Drexel University
UMBC
Karlsson-Gonzalez's Career-High Sparks Drexel In Victory
12/17/2005 12:00:00 AM
Philadelphia, Pa. - Sophomore Anna Karlsson-Gonzalez's career-high 12 points provided a spark in Drexel's (4-4, 0-1 CAA) 65-58 win over the University of Maryland - Baltimore County (6-2). The Dragons used their best first-half shooting performance of the season, 62.5 percent, to take an early lead and hold off the Retrievers.
Nicole Hester led Drexel with 16 points and Catherine Scanlon came one rebound short of a double-double, finishing with 14 points and nine rebounds. Karlsson-Gonzalez's career day came on 4-for-4 shooting, including a pair of three-pointers. UMBC's Amanda Robinson led all scorers with a season-high 18 points.
Drexel came out sluggish in the opening five minutes, but the team came to life after Delise Johnson grabbed an offensive rebound and found Kira Karlstrom in the corner for a three-pointer. Hester followed with a triple and a pair of lay-ups in 45 seconds to put Drexel in the driver's seat with its first lead of the game.
With Drexel up by 12 points, 28-16, the Retrievers' leading scorer, Matea Pender, nailed a pair of three pointers to cut the lead to six with just over three minutes remaining before the half. But Karlsson-Gonzalez, who hadn't seen much playing time this season, answered with two of her own, the second of which gave Drexel a 10-point lead.
The Dragons unraveled the nets with 15 buckets on 24 attempts and made 7-of-11 shots from deep in the first period. UMBC packed the lane and defended Drexel's screens and cuts to the basket well, but couldn't recover quickly enough to stop the Dragons' outside shots.
The Retrievers adjusted at halftime and came out with a 9-2 run in the opening minutes of the second stanza, cutting the lead to four points as Pender and Robinson found the openings at the top of the lane and their jumpers were true making the score 43-39 with 14:20 on the clock.
Narissa Suber, who uncharacteristically was not in on the first-half three-point shower, made her first triple at the 13:01 mark to squelch the UMBC rally. Hester knifed through the lane for a lay-up then stole the ball minutes later and led a fastbreak, hitting Jackie Falson with a bounce pass for the score, making it 54-47 in Drexel's favor.
Karlsson-Gonzalez found an opening on the wing and hit a mid-range jumper to help Drexel pull away, giving the Dragons a 11-point lead with 1:51 remaining. Pender would knock down a pair of threes in the final 22 seconds, but the effort came up short.
The loss was just the second on the season for the Retrievers. Drexel ends its four-game homestand next Thursday, Dec. 22 when the Dragons host their University City rivals Penn at 1:00 p.m.
