Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
Virginia Commonwealth
Late Charge Falls Short For Dragons in 65-61 Loss at VCU
2/10/2008 4:15:31 PM | Women's Basketball
Richmond, Va. - Gabriela Marginean hit a driving layup with 1:47 on the clock to give the Dragons a 56-55 lead after rallying from a nine-point deficit. But Virginia Commonwealth made 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch to hold on for the tight 65-61 win. The Rams improved to 18-4 and 8-3 in the CAA with the win. Drexel falls to 12-10, 7-4 in conference play. Marginean led all scorers with 24 points. Narissa and Anora Suber combined for 14 playing for the final time in front of their hometown crowd, from nearby Mechanicsville, Va., at Virginia Commonwealth.
The match-up of third-place teams proved to be every bit as close as the squads' identical 7-3 conference records entering the contest. The game saw four ties and four lead changes in the first half. The Dragons led by as much as five points in the period but the Rams held a six-point lead at halftime on a three-pointer by La'Tavia Rorie at the buzzer that made it 29-23.
The Rams held a five-point lead for much of the second half but capitalized on missed jump shots by Drexel on three consecutive possessions to take their largest lead of the game, 53-44, with 4:40 left in the contest. That's when the Drexel turned up the pressure and mounted its rally.
While the Dragons had not shot a free-throw by that point in the contest, the team worked its way to the line to put points on the board while keeping the game clock at bay. Narissa Suber knocked down both ends of a one-and-one after a loose-ball foul that put the Rams over the limit. Marginean poached the ensuing inbounds pass and put it in for a layup making it a 55-52 game with 3:31 remaining. Drexel's pressure defense continued to frustrate the Rams as they brought the ball back up court. Narissa Suber deflected a pass at the top of the key, dove on the loose ball and got fouled in the process. She knocked down both free throws to make it a one point game.
Drexel did a good job moving in its zone defense and denying the ball from VCU's forwards Quanitra Hollingsworth and Krystal Vaughn, to whom the team had been forcing the ball late in the contest. Hollingsworth was finally able to catch the ball on baseline 14 feet from the basket. But with little time left on the shotclock Hollingsworth forced up a bad shot that barely drew rim and was immediately rebounded by the Dragons. Marginean converted the defensive stand into a layup on the other end that gave Drexel it's only lead of the period.
After a steal by the Rams that resulted in a break-away layup by Rorie, with 39 seconds left, VCU held a 59-56 lead. Jasmina Rosseel sprinted the ball down court, drove the lane and fed Delise Johnson for a layup underneath to make it a 59-58 game with 32 ticks left. The Dragons fouled to get the ball back, but t he Rams, who came into the game shooting just over 64 percent from the line, knocked down four straight free-throws to push their lead to six points with seven seconds remaining.
A long three-pointer from Alison Lupariello cut the lead to three points with 1.3 seconds left, but time ran out on the Dragons as Brittany Pinkney's second free throw clanked off the rim to end the game.
The Dragons turned in one of their best rebounding performances of the season, edging the Rams 19-14 in the first half and matching their 31 boards in the contest despite being undersized in matchups aginst teh 6-foot-5 rebounding matchine Hollingsworth. Marginean led the team with six boards, Johnson added five and Stacy McCullough matched her career high with four. The Rams stepped up their free-throw shooting against Drexel, knocking down 21-of-26 attempts. While the Dragons did not miss from the stripe for a second straight game, they only earned six trips to the line.
The loss drops Drexel into a fourth-place tie with Towson in the CAA standings. The Dragons will have a chance to go for the season sweep against Delaware in their next game. The Blue Hens come to the DAC for a 7:00 p.m. contest on Thursday, Feb. 14. The contest will be part of "Think Pink Day" at the DAC, an initiative of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and the Susan G. Komen Foundayion to raise awareness of breast cancer. Fans wearing pink to the game will receive free admission.
