Drexel Loses to East Carolina in Tournament Final

Sunday, December 4

Greenville, N.C.

Drexel University

East Carolina

Drexel Loses to East Carolina in Tournament Final

12/4/2005 12:00:00 AM

Greenville, N.C. - Host East Carolina (5-1) opened the game with a 9-2 run and led by as many as 22 points en route to a 66-54 victory over Drexel (2-3) in the championship game of the Lady Pirate Invitational. The Dragons made it as close as nine points with 32 seconds left in the game after a 17-7 run, but ECU held on for the victory.

After shredding the nets with 11 three-pointers in a 64-44 victory over Idaho on Saturday, the Dragons couldn't get shots to fall in the first half, shooting a season-low 23.8 percent from the field and 18.2 percent from deep. East Carolina jumped out to an early lead and built it 12 points at the 9:57 mark in the first half. Drexel's first field goal came at the 9:20 mark and keyed a Dragon run that cut the Lady Pirates' lead to 23-21 with 2:29 in the stanza. But a minute late East Carolina would go on a 7-0 run led by a pair of buckets by tournament MVP Cherie Mills and go into the locker room with a 33-23 lead.

The barrage would continue in the second half when the Lady Pirates started with an 8-3 run and pushed the lead to 16 points five minutes into the period. The lead grew to 22 points with just under four and a half minutes left to play. But Drexel came out of the final media time out with renewed vigor, getting into a full-court press after made baskets which forced four East Carolina turnovers in three minutes. Narissa Suber, who finished with 13 points in the game hit a three pointer and Drexel attacked the basket on subsequent possessions, hitting 11 of 12 free throws in the closing minutes and Delise Johnson, who scored a career-high five points, hit a jumper in the run. But this would be as close as Drexel would get in the second half.

Catherine Scanlon tied Jasmine Young with 16 points in the contest to lead all scorers. Scanlon went 10-for-10 from the free-throw line which is the first time since Feb. 27 of last season that a Dragon has been perfect from the charity stripe. Drexel's forward rotation of Candice Williams, Nicole Hester, Johnson and Scanlon limited Cherie Mills to 13 points, the first time in four games that she's been held under 20 points. Suber matched a career-high with three steals in the game.

Drexel returns to Philadelphia for its home opener against CAA-rival Towson on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 5:30 p.m. The game is part of a double-header as the men's team takes on James Madison at 8:00 p.m.