kiarra Mcelrath, and Denijsha Wilson combined to account for 88 percent of the Hornets points. The Delaware State bench came alive by adding 15 points to its scoring output. The Delaware State defense forced 17 turnovers. The Hornets were active in affecting shots on the defensive end, recording five blocks as a team. Delaware State cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 16 offensive boards in the game. Delaware State got a team-high eight rebounds from Noami Zulueta.
The Hornets return home Monday, December 4 when they host LIU. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
