Drexel University
Delaware
Dragons Halt Delaware's Dominance With 66-62 Victory
1/10/2008 9:39:27 PM | Women's Basketball
Newark, Del. - Senior Narissa Suber led the Dragons with 24 points and six rebounds and was a perfect 11-for-11 from the line as Drexel beat Delaware (2-12, 1-1), 66-62, for the first time in her collegiate career and the first time in the team's previous 18 meetings. Gabriela Marginean added 21 points in 28 minutes. Drexel (7-6, 2-0) came back from a six-point deficit early in the second half and won the game despite Marginean, Nicole Hester and Delise Johnson being in foul trouble for the majority of the game. The victory is Drexel's sixth consecutive and second in CAA play.
Drexel held off the Blue Hens down the stretch despite a plethora of offensive rebound opportunities and full-court pressure that forced two turnovers. Jasmina Rosseel hit two big three-pointers in the second half and converted a free-throw with seven seconds left to keep the Dragons ahead in the final moments. Rosseel scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half, including a 3-for-3 performance from deep.
Delaware opened the second half with a 9-4 run to take a 38-32 lead, less than five minutes into the second half. It was the largest lead the Blue Hens would hold on the night, as the Dragons surged back to go on a 14-2 run. Drexel took a 46-40 lead when Hester fed Marginean on a back-door cut for a layup and a foul, converting a three-point play. Rosseel hit two three-pointers during the spurt and Narissa Suber canned a three-pointer from the wing after twisting herself around a screen to get open, making it a 43-38 game at the 14:05 mark.
Foul trouble revisited the Dragons in the second half when Hester picked up her fourth foul at the 10:08 mark and Marginean matched her with 7:49 on the clock. Drexel was ahead 52-47 at the time. Suber took over with the duo on the bench, knocking down a wide-open three-pointer to give the Dragons a 55-47 cushion. Drexel held onto the lead for the four minutes while the forwards were on the bench.
Delaware's second leading scorer, Kyle DeHaven, fouled out with 1:24 left in the game. With the speedy guard out of the contest, The Blue Hens' press had difficulty catching up to the Dragons. But Delaware took full advantage of it's superior height on the blocks, pulling down four offensive rebounds in the final two minutes and putting back two for layups. A Courtney Irving put-back with 16.2 seconds left cut the lead to just three points, The game-clinching play came when the Dragons tied up a loose ball that could have been a turnover with 8.5 seconds left. The possession went to Drexel on the resultant jump ball and Rosseel converted from the line to give Drexel the benchmark win.
In the first half, Drexel jumped out to a 13-2 lead to open the game, taking advantage of forgiving rims to hit their first four shots including three three-pointers. Delaware answered with an 8-0 run to cut the lead to 13-10 at the 12:50 mark. Marginean and Hester played just eight minutes in the first half, but Drexel managed to hold a lead until the 1:45 mark when Courtney Irving put back a layup to give the Blue Hens a 27-26 lead. Suber converted two free throws to trim it to 29-28 heading into the half.
Suber did her part to carry the team in the first half, with two of its leading scorers on the bench. The senior put in 14 points and shot 7-for-7 from the free-throw line. She finished the game leading the team in scoring, rebounds (6) and steals (3). Hester handed out a team-high five assists to go with seven points and four rebounds. Delaware beat the Dragons on the boards 39-29 and 22 of the Hens' rebounds came on the offensive glass. They converted the offensive caroms in to 28 points to Drexel's four second-chance points.
Drexel's victory is the first over Delaware since Jan. 27, 1999, a win that also came at the Bob Carpenter Center. The win also extends the team's winning streak to six straight games which is the longest since the 2000-01 season, a run that stretched from Feb. 13 to March 8.
The Dragons continue their road swing on Sunday at George Mason. Tip time is set for 2:00 p.m. at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va.
