Drexel University
Towson
Dragons Knocked From CAA Tournament By Rival Towson
3/14/2008 10:41:46 PM | Women's Basketball
Newark, Del. - Drexel saw one of its most successful seasons in recent history come to an abrupt halt at the hands of regional rival Towson in the quarterfinals of the CAA Tournament. Towson forced 21 turnovers and capitalized for 24 points off of them to pull out a 62-53 come-from-behind victory over the Dragons. Senior Narissa Suber ended her record-setting collegiate career with a game-high 18 points and four three-pointers. Gabriela Marginean put together a 13-point, 13-rebound double-double and Delise Johnson closed out her career with 12 points and seven rebounds. Drexel finishes the season 18-12 and the team's 13-5 mark in conference mark was their best ever in league play.
The Dragons led by nine at halftime 29-20 as Marginean and Suber combined for 24 points and the team's defense held Towson to 26.6 percent shooting in the period. Drexel pushed its advantage to as much as 13 points early in the second half.
Towson's shots started falling in the second period, however, which allowed the Tigers to get into their trapping defense and turn up the pressure. Drexel turned the ball over 15 times in the second half and converted them into 21 points. Jamell Beasley gave Towson its first lead of the game when she knocked down three free-throws after being fouled on a three-pointer to put the Tigers up 40-39 at the 10-minute mark.
Senior Stacy McCullough steadied her team with a pull-up three-pointer at the top of the key to put the Dragons back on top. She pulled away a steal on the opposite end of the court. But a missed three-pointer by Jasmina Rosseel resulted in a three by Towson's Holly Mahan, who hit four of them in the second half.
Drexel pushed its lead to 47-44 on a put-back layup by Johnson off an offensive rebound at the 5:26 mark. The Tigers press forced two turnovers in the next 27 seconds, however, and went on a 6-0 run during that span. Drexel was not able to recover in the final minutes of play as the Dragons shot just 27.6 percent in the second half.
Narissa Suber finished the most prolific three-point shooting career in Drexel history with 312 treys, the second most in CAA history. Delise Johnson swatted one block in the game, she is one of just eight players in Drexel history with more than 50 blocked shots. Senior Stacy McCullough had more points, assists and rebounds this season than her previous three combined. Anora Suber closed out her Drexel career among the program's all-time top 15 three-point shooters.
