Drexel University
Georgia State
Dramamine Dragons Finish Another in Final Seconds
1/27/2006 12:00:00 AM
Philadelphia, Pa. - Delise Johnson grabbed a deflected pass from Catherine Scanlon who lay sprawled on the ground and knocked down a 14-foot baseline jumper with 3.1 seconds remaining to give Drexel (8-9, 3-5 CAA) a 58-56 victory over Georgia State (6-10, 1-6 CAA). The barn-burner Drexel's third-consecutive game decided in the final seconds of play and its second-straight CAA victory.
Drexel got a defensive stop against the Panthers and Jackie Falson hurried the ball past half court to call time out with 10 seconds remaining. A tipped inbounds pass left the reset at nine seconds and change as the Dragons attempted to get the ball in for a final shot. Falson fed the ball to Scanlon in the post but her defender stepped back and Scanlon and the defender tumbled to the floor as the pass arrived. Scanlon recovered the ball and managed to toss it across the baseline through the deflection of Georgia State defenders. Johnson snatched the bouncing ball and knocked down the game-winning shot.
Narissa Suber scored 11 of her team-high 15 points in the first half, helping the Dragons to forge a lead as large at 16 points in the period. Scanlon, who also knocked down a pair of key free throws in the final minutes, finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for her 25th career double she also tied season highs with six assists and three steals. Falson put in a season-high tying eight points.
The Dragons opened the contest with a 9-4 run and had taken control by the midway point of the period. Drexel reeled out a 14-0 run to take a 27-11 lead on a Suber three-pointer at the 5:28 mark. During the run, six of Drexel's seven field goals came via three pointer and the Dragons held Georgia State without a field goal for nearly six minutes.
In the final three minutes of the stanza the Panthers found their sweet spot in the middle of the Drexel zone, capitalizing for an 8-0 run to make the score 35-29 at the break. The Dragons had a warm shooting half, by their standards, shooting 45.2 percent from the floor and knocking down 7-of-13 three-point attempts. The team also pressured the Panthers into committing 10 turnovers which were converted into 13 points, seven more than Georgia State converted on its six steals.
Hanging tough in the second half, the Panthers began to chip away at Drexel's lead by the 11-minute mark. After a pull-up jumper by Scanlon five and a half minutes into the period, the Dragons, who shot 29.2 percent in the second half, did not record a field goal for nearly nine and a half minutes. During this stretch Georgia State went on an 8-0 run to tie the game a 44 apiece on a Marcquitta Head free throw with 7:58 on the clock.
The Panthers took their first lead of the game on a technical foul shot, but Scanlon promptly converted a pair of free throws to put Drexel back on top. Minutes later Jackie Falson would drill a three from the top of the key to break Drexel's field-goal famine and make it a 49-47 game with 5:32 to play.
Brittany Hollins, who finished with 12 points for the Panthers, answered Falson's triple with one of her own from the baseline. After a Nicole Hester layup Marcquitta Head hit back-to-back buckets on the next two Panther posessions to give Georgia State is largest lead of the game at 54-51 with 2:40 remaining.
Scanlon drove the lane and drew a foul on the ensuing possession and knocked down both free throws to cut the lead to two points with a minute and a half left. Suber hit her fourth three-pointer of the game with just over a minute remaining to give Drexel a 56-54 advantage. But the game's leading scorer Kelcey Roegiers-Jensen converted two free throws on Georgia State's end, forcing Drexel to come up with another clutch shot for the win.
Georgia State outrebounded 38-27 and 13-11 on the offensive glass. But the Dragons forced the Panthers to commit 21 turnovers and snared a season-high 13 steals.
The Dragons will try to continue their conference winning streak on Sunday at home against UNC Wilmington at 1:00 p.m.
