Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
PhilaU
Drexel and Philadelphia Give Area Youth an Exciting Exhibition on Dream Day
11/3/2006 1:14:43 PM | Women's Basketball
Philadelphia, Pa. - In front of a large crowd of energetic elementary school students on Drexel Dream Day, Philadelphia University and the Dragons dueled it out in the teams' first taste of competition this season. In the end Drexel edged its crosstown rival 57-52 in the exhibition contest. The annual Dream Day event drew several hundred youngsters from Philadelphia schools who all learned valuable life skills and participated in team building activities throughout the course of the day.
On the court, redshirt freshman Alison Lupariello supplied the offense necessary for the Dragons to sneak past the Lady Rams, but the contest was nip and tuck and could have gone either way in the final seven minutes of play. Lupariello put in 17 points, including five three-pointers, to lead all scorers. Ashley Webster led the Rams with 15 points and Alisha Ferguson registered a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Freshman forward Gabriela Marginean gave the Dragons their biggest lead of the game, a 17-point advantage, with a put back lay-up after grabbing an offensive rebound just over five minutes into the second half. But Drexel saw its 39-22 lead steadily dissipate from that point.
Philadelphia went on a 11-0 run from the 8:34 mark in the half to knot the game at 48-48 with 5:30 remaining on a lay-up by Kate McNulty. The Lady Rams used 7-for-8 free-throw shooting and a three-pointer by Meg Abele during the run to eliminate Drexel's lead.
Jennifer Stjarnstrom, another first-year player for the Dragons, put the team back on top when she drove to the top of the key and drew a foul. Stjarnstrom, who was the team's third leading scorer with nine points, knocked down both free throws to make it a 52-50 game. Delise Johnson gave Drexel some breathing room with a board and a put back which answered a pair of Abele free throws and kept the Drexel lead at two points.
The Dragons pulled away on a Lupariello three-pointer with 1:49 on the clock that made it a 55-51 game and Stjarnstrom came up with a big block on the defensive side to prevent the Lady Rams from answering. Lupariello knocked down two free throws for the final points of the 57-52 Drexel victory.
Drexel led by as much as 13 points in the first half and took a 26-16 advantage into the locker room. Philadelphia shot a chilling 22.7 percent in the period but turned it around in the second half to make half its shots and end up at 35.7 percent on the game. The Lady Rams also held a 37-31 advantage on the boards.
Narissa Suber the Dragons' leading returning scorer had 10 points in the game despite playing sparingly in the second half.
Drexel opens its regular season on Nov. 10 when Big Ten power Penn State comes to the DAC for a 7:00 p.m. tip.
