Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
Army
Dragons Turned Away By Rallying Army, 60-57
11/20/2007 8:48:57 PM | Women's Basketball
West Point, N.Y. - Trailing by eight points with 6:28 remaining in the second half, Jasmina Rosseel and Gabriela Marginean sandwiched three-pointers around an Anora Suber scoop layup to make it a 58-57 game with just over a minute left. The Dragons set up a play with 16 seconds remaining, but Narissa Suber's driving layup attempt fell short and Drexel (1-3) was forced to foul. As Army's lead swelled to three points at 60-57, the Black Knights strategically used their remaining fouls to force Drexel into taking a last-second shot. Andrea Peterson's three-point attempt at the buzzer went right of the rim, giving Army (2-1) the 60-57 victory.
Drexel stormed into West Point for the first 20 minutes of play, surprising Army to take a 27-18 lead at halftime bolstered by Gabriela Marginean's 15 points at the break. But the Black Knights turned the Dragons away in the second half, hitting their first nine shots to pull ahead for the first time at the 16:59 mark and hold on for a 60-57 win.
Marginean finished the game with 24 points and nine rebounds, falling just short of her third straight double-double. Jasmina Rosseel scored a career-high 13 points on 3-for-7 shooting from deep. Drexel opened up with a strong showing in the first half, as the Dragons shot 45.8 percent from the floor and held Army to 27.6 percent shooting. The Black Knights' leading scorer Cara Enright was allowed just two points by the Drexel defense on 1-for-12 shooting. Drexel edged Army on the boards 17-16 as Delise Johnson and Marginean combined for 12 of the Dragons caroms.
After scoring just 18 points in the first half, Army came out of the locker room charging in the second half. The Black Knights played like a team possessed and had matched their entire first-half output just over six minutes into the period.
During their run, the Black Knights packed their zone defense inside the arc and draped two defenders on Marginean. Army's defense left Dragons open on t he perimeter and it wasn't long before Narissa Suber made them pay for the decision. The senior sharpshooter knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to hold off the Black Knights rally and briefly reclaim a 33-30 lead for Drexel at t he 15:57 mark.
But after being bottled up for the entire first period, Army's leading scorer, Cara Enright hit a pair of her own three-pointers to put Army back in command. Army pushed its lead to eight points at 41-33 by the 13:31 mark. The Black Knights held off several comeback bids by the Dragons and maintained their eight-point advantage, 53-45, with just over six minutes left.
The Dragons sprung to life after a step-back three-pointer by Marginean cut the lead to five points. On Army's possession, Marginean tipped away the ball and took her defender one-on-one from half court. Marginean changed direction twice then rolled out a spin move for a layup leaving her opponent backpedaling on the baseline.
Drexel forced a miss on the other end, but gave up an offensive rebound that resulted in a quick foul by Rosseel. Erin Anthony made one of two shots to push her team's lead to four points. Rosseel stepped up on defense this time, chasing down a steal after she and Marginean converged on the Knights' point guard. Rosseel sprinted in for a layup that made it a 56-54 Army lead with 2:43 left.
A tough jumper from the elbow by Alex McGuire made it a four-point lead again. But on Drexel's possession, Marginean drove into the lane and drew a double team, she kicked the ball out to a wide open Rosseel who was spotting up at the three-point line. The freshman drained the long-range shot to make it a 58-57 game with just over a minute left.
Drexel's defense packed into a match-up zone and forced point guard Nalini Hawkins to miss a tough jumper from the foul line. Drexel snared the rebound and set up its final play which resulted in a contested miss by Narissa Suber on the left side of the lane.
Army shot a blistering 62.5 percent from the floor in the second half and knocked down 12-of-15 free-throws down the stretch after entering the game shooting just over 55 percent from the line. Erin Anthony compiled a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double for the Black Knights and joined Enright, McGuire and Hawkins in double-scoring.
