Historical calamities notwithstanding, what occurred inside the Carpenter Center in the early afternoon of March 7 should not be the total measure of the Blue Hens.

Certainly, an unsightly 81-38 basketball loss to Louisiana Tech was in some ways emblematic of Delaware’s 2025-26 basketball season, during which it endured unprecedented misfortune.

But the Blue Hens also frequently rose above their hardships, and even periodically excelled despite them.

First-year Conference USA member Delaware needed to win its game against Louisiana Tech, plus have Florida International and New Mexico State lose theirs later to make the CUSA Tournament, which includes just the top 10 of the 12 league schools.

As that final score hints, it turned into a failure of epic proportion for Delaware, which finishes the season in last place.

The 38 points Delaware scored were its fewest in a game in more than 61 years, since a 77-34 setback against Penn at the Palestra Dec. 9, 1964.

Delaware had scored fewer than 40 points just twice since, in a 46-39 defeat at Rider Feb. 19, 1983, and a 60-39 loss at VCU Jan. 16, 2008.

Ingelsby determined to improve situation

The Blue Hens played their fifth straight game with just six of the 13 scholarship players with whom they began the season, including two freshmen. They’d played the nine games before that with seven.

It caught up with them.

So they’re stuck with their 10-21 record, making these Delaware’s first back-to-back 20-loss seasons since it went 10-20 in 2014-15 and 7-23 in 2015-16 under former coach Monte Ross and 13-20 in Martin Ingelsby’s first UD season in 2016-17.

Delaware has a several items that represent the state.

The First State has a state bird (Blue Hen chicken), a state flower (peach blossom), a state fish (weakfish) and a state dessert (peach pie). Delaware even has a state bug (ladybug), state wildlife (gray fox) and state butterfly (tiger swallowtail).

While all the symbols have their place, few tug at the heartstrings like the state dog.

What is Delaware’s state dog?

The state dog of Delaware is the rescue dog, which replaced the golden retriever in 2023.

Then-Gov. John Carney signed Senate Bill 37 into law in May 2023 to make the change. The designation was made to help bring attention to rescue animals in the hope of getting them adopted.

“That just elevates all animals in shelters,” Sara Smith, a Brandywine Valley SPCA spokesperson, said during an adoption event in 2024.

Do you have loud dogs?: How can I get my neighbor’s dog to stop barking? What to know in Delaware

What are the country’s other state dogs?

Delaware is one of 16 states with official dogs.

• Alaska — Alaskan malamute
• Delaware — rescue dog
• Georgia — adoptable dog
• Louisiana — Catahoula leopard dog
• Maryland — Chesapeake Bay retriever
• Massachusetts — Boston terrier
• New Hampshire — Chinook
• New Jersey — seeing eye dog
• New York — working dogs
• North Carolina — Plott hound
• Pennsylvania — Great Dane
• South Carolina — Boykin spaniel
• Tennessee — bluetick coonhound
• Texas — Blue Lacy
• Virginia — American foxhound
• Wisconsin — American water spaniel

The widow of a Delaware state trooper killed in the line of duty last year has launched a foundation in his memory to support families of law enforcement officers.

Two months ago, Lauren Snook’s world looked different. Her husband, Corporal Grade One Matthew T. “Ty” Snook, a devoted father, husband, and friend, filled their house with laughter and love. Then in an instant, everything changed.

“He just went to work one day and didn’t get to come home,” Lauren told NBC10.

Two days before Christmas, Cpl/1 Snook, a 10-year veteran, was killed while working an overtime shift at the DMV in Wilmington, Delaware.

Lauren said that she was at their home, making salt dough ornaments in the kitchen with Letty, their 15-month-old daughter.

“When the two Tahoes pulled up out in front of my house. You know it, you see it in movies, you hear about it, and I knew. But I didn’t want to, and it took about 7 times for them to tell me he’s gone,” Lauren shared.

Lauren said the life they built together is now marked by a painful reality, learning to live without him. She clings to the memories and a bear with his uniform that Letty calls “Dada Bear.”

“On a quiet day, it’s totally ugly. I’ll grab his clothes that no longer have his scent, wear them, hold them, cry in his closet, grab his deodorant, dryer sheets, his cologne and make this scent cocktail, and I’m like bring me Ty back for a second and I’ll look at pictures, and then I look over at that cute little girl and see her smile and immediately see him because they share the same smile,” said Lauren.

Lauren explains that the grief isn’t just in the big moments; it’s in the quiet ones, too. She said Letty can feel it also.

“She knows. She waits by the baby gate at the top of the stairs. She grabs his shoes and sits in them so she knows. Before she knows her name,” Lauren said.

Lauren said that following Cpl/1 Snook’s death, she leaned on her faith and the support from others to help her through it.

“People have given so much of themselves, their heart to us, it’s a gift I know I can never repay, but it’s forever touched and shaped who I am,” said Lauren.

Through heartbreak, Lauren is choosing to turn pain into purpose by starting the “Ty Snook Foundation,” a community for families and children of law enforcement officers navigating life after losing a parent.

Lauren said, “Headlines fade, people go back to real life, but this is going to be Letty’s forever, it’s forever going to shape who she is, and I’m a firm believer that the community shaped us, and she needs her own community to talk about loss.”