Drexel University
Old Dominion
ODU Comes From Behind To Best Dragons
2/3/2006 12:00:00 AM
Norfolk, Va. - Senior Jackie Falson continued her hot shooting, besting her season with 12 points, 11 of which came in the first half on 4-for-5 shooting. But the Dragons (9-10, 4-6 CAA) quickly saw a 33-29 first-half lead vanish at Old Dominion (11-7, 9-0 CAA) as the Lady Monarchs shot 71 percent in the second period to win 76-49. The loss snaps a three-game winning streak for the Dragons who remain tied for seventh place in the conference with Sunday's opponent Virginia Commonwealth.
Drexel opened the game with a 7-2 run and made its first five shots, mirroring Old Dominion's hot start in the teams' first meeting of the season. Falson made three of her four three-point attempts to help keep the Lady Monarchs at arm's length in the first period. The Dragons led by as many as 10 points within the first 3:50 of play, leading 12-2 after a Narissa Suber layup.
Old Dominion took a brief lead about halfway through the period by a tough layup by 5-foot-4 Kira Karlstrom amidst three towering Lady Monarchs defenders under the basket put Drexel back on top. Two Falson triples later, Drexel was back up by six points. The Dragons shot 52 percent in the first half and took a four-point lead into the locker room, but Old Dominion managed to keep it close by snaring 11 offensive rebounds and outrebounding the Dragons 20-11 overall.
In the second half, Old Dominion came out hot as T.J. Jordan, who had been held scoreless in the game, nailed a three-pointer and Lawona Davis followed it with three-straight buckets to tie the game at 38-38 at the 16-minute mark. The Lady Monarchs used a 12-2 run to take a commanding lead by the mid-point of the period. Sherida Triggs scored 11 of her 15 points in the period and Old Dominion missed just eight of 28 shot attempts. Drexel shot a cold 29 percent in the second half, making just five buckets.
The Dragons were without the help of their third-leading scorer, Nicole Hester, who sat out of the game while nursing an injury. Narissa Suber and Candice Williams finished with nine points each and Falson dished out five assists to go with her dozen points.
Drexel travels to Richmond to take on Virginia Commonwealth in the second game of their road swing. Tip time is set for 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 5.
