Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
Minnesota
Second-Half Struggles Doom Dragons Against Minnesota at CU Classic Tournament
11/28/2008 9:27:31 PM | Women's Basketball
Boulder, Colo. – Drexel played Minnesota (5-1) to a tight game through 20 minutes in the first half, but a 32-27 halftime lead by the Gophers quickly swelled in the second half as they went on to defeat the Dragons 74-50 in the opening game of the University of Colorado Coors Classic Tournament. Gabriela Marginean led Drexel with 15 points and nine rebounds and senior guard Andrea Peterson put in a season-high seven points, all in the first half. Drexel (2-3) shot season lows form the floor, beyond the arc and at the free-throw line as Minnesota rolled to its 5th straight victory.
Free throws kept Drexel in the game in the first half as the Dragons went for more than five minutes without a field goal midway through the period. But the Dragons knocked down 10-of-11 from the charity stripe and entered the locker room trailing by just five points 32-27 despite putting in just seven buckets from the floor. Andrea Peterson led the team in the first half with a season-high seven points. Peterson played solid defense against the Gophers' leading scorer Emily Fox to hold her scoreless in the first period.
The Dragons' defense did well to frustrate the towering forwards of Minnesota. Brooke Cornish had a block and forced Zoe Harper into two traveling violations while Tyler Hale, Nicole Hester and Jennifer Stjarnstrom combined to force the Gophers' frontline into committing five of the team's 11 first-half turnovers.
But the strengths that bolstered Drexel in the first half betrayed the Dragons in the second period as Minnesota pulled away with a 21-5 run early in the half. The Dragons went cold from the line, shooting just 3-for-11 from the stripe and 9-for-29 (31%) from the floor. The Gophers also doubled up the Dragons on the boards, 24-12, in the second half and 47-30 overall in the contest. After shooting just 32.1 percent in the first half, Minnesota found its mark in the second, making 13-of-23 shots from the floor for 56.5 percent. The Gophers also capitalized on 24 Drexel turnovers to score 30 points.
Playing in front of a crowd of supporters from who made the trek from Aurora, Colo., Kamile Nacickaite scored six points, pulled down five rebounds in her return to the state where she was a high school star at Regis Jesuit.
Emily Fox, who played at Highlands Ranch, a rival of Nacickaie's Regis Jesuit team, put in 13 points in the second half for the Gophers after being held off the board in the first period. Ashley Ellis-Milan led Minnesota with 10 rebounds to go with 13 points. Speedy guard Kay Sylva led the Gophers in scoring with 17 points, including 7-for-8 shooting from the free-throw line.
Freshman Ayana Lee saw five minutes of action in the game and scored her first collegiate points on a jumper late in the contest. Drexel returns to the Coors Events/Convocation Center tomorrow night to take on the host Colorado Buffaloes at 7:00 p.m. EST. Colorado lost in the other opening-round game 70-62 to UMass on Friday night.
