Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
Monmouth
Dragons Hold Off Monmouth, 57-49
12/16/2007 4:17:15 PM | Women's Basketball
West Long Branch, N.J. - Gabriela Marginean scored the last 17 points of the game as the Dragons held off a furious charge by the Monmouth Hawks (1-8) for a 57-49 victory. Marginean finished with 22 points in the contest, 20 of which came in the second period when the Dragons (2-6) withstood a drought of 7:21 without a field goal to end the game. Nicole Hester turned in her best performance of the season for the Dragons with nine points, a team-high six rebounds, two steals and a block in 23 minutes of play. The victory is Head Coach Denise Dillon's 56th career coaching win, making her the second winningest coach in Drexel history behind Hall of Famer Lil Haas.
Drexel led by 12 points at the break and ripped off a 7-0 run to open the second period and take a 19-point lead at the 18:06 mark. But the Hawks reeled off a 10-2 run from that point to draw within nine points midway through the period. Marginean, who had been limited due to foul trouble, came off the bench at the 11:34 mark and promptly drilled three-pointers on three consecutive possessions to give Drexel a comfortable 49-34 lead with just under seven and a half minutes left.
Marginean's three at the top of the arc would prove to be Drexel's last field goal of the game, however, and the Hawks took advantage of some late turnovers to go on a 13-2 run. A long three-pointer from the baseline by Brooke McElroy drew the score to 51-47 with 1:25 left. But Marginean settle the team by snaring an offensive rebound and knocking down two free throws. She would finish out the game by making her final six from the line to finish a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe on the game.
While the Dragons made just six field goals in the second half, four of them were three-pointers by Marginean. The team finished out the contest shooting 41.5 percent from the floor and held Monmouth to just over 30 percent shooting. Jasmina Rosseel chipped in 10 points and led the team with four assists and three steals. Drexel force the Hawks into 20 turnovers and swiped a season-high 12 steals.
Drexel pulled away in the first half thanks to the defense of Nicole Hester whose steals on back-to-back possessions keyed a 12-0 Drexel run that gave the Dragons a 17-8 lead midway through the period. With Marginean on the bench in foul trouble, Drexel's scoring came from the hot hands of Hester and Rosseel who scored 15 of the team's 29 first-half points. Rosseel reeled off eight straight in a matter of two minutes when she nailed two three-pointers from the right elbow and then banked in a pull-up jumper from the right side. The Dragons shot a confident 45.8 percent in the first half and knocked down four of their 11 three-point attempts. Drexel's defense snared seven steals and pestered Monmouth into 12 turnovers and 26.1 percent shooting from the floor in the opening half.
The Dragons are back in action on Dec. 20 to tip off a three-game home stand with a game against University City rival Penn at 1:00 p.m.
