Drexel University
La Salle
Dragons Hold Off Exlporers to Snap Losing Skid
12/10/2005 12:00:00 AM
Philadelphia, Pa. - Drexel (3-4, 0-1 CAA) snapped out of the shooting funk that plagued them during the past two games, shooting 45 percent from the field in the first half on the way to a 53-48 victory over La Salle (3-4). The Dragons led by as many as 15 points in the second half before La Salle went on a run that cut the lead to four points in the final 17 seconds. Jackie Falson knocked down a pair of free-throws at the end of the game to secure a 53-48 win.
Delise Johnson put in a career-best 11 points and matched her career-high with nine rebounds. Playing most of her minutes in place of Catherine Scanlon who found herself in foul trouble early in the second half, Johnson set her person-best mark after the first 20 minutes. She led Drexel into the locker room with eight points on 4-for-4 shooting.
Christa Ricketts exploded for 24 points, but Drexel managed to contain the rest of the team to 24 points as well on 7-for-35 shooting. Davineia Payne took over for Ricketts, who was shackled with foul trouble, in the second half, scoring all eight of her points in the period and grabbing six rebounds.
Drexel built an 8-4 lead in the opening minutes as Nicole Hester, who had a dismal 0-for-7 game against Towson last time out, found her shooting touch to score the Dragons' first six points on a jumper, a three-pointer and a foul shot. Scanlon extended her free-throw streak to 16 straight with a pair of charity baskets before picking up her second foul with 12:37 left in the first half.
Johnson entered the game with just over 12 minutes to play and promptly knocked down a jumper from just inside the foul line. Minutes later Johnson and Kira Karlstrom would knock down a pair of lay-ups in the paint to put Drexel in command with an eight-point lead. Falson hit a difficult lay-up falling away from the basket with 24 seconds in the period to give Drexel a 26-17 lead at half time.
La Salle opened the second half with a mini run to cut the lead to four points at 28-24. Drexel answered by reeling off a 16-5 spurt, on three free-throws by Johnson, a pair of Scanlon three-pointers, to take a commanding 15-point advantage. Freshman Carly Golden hit a tough reverse lay-up during the run for her first collegiate points. The Dragons took advantage of double teams on Scanlon to create shots. La Salle opted to match Ricketts against Johnson one-on-one defensively. Drexel took advantage of the pairing, feeding Johnson in the post on consecutive possessions both of which resulted in foul shots and the second sent Ricketts to the bench in foul trouble.
Drexel appeared to be in control until just under five minutes left in the contest when Jenna Graber hit a long three-pointer to cut the lead to 51-40. The Dragons committed turnovers on three consecutive possessions and the Explorers capitalized with jumpers by Payne and Ricketts to make it 51-46 with 2:09 to play. Scanlon was called for a foul in a scramble for a loose ball. Graber knocked down the resultant free throws to make it 51-48 with 17 ticks left. But Falson's free throws put the game just out of the Explorers' reach, snapping a two-game losing skid for Drexel and a three-game losing streak against La Salle. This is just the third victory for Drexel over La Salle in 16 meetings.
The Dragons strive to start a streak of a different kind when they host the University of Maryland-Baltimore County on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 1:00 p.m.
