Drexel University
Georgia State
Dragons Outlast Georgia State 74-65 For Second Straight Win
1/15/2009 9:23:07 PM | Women's Basketball
Philadelphia - Jasmina Rosseel poured in a career-high 20 points on 5-for-11 shooting from deep and the Dragons once again used their superior free-throw accuracy to close out Georgia State down the stretch for a 74-65 victory. The Panthers whittled down a 16-point Drexel lead to just five in the final minute and a half, but Drexel's steady shooting from the free-throw line allowed the Dragons (8-7, 3-1) to hold on for the win. Gabriela Marginean finished with 18 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Four players reached double figures for Georgia State, who drops to 9-5 overall and 2-2 in CAA play.
Chandra Harris paced the Panthers with 17 points. She was joined in double-figure scoring by Brittany Graham (16 points), Jylisa Williams (12) and Crystal Johnson (11). Johnson, who is the CAA's leader in assists, dished out a game-high seven. Drexel's Andrea Peterson turned in another strong performance, knocking down her first two three point attempts and rolling to 13 points and three assists and four the third game in a row, the Dragons point guard did not commit a turnover. Nicole Hester had a solid all-around game for Drexel, chipping in seven points, six boards, two blocks, one steal and a team-leading five assists.
Georgia State made its final push with just under four minutes left in the game. The Panthers unleashed their full-court trap and went on a mini run capped by a layup by Harris that cut Drexel's lead to five ponts, 67-62, with 1:26 left in the game. But Drexel got the ball into the hands of its most consistent scorer this season, Gabriela Marginean. The junior forward drew a foul and hit both free-throws to make it a seven point game.
Her front line companion, Jennifer Stjarnstrom came up with a big offensive rebound off a missed three-pointer by Rosseel on the Dragons' next possession and, after being immediately fouled, knocked down one of two free-throws to push Drexel's lead to eight points with 48 seconds left. Stjarnstrom would corral a defensive board on the Panthers' side of the floor and draw another foul, this time converting both tosses to make it a 72-63 game with 32 seconds left, essentially sealing the victory. The Dragons went 5-for-6 from the line overall in the final half minute. For the game, Drexel shot 23-for-26 from the stripe. The Dragons came into the contest ranked first in the nation in free-throw shooting at 83.3 percent.
Drexel built a formidable lead in the first half while shooting 42.9 percent from the floor and making 4-of-10 from long-range. Jasmina Rosseel and Andrea Peterson knocked down a pair of threes each and Marginean victimized Georgia State's interior defense for 12 points in the period and the Dragons led 30-18 at the half.
Coming out of the locker room, it was more of the same from the Dragons. Rosseel canned three-pointers on back-to-back possessions early in the period to give Drexel its largest lead of the game at 39-23. The three-point shooting of Brittany Graham helped keep Georgia State in the contest.
The Dragons weathered a stretch of more than six minutes without at field goal midway through the period. But during that time Drexel shot a perfect 9-for-9 from the line to maintain an eight-point lead. Hester ended Drexel's drought with a step-back jumper from the wing at the 7:34 mark an the Dragons appeared to be in control once again.
Georgia State continued to trim Drexel's lead, however, getting it down to an uncomfortable five points with just under six minutes left to play as Johnson worked her way to the line seven times in a two-minute span courtesy of her driving ability. Peterson steadied her team with a steal in transition that resulted in a foul and a free-throw that gave Drexel a 62-53 lead with just over four minutes to go.
Freshman Marisa Crane buried a high-arcing three-pointer at the shot clock buzzer to push Drexel's lead back to 65-53 with 3:20 left in the game. Peterson followed it with a tough driving layup banked high off the back board as she was falling away to keep her team ahead at the two-minute mark and set up the thrilling conclusion to the contest.
Georgia State's second-half resurgence was due, in large part, to the Panthers rebounding. After being out-worked on the boards 18-12 in the first half, Georgia State out-rebounded Drexel 25-16 in the second period. While the Panthers shot much better in the second half, 41.9 percent, the Dragons' three-point shooting gave them the advantage.
The win was Drexel's fourth straight over Georgia State and the 80th victory of Head Coach Denise Dillon's career in University City. Marginean, who shot 8-for-9 from the line, saw her consecutive free-throw streak come to an end at 37 straight with a miss early in the second half.
The Dragons now take to the road for a match-up with conference power James Madison at 2:00 on Sunday, Jan. 18 in Harrisonburg, Va. Drexel upset a James Madison team led by WNBA lottery pick Tamera Young in Philadelphia last season.
