Filed under: Women's Basketball
TOWSON, Md.-- Smiles are perhaps the most versatile form of expression we have, for they can mask a feeling as well as amplify one.The smile on Delaware forward Elena Delle Donne's face last Thursday did double duty, functioning as a sign of happiness and a cover for pain.
The Blue Hens gritted out a 64-52 win over lowly Towson in a Colonial Athletic Association game in which Delaware shot 40 percent from the floor and were outrebounded on the offensive glass, 22-14.
And Delle Donne was the key to Delaware's success, with a game-high 21 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. The scoring was off a bit from her 25.5 points per game average, but then, you try pouring in points when your back is in spasm for most of the game, as it was then.
The SI joint in Delle Donne's back went out late in the first half and her left leg was shorter than her right. She played the entire second half in excruciating pain, managing seven points and six rebounds after intermission.
"It's just a pain," Delle Donne said. "I can't catch a break this year. But we got the win. It was an ugly win, but that's all that matters."
The ailing back is just the latest misfortune to befall Delle Donne, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, who was third in the nation in scoring last year. She said she hasn't had a pain-free game since the second game of the season, a win over Villanova.
That's when Delle Donne started to feel overly tired all the time, certainly well before the rigors of a new season should take hold.
"I was feeling exhausted in that game and it was almost like I couldn't push through it," Delle Donne said in an interview before the Towson game. "At halftime, I felt like I was going to fall asleep during the coach's halftime speech. I was just a mess."
Source: http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2011/02/16/elena-delle-donne-smiles-through-good-times-pain/
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