Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
George Mason
Karlstrom Assists Dragons to OT Victory Over Mason on Senior Night
3/1/2007 9:29:50 PM | Women's Basketball
Philadelphia, Pa. - After playing in a five-overtime record-breaker in their last home game, the Dragons (9-20, 4-14 CAA) needed just one extra period to put away the George Mason Patriots (8-20, 2-16), 70-67, in the season finale. Playing in her final game at the DAC, senior Kira Karlstrom, who has made a collegiate career out of rebounding like a forward despite her diminutive stature, showed that she can play the traditional point guard role just as well, handing out a career-high 10 assists and missing a triple-double by just one point and two rebounds on her Senior Night.
Delise Johnson scored six of the Dragons' eight points in the extra period to help Drexel maintain its pristine 4-0 record in overtime games. Drexel fell behind by three-points with just under three minutes left in the extra frame and when leading scorer Gabriela Marginean fouled out with 2:56 to play, things looked bleak for the Dragons.
But Johnson stepped up in her stead, grabbing an offensive board and laying in the put-back with 1:40 on the clock to cut Mason's lead to 68-67. The Dragons got a stop and Johnson knocked down a 14-foot jumper from the baseline to put Drexel ahead with 57 seconds remaining. After a lose-ball foul called on the Patriots ensuing possession gave the ball back to Drexel, Anora Suber stepped to the line and knocked down both ends of the 1-and-1 bonus opportunity to seal the 70-67 victory. Tracy Ann Holness made things exciting in the final second when, after a pair of missed free throws by Andrea Peterson, Holness threw up a prayer from half court that bounced off the backboard and nearly went in to force a second overtime. But Drexel, who has played 150 minutes of basketball over the past three games, was spared another extension of the game.
The game went to overtime when the game's high scorer, Lateisha Wade, made one of two free throws with 6.1 seconds on the clock to knot the game at 62-62. Gabriela Marginean who put together her sixth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds, drove the length of the court and spun to get open just inside the three-point arc. Her jumper fell just short off the front iron and the Dragons entered overtime for the second time in as many home games.
Drexel built a nine-point lead early in the second half but saw it crumble when the Patriots went on a 19-2 run while the Dragons went without a field goal for four minutes. George Mason led by nine points with 6:26 left in the game before the Dragons put on a display of their three-point shooting prowess to close the gap. Narissa Suber, who finished with at team-high 18 points, hit her sixth three of the game at the 6:03 mark to ignite a 11-2 Drexel run. Anora Suber dropped in a trey from the corner after a mad scramble left the ball in her hands with two seconds on the shot clock. Suber's swish sent the fans into a frenzy and made it a 61-59 George Mason lead.
After Suber's three-pointer, the Patriots sprinted down the court for a 2-on-1 break with Lateisha Wade, George Mason's high scorer with 19 points, drove in for a layup, but Narissa Suber, Drexel's lone defender, held her ground. Wade's shot came up short as she and Suber tumbled to the ground. Alison Lupariello grabbed the rebound and the Dragons got a timeout with 1:34 on the clock. Drexel set up a play for Narissa Suber, who had the hot hand with six treys on the night, but her shot came up short. Her sister Anora hustled down the rebound and when a second attempt missed the mark, Karlstrom scampered after the offensive board. The Dragons' hustle resulted in a three-pointer by Andrea Peterson at the top of the arc which gave Drexel a 62-61 lead with 1:13 to play. Wade's free-throw sent the game into overtime, where the Dragons have not lost all season.
Karlstrom's 10 assists is the most for a Dragon since Heather Wellborn had 13 against Vermont on Feb. 8, 2001. The lone senior on this year's Drexel squad started her Senior Night off with a pair of assists, an offensive rebounds and five points in the first three and a half minutes when the game was shaping up to be a shootout. George Mason shot 50 percent in the first half and Drexel shot 42.3 percent, in stark contrast to last season's 38-36 game which was the lowest scoring contest in Drexel history. The teams cooled down in the second half and George Mason ended up outshooting Drexel 39 percent to 37 percent from the floor. The Dragons were also outrebounded 44-40. The team came together when it mattered, however, holding George Mason to just one field goal in overtime on 1-for-7 shooting in the period.
Drexel closed out the season by winning three of its last four games and claiming ninth place in the CAA. The victory also sews up the number nine seed in next week's CAA Tournament. Drexel will take on Georgia State, the number eight seed, at 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 8 at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, Del.
