Drexel University
La Salle
Dragons Come up Short in City Battle With La Salle, 48-46
11/22/2008 2:59:58 PM | Women's Basketball
Philadelphia - A pair of free throws by Margaret Elderton with six seconds left in a contest knotted at 46-46 proved to be the decisive points in a 48-46 loss to La Salle (3-1) in another tight city rivalry game. Gabriela Marginean finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Dragons (2-1) in both categories.
After shooting 50 percent from the floor in the first half and leading by six at the break. Drexel's offense ground to a halt in the second period as the team shot just 27.8 percent from the field and 1-for-9 from deep. The Dragons managed just 17 points on seven field goals and a pair of free throws. La Salle did not generate much more in their offensive sets, shooting just 28.6 percent (6-for-21), but the Explorers made 19 trips to the free-throw line and converted 12 of them. Morgan Robertson led La Salle with 13 points, seven from the foul line, and five rebounds.
The close game finished with an anticlimactic conclusion as Elderton brought the ball up the court with 22 seconds remaining. She tried to shake her defender, Marisa Crane, by dribbling around a series of three screens on the perimeter. Drexel's defense switched on the picks with Tyler Hale popping out to cover Elderton after the final screen on the right wing. Hale was immediately whistled for a blocking foul putting Elderton on the line for two free throws, as La Salle was in the double bonus for the final three minutes of the contest. Elderton knocked down both and the Dragons failed to get up a shot after a mad scramble down the court with six seconds remaining.
The Dragons squandered a 29-23 halftime, allowing the Explorers to pull ahead with just over eight minutes remaining in the second half after an 8-0 La Salle run. Drexel went more than six minutes without a field goal from the 11-minute mark until 5:02 on the clock. Hale's layup off a nice baseline pass by Marginean made it a 42-40 La Salle lead.
La Salle pushed its lead to five points, 45-40 with just under three minutes left, but the Dragons quickly chipped away at it with a pair of offensive rebounds and put-back layups. Nicole Hester corralled a lose ball after Hale got a tip on an offensive rebound to make it 45-42. Marginean muscled back a shot after grabbing an offensive board to make it a 45-44 game with 1:42 left. Drexel was whistled for a foul at the other end and Elderton converted one of two shots to push the Explorers' lead to two points.
Marginean tied the game on a driving layup with 1:15 left then poached a pass on the opposite end to set up a final offensive opportunity for the Dragons. Coming out of a timeout, Nicole Hester found herself open for a three-pointer with 23 seconds left. Hester jacked up the shot and sprinted in to follow the miss. Marginean dashed across the baseline to grab the offensive rebound, but she lost her handle on the ball amidst a crowd of players in the corner, setting up the Explorers' final possession.
Drexel held a six-point advantage at halftime thanks to 50 percent shooting from the floor in the period. Marginean put in 14 points, nine of which came during a 12-0 Drexel run that opened up a 29-21 lead for the Dragons.
Andrea Peterson led the Dragons with four assists and no turnovers. Kamile Nacickaite chipped in nine points and seven boards and Brooke Cornish anchored Drexel's defense with a season-high three blocks in 16 minutes of play.
The Dragons play the second of four straight road games on Tuesday when the team travels to Bucknell for a 5:00 tilt with the Bison in Lewisburg, Pa.
