Elena Delle Donne received a basketball scholarship from the University of Connecticut. However, in early June 2008, she abruptly dropped out of Connecticut’s summer school program after just two days.
A week after leaving Connecticut, Elena Delle Donne said by telephone from her home in Wilmington that she has “a lot of personal issues to fix. Only my family understands what’s going on. Right now I am going to take a long personal break”. She took a similar break prior to the 2007/2008 season in high school.
On August 16, 2008, Elena Delle Donne announced she would not accept the scholarship due to burnout, and instead decided to enroll at the University of Delaware and join their volleyball team as a walk-on.
On June 2, 2009, Elena Delle Donne announced that she would play basketball for the Blue Hens in the 2009/2010 season as a redshirt freshman. She had a very productive freshman season. She averaged 26.7 points per game, the third-highest of all Division I women’s basketball players. She scored 54 points in a loss against James Madison on February 18, 2010, which was the highest single-game point total by any Division I female basketball player that season. She was named the CAA Rookie of the Week six times, and the player of the week once during 2009/2010.
She was voted the CAA’s “Player of the Year” and “Rookie of the Year” in women’s basketball by CAA coaches, sports information directors and media.
In her sophomore season, the team started off well, but then Elena Delle Donne began to develop flu-like symptoms. In a game against Penn State, she asked to be taken out of the game, something she had never done before. After many tests, the doctors finally diagnosed her with Lyme disease. She struggled the rest of the season, but she helped her team reach the finals of the conference tournament and an invitation to the Women’s NIT.
As a junior, Elena Delle Donne led the nation in scoring, finishing the season with an average of 28.1 points per game. Her prowess attracted many fans to the Blue Hens games, with attendance rising 250% from the previous year. On February 16, 2012, Elena Delle Donne scored 42 points in a win over Hofstra, eclipsing the 2,000-point mark for her career. Delaware was the CAA champions, qualifying for the 2012 NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Tournament. Elena Delle Donne scored 39 out of the Blue Hens’ first 56 points in their first-round victory over UALR. Delaware led at halftime against Kansas in the next game, but despite Elena Delle Donne’s 34 points, the Jayhawks still won.
During the 2012/2013 season, she again fought Lyme disease, missing four games due to the illness. Elena Delle Donne returned on December 12 against Maryland and led the team with 19 points and 6 rebounds in a 69–53 loss. This game was the largest crowd (5,089) to ever to see a women’s basketball game at the Bob Carpenter Center, the Blue Hens’ homecourt.
Elena Delle Donne led her team in scoring in 22 regular season games during her senior season, as well as in rebounds in 12 games. She scored more than 30 points on five occasions, leading her team to a 27–3 regular season record entering CAA conference tournament play.
After winning the CAA conference tournament, the Blue Hens were the No. 6 seed in their region of the 2013 NCAA Women’s Division I Basketball Tournament. Elena Delle Donne led them to victories over No. 11 West Virginia and No. 3 North Carolina.
