Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
Hofstra
Furious Drexel Rally Falls Short In 46-45 Loss to Hofstra
1/11/2007 12:35:08 PM | Women's Basketball
Philadelphia, Pa. - With 17 seconds remaining Drexel found itself trailing by just two points as the smoke cleared from a 23-10 rally that brought the Dragons (5-10, 0-4 CAA) back from a 13-point deficit. Coming out of a timeout Gabriela Marginean drove the lane as three Hofstra players converged on her. Marginean tossed the layup attempt high off the backboard but it did not fall and the freshman did not draw a foul. Seconds later she would hit a fast-break layup after a missed free-throw, but with less than a second remaining the Dragons' comeback fell tantilizingly short in a 46-45 loss to the Pride (13-2, 3-1 CAA).
Senior Kira Karlstrom keyed the rally by scoring seven of her 11 points during the run. Karlstrom hit a long three-pointer from five feet behind the arc to make it a 43-41 Hofstra lead with 2:53 left in the game, this was the closest Drexel had been to the Pride since the start of the contest. Seconds later, after a pair of free-throws by Hofstra's Cigi McCollin, Karlstrom hit an off-balance jumper in the lane to put the lead back at two points. A steal by Anora Suber at the defensive end set up Marginean's layup attempt which would have tied a game that looked to be out of the Dragons' reach early on.
The Dragons shot 22.7 percent from the floor in the first half and fell behind by 12 points at the break. But the bottom of Drexel's zone defense acquitted itself relatively well in the period by holding Hofstra's leading scorer Vanessa Gidden to just 3-for-11 shooting and forcing her to commit two turnovers.
After cruising through the first half shooting 37 percent from the floor and dominating the glass 26-14, Hofstra appeared to have the game in hand. Drexel's first signs of life came at the 14:04 mark when Anora Suber knocked down the first of back-to-back three-pointers which sparked Drexel's 23-11 run. The Dragons shot 40 percent in the second half and limited the Pride to just 29.2 percent from the floor.
Marginean, who led all scorers with 15 points, scored eight points during the spurt including the final bucket of the game. The freshman also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Karlstrom and Narissa Suber put in 11 points apiece. McCollin led the Pride with a dozen points and Gidden joined her in double figures with 10 points. Lizanne Murphy also chipped in seven points and 10 rebounds for Hofstra.
The women's game tipped off a doubleheader at the DAC as Drexel and Hofstra's men's teams played in the nightcap of the twinbill. The Dragons take the road for a game against Northeastern on Sunday, Jan. 13 at 1:00 p.m. The game can be heard live on WNTP 990AM with Pat Delsi and Stephanie Mix.
