Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
George Mason
Drexel Pulls One Out at George Mason, 38-36
1/22/2006 12:00:00 AM
Fairfax, Va. - Nicole Hester rebounded a Jackie Falson miss and put in a layup with three seconds remaining to give Drexel (7-9, 2-5 CAA) a 38-36 win over George Mason (5-11, 1-6 CAA) and stop a four-game losing skid.
The Patriots trailed 36-28 with just under five minutes remaining in the contest when Jen Daniels scored her only eight points of the game to knot the score at 36 apiece with 33 seconds remaining. Falson brought the ball down court and Drexel called a timeout to set up a play with 12 seconds in the game. The senior guard drove on the right side of the lane, throwing up a running shot just before the shot clock expired. The ball caromed off the top of the glass and grazed the front of the rim on its descent. Hester grabbed the offensive rebound and banked in her shot to put Drexel on top with 3.4 seconds left in the contest.
Catherine Scanlon led three Dragons in double figures with 15 points. Hester and Narissa Suber had 10 points each. Lateshia Wade led the Patriots with a career-high 15 points. The Dragons held George Mason's leading scorer Moni Akintunde scoreless in the contest.
Drexel opened with a 7-0 run in the first half and did not allow the Patriots to score a field goal for the first eight minutes of the game. The Dragons took a 21-17 lead into the locker room at halftime led by Suber, Scanlon and Hester combined to score 20 of the team's first-half points.
After the Patriots fought back to tie it at 26-26 at the 12:34 mark in the second period, Drexel went on a run keyed by a pair of jumpers in the lane by Scanlon to take 36-28 lead.
The Dragons' 38 points is the lowest single-game total for Drexel since becoming a Division I program in 1982. But the team's defense held Delaware to the lowest total of any Drexel opponent. The teams' combined 74 points is the lowest total in a Drexel game. The previous low came in a 47-40 win over Hartford on Jan. 31, 1992.
This is the fourth consecutive game between George Mason and Drexel that has been decided by less than five points. The Dragons split the regular-season series last year and won a close 53-49 game in the quarterfinals of the 2004-05 CAA Tournament.
Drexel returns to Philadelphia on Friday, Jan. 27 to host conference newcomer Georgia State at 7:00 p.m.
