Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
Hofstra
Dragons Close Out Hofstra in Tight 71-66 Contest
1/11/2009 2:38:39 PM | Women's Basketball
Philadelphia - Drexel knocked down 5-of-6 free throws in the final 33 seconds to sink Hofstra (9-5, 1-2) in dramatic fashion 71-66 in front of a regional television audience on The Comcast Network. Drexel's defense came up big in the final minutes to help the Dragons (7-7, 2-1 CAA) rally from a five-point deficit in the last four minutes of play. Gabriela Marginean led Drexel with 21 points and Jasmina Rosseel added 15 after shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range in the first half. Nicole Hester grabbed a team-leading eight rebounds and came up with a key steal and a block in the final moments of the game.
Hofstra's Joelle Connelly (12 points, 12 rebounds) and Jess Fuller (15 points, 11 rebounds) both posted double-doubles for the Pride, who rallied from a 15-point hole in the first half to lead by as much as six points in the second period. The Pride used a 11-0 run to close out the half trailing by just four points, 34-30, after being behind by double-figures for much of the period. Hofstra opened the second half with a 14-5 push and took the lead for the first time since the opening minutes on a Nicole Capurso three-pointer.
Capruso's second three-pointer, just minutes later, would give the Pride its largest lead of the game, 54-48 with 9:22 to play. Capruso made three of her first four three-point attempts in the second period en route to a game-high 21 points. But from that juncture, Drexel took advantage of spotty free-throw shooting by the Pride and used solid offensive execution to get back in the game.
Kamile Nacickaite came off the bench to knock down a three-pointer from the top of the arc to take back the lead for her team, briefly, 57-55 with 7:46 to go. Capruso's third three-pointer of the period put Hofstra back on top by one, but the Dragons' defense congealed to stymie the Pride and create the opportunity for Drexel to pull ahead.
Marginean poached a steal in the land and drove the length of the court for a layup to put Drexel ahead 61-58 at the 4:58 mark. A pair of Marisa Crane layup augmented Drexel's lead to five points, but Hofstra's dominant front court tandem of Fuller and Connelly tied the game at 63 apiece on a pair of buckets in the lane.
With the score knotted at 63-63 and just over two minutes left in the game, Nicole Hester drew an offensive foul on a driving Aamira Terry. On the ensuing Drexel possession, Rosseel knocked down her fifth three-pointer of the game, putting Drexel on top 66-64 with 1:12 left. Another jumper by Capruso evened the score yet again with under a minute in the game.
Freshman Tyler Hale would draw a foul on the Dragons' next possession and confidently drain her first free-throw attempt to give her team a 67-66 lead. On the other end of the court Hale's pestering defense on Fuller forced her to miss from close range and the Dragons got the ball back. Andrea Peterson and Marginean went 4-for-4 from the line in the last 11.7 seconds to close out a 16-for-17 shooting performance from the line and a thrilling Drexel victory.
Marginean shot a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe to extend her consecutive free-throw streak to 34 tosses without a miss. Drexel overcame a 29-percent shooting performance in the second half and also managed to weather being out rebound by Hofstra 40-32. The Dragons' defense came up with 11 steals, led by Marginean's trio of swipes, and forced 23 Hofstra turnovers. Drexel converted the miscues into 25 points on its end of the court. Peterson led the Dragons with six assists and, for the second game in a row, she did not commit a single turnover.
Drexel is back in action at the DAC on Thursday, Jan. 15 when the Dragons host the Panthers of Georgia State in a 7:00 p.m. contest.
