Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
Siena
Dragons Pull Out an Overtime Thriller at Siena, 69-66
11/29/2006 8:00:16 PM | Women's Basketball
Albany, N.Y. - Gabriela Marginean made a strong post move to get a lay-up against a double team and draw a foul with 1:17 remaining in overtime. The freshman forward stepped to the line and converted a conventional three-point play to put Drexel (2-4) ahead of Siena (1-5) 67-66, a lead the team would cling to for a 69-66 victory. Drexel overcame a 13-point first-half deficit and four-point deficit with three minutes remaining in overtime to earn its second straight win.
Marginean led the Dragons with 24 points, including the first 12 of the game for Drexel which helped to keep the Dragons alive after Siena jumped out to a 13-0 lead. Kira Karlstrom scored a season-high 13 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out a career-high six assists. Freshman forward Nicole McCombs scored a season-high 13 points and came one board short of a double-double.
The Dragons appeared to have the game in hand after seizing the momentum late in the second half. Karlstrom hit her second three-pointer of the game, her trademark high-arcing shot swished through the net at the 4:13 mark to give Drexel a 53-52 lead. On Siena's trip down the court, Karlstrom dove to keep a lose ball alive at right wing near the three-point line. While she didn't get the ball, she tipped it as the Siena guard attempted to pass it, forcing a turnover. The tenacious 5-foot-4 guard sprinted through the lane on the ensuing possession, surprising post players and grabbing the offensive rebound off a missed jumper by Marginean for a quick put-back lay-up to give Drexel a 57-54 lead with 1:39 remaining. She grabbed a defensive rebound on the next trip down the court, forcing Siena to foul in hopes of getting the ball back.
But the young Drexel squad missed three of six free throws in the final minute which allowed Siena to get back in the game. Shondaya Burrell drove toward the lane then kicked the ball out to Melissa Manzer who hit a wide-open three-pointer to draw the Saints within one point at 58-57 with 21 seconds remaining. Narissa Suber, who finished with 12 points, was the target of Siena's quick foul on the next possession. The junior made both free-throws to give Drexel a three-point lead. Burrell, who used her quickness to get into the lane for 17 points in the game, drove on the left side, hit a lay-up and drew a foul with 11 seconds left on the clock. She hit the resulting free-throw to knot the score at 60-60 and after an off-balance jumper by Suber missed the mark the game move into overtime.
Drexel fell behind 66-62 with 2:24 left in overtime after Laura Menty, who scored a game-high 28 points for Siena, hit three-straight buckets. McCombs settled the team by spinning into the post and drawing a foul. The freshman forward hti both free throws to close the score to 66-64. On the next trip down, Karlstrom hit Marginean with a bounce pass in the post. Marginean spun into a double team but went up strong for the short-range shot which fell in despite the foul, tying the game at 66-66. The freshman shook off her jitters and cooly knocked down the free throw to give Drexel a lead it would not surrender.
With 1:17 left in the contest the Dragons were still faced with the daunting task of stopping Menty who had been having her way in the lane for most of the game. Drexel forced the Siena forward to cough up the ball on the next possession. But on Drexel's offensive end Marginean tried to thread a bounce pass across the baseline to Delise Johnson. The ball hit Johnson's foot and rolled back across the baseline where Marginean pounced on it. The ball was called out of bounds, giving it back to Siena with 44 seconds left.
Johnson, who was charged with stopping Menty in the overtime period, got a chance to atone for her boot however. Johnson challenged Menty on the next trip down and got her to alter her shot enough to force a miss. Menty grabbed the offensive board, but Johnson stuck with her and pulled it away for a steal to seal the game. Karlstrom and Suber knocked down a free-throw each to close out Drexel's second straight victory.
Drexel had to overcome a slow start in the first half to enable the thrilling outcome in the extra stanza. The Dragons fell behind 13-0 and did not get a basket until the 15:25 mark in the game. Marginean kept Drexel in the game with a series of driving lay-ups. She was the only Dragon who put the ball in the basket for the first 10 minutes of the game. But a lay-up by McCombs keyed a 12-2 Drexel run that tied the game at 24-24 with 3:25 left in the period. The Dragons held Siena scoreless for nearly seven minutes during the scoring spurt.
Minutes later Narissa Suber would knock down her second three-pointer of the game to give the Dragons their first lead of the contest, 31-30 with 36 seconds left. After a missed jumper by Burrell, Drexel hurried the ball down court and Kelly Golden hit Alison Lupariello for a wide-open three-pointer at the top of the three-point arc to send the Dragons into the locker room with an improbably 34-30 lead.
It took a season-high 46-percent shooting performance to get Drexel back in the game in the first half and the rally was also bolstered by a 5-for-15 showing from deep. Siena lit up the nets, shooting 58.3 percent from the floor in the second half and 50.9 on the game, but Drexel's seven three-pointers helped generate the final margin of victory.
Walk-on Kelly Golden gave the Dragons 28 quality minutes for a second straight game. Golden dished out a career-high four assists without a turnover. Drexel had four players score in double figures for the first time this season. The Dragons took care of the ball, committing a season-low 10 turnovers in the victory.
The Dragons return home for a taste of Colonial Athletic Association competition against Delaware on Sunday, Dec. 3 at 1:00. The Blue Hens received votes in the national AP Top 25 Poll this week after knocking off nationally ranked Kentucky earlier in the season.
