Drexel University
Hofstra
Marginean's 29 Points Pace Dragons in Win at Hofstra
1/29/2009 8:53:43 PM | Women's Basketball
Hempstead, N.Y. – CAA Co-Player of the Week Gabriela Marginean led all scorers with 29 points, including 12 of Drexel's first 13 points in the contest, helping the Dragons (11-8, 6-2) jump out to an early lead in a 57-50 victory at Hofstra (12-7, 4-4). Jasmina Rosseel and Kamile Nacickaite hit key three-pointers in the final minutes, helping to stave off a late rally by the Pride. The victory is Drexel's third straight, moving the Dragons into a four-way tie atop the CAA standings with James Madison, Old Dominion and Virginia Commonwealth.
Nicole Hester led the Dragons with nine rebounds and five assists to go along with six points and a pair of steals in one of her best all-around performances of the season. Rosseel scored all eight of her points in the second half and dished out five assists to match Hester's game-high for dishes. Andrea Peterson and Brooke Cornish led the Dragons' defensive front, which held its opponent under 60 points for a third straight game. Cornish swatted away four shots and Peterson came up with three steals and two clutch hustle plays in the final minute and a half.
The Dragons out-worked Hofstra on the boards 33-30 and 10-8 on the offensive glass. Hofstra shot 54.2 percent in the second half and 42.9 in the game, rallying from a deficit as large at 16 points in the second half to get within four points of the Dragons in the final two minutes of the game.
Drexel used a 14-6 surge opening the second half to build on its 27-19 halftime lead and pull ahead by 16 points, 41-25, just over five minutes into the period. Marginean, who scored 14 points in the first half, converted a three-point play to give Drexel what would be its largest lead of the contest.
But Hofstra's Natty Fripp scored seven of her nine points over the next five minutes to spur the Pride on a 11-2 run that shrunk Drexel's lead to six points, 43-37, by the 10-minute mark in the half. The Dragons turned to their two go-to scorers over the next minutes as Rosseel and Marginean executed a multi-threat pick and roll. Rosseel struck first, dribbling around a Marginean pick to free herself for a three-pointer that put the Dragons back in command. On their next trip down the duo connected again, as Marginean boarded a Rosseel miss and laid in a quick put-back layup to make it a 48-39 with 5:03 left.
Hofstra responded immediately with a layup by leading-scorer Jess Fuller and a trey from Nicole Capurso, cutting Drexel's lead to six points. A scramble for a loose ball on Drexel's baseline led to a sprint-out layup by Fripp that made it a 48-44 game with 3:38 left to play and brought the Pride fans to their feet.
With Hofstra bearing down on their home court and more than enough time left for a comeback, freshman Kamile Nacickaite answered the call. Rosseel drew the Pride's defense in the lane just enough to free up Nacickaite on the wing. Rosseel hit her with a kick-out pass and the rookie hit her mark with a three-pointer, making it at 51-44 game with 3:08 remaining.
Another three-pointer by Hofstra's Capurso again trimmed Drexel's lead to four points with 1:42 on the clock. With Peterson bringing the ball up court on the ensuing possession Hofstra guard Niki Williams poked the ball away from her and into the back court just as she crossed the mid-court line. Peterson sprinted down the ball just before Williams got there, drawing a foul as Williams tried to dive for the ball. Peterson converted both the resultant free throws to put Drexel up by six points.
With 40 seconds left Hofstra divested Rosseel of the ball and appeared to have an open look at a three-pointer on the fast break. But a back-pedaling Peterson tipped away a pass to the wing that would have landed in the hands of hot-shooting Capurso. Hofstra had one last chance to cut into Drexel's lead when Capurso was able to draw a foul while shooting a three-pointer. But the freshman missed two of three-from the line and the Dragons were able to hold on for their second win of the season over the Pride.
Marginean scored 12 of Drexel's first 13 points in the contest and finished the first half with 14 points, helping the Dragons to enter the locker room with a 27-19 lead. The Dragons did their best to keep the Pride off the boards, holding a slight 19-16 edge at the break, led by Hesters' seven boards. Hofstra went to a four-guard lineup midway through the period and Drexel countered with a lineup including guards Andrea Peterson, Marisa Crane and Jasmina Rosseel. But the presence of Marginean proved to be a match-up problem for the Pride as she was able to outrun Hofstra's post defenders on back-cuts and shoot over the Pride's diminutive guards.
The victory is Drexel's third straight, which is the Dragons' longest winning streak of the season. With losses by Old Dominion and James Madison on Thursday, Drexel is now in a four-way logjam atop the conference standings at 6-2 in CAA play. The Dragons are back in action on Sunday when they travel to UNC Wilmington for a 2:00 tip with the Seahawks.
