Drexel University
Hofstra
Seniors Shine One Last Time at the DAC , Upset Hofstra
2/26/2006 12:00:00 AM
Philadelphia, Pa. - Playing for the last time in front of a home crowd at the Daskalakis Athletic Center, seniors Candice Williams, Jackie Falson and Catherine Scanlon combined to score 36 points and lead the Dragons (13-13, 8-9 CAA) to a 69-46 upset of Hofstra (17-9, 12-5 CAA), the No. 2 team in the Colonial Athletic Association. Narissa Suber scored 21 points, to help the Dragons to end the Pride's six-game winning streak.
Scanlon finished with 22 points, including her 1,400th career point, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Suber hit the 20-point mark for a second-straight game grabbed five boards and dished out a career-high five assists. Williams put in 10 points and played well on defense, grabbing three steals and swatting a shot. Delise Johnson came off the bench to score eight points and grab six rebounds.
The Dragons took at 5-3 lead at the 19:20 mark, on the first of five Suber three-pointers, and never looked back. Drexel got Hofstra out of its offensive rhythm early, trapping the Pride's star forward Vanessa Gidden in the post and forcing her into three traveling turnovers.
The Pride had a dozen giveaways by intermission and finished he contest with 23 turnovers. Drexel took advantage to outscore Hofstra 20-7 in points off turnovers. The Dragons also held Hofstra to its lowest offensive output of the season. Drexel also kept the Pride below the 50-point mark for just the second time this season, the other time was when they played No. 8 UConn and lost 86-49.
Gidden, who put up a 21-point, 17-rebound double-double in the teams' first meeting this season, was limited to 10 points and nine rebounds. Drexel outworked Hofstra on the boards grabbing 33 caroms to the Prides' 30, which was also a stark contrast to the first game this season in which Hofstra beat the Dragons on the boards 53-35.
After Drexel took an 18-7 lead midway through the first half, Hofstra went on a run to shave the margin to four points at 18-14. Johnson put Drexel back in control with a jumper and a lay-up on dishes from Nicole Hester that were sandwiched by two mid-range jumpers by Scanlon. The run gave Drexel its largest lead of the game at 27-14 with one minute left in the period. The Dragons went into the locker room with a 29-17 advantage.
When Hofstra opened the second stanza with a 8-0 run to make the score 29-25, Drexel had to fight off demons of second-half collapses that have plagued them all season. Williams steadied the team with a lay-up down low and Suber ensured that another second-half comeback was not going to happen, driving the lane for a lay-up and canning a three-pointer on consecutive possessions. The trey made it a 36-27 Drexel lead and ignited a 23-5 Drexel run.
During the Drexel spurt, the Dragons held Hofstra without a field goal for nearly six and half minutes. When the smoke cleared the Dragons held a 54-32 lead with 7:37 left in the game. Hofstra would get no closer than within 18 points for the duration of the game. Suber punctuated the victory over the second-ranked team in the conference by draining her final three with 37 seconds left in the game.
Drexel sizzled to a 52 percent shooting performance from the floor in the second half, showing no let down despite holding a sizeable lead. After shooting just 23 percent in the first half, Hofstra warmed up to shoot 44 percent from the field in the second period to finish at 33 percent for the game. Cigi McCollin led the Pride with 13 points, three of them on three-pointers.
The win keeps the Dragons in a tie for sixth-place in the conference with UNC Wilmington, but if the conference tournament were to start today Drexel would earn the No. 6 seed because of today's win over Hofstra. Drexel finishes its regular season at William & Mary on March 2. Tip time is 7:00 p.m.
