Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
Delaware
Dragons Snap Delaware's Winning Streak With 56-40 Victory in CAA Opener
1/4/2009 3:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Newark, Del. – Drexel (6-6, 1-0 CAA) halted Delaware's (8-4, 0-1 CAA) six-game winning streak with a 56-40 victory in the teams' opening game in Colonial Athletic Association play. Drexel's trio of seniors stepped to the forefront with the nation's leading scorer, Gabriela Marginean, shackled with foul trouble and held to a season-low two points in just 16 minutes of play. Andrea Peterson pulled away a career-high five steals, Nicole Hester led the team with four assists to go with a season-high 10 points and Brooke Cornish contributed career highs of eight points and four rebounds in 15 minutes. Sophomore Jasmina Rosseel added game highs of 15 points and eight rebounds while playing a career-high 40 minutes.
"We had a great all-around effort to get this win today," Head Coach Denise Dillon said. "We needed some other players to step up and they did. Our seniors showed their leadership ability and we had some younger players come up with big shots for us as well."
Peterson led Drexel's best defensive effort ever against the Blue Hens. The Dragons forced 21 Delaware turnovers and converted them into 15 points while holding the Blue Hens to just 24 percent shooting. With Marginean and fellow starter Hester in foul trouble for most of the contest, Drexel's bench, led by Kamile Nacickaite's 13 points and Cornish's eight scored 25 of Drexel's 56 points.
The Dragons shot a sizzling 57.1 percent (8-for-19) from deep with three treys apiece from Roseel and Nacickaite. They also outrebounded Delaware, a team that came into the game ranked third in the CAA in rebounding, 36-33 and 25-18 on the defensive glass. Delaware's Tesia Harris, the reigning CAA Player of the Week, led her team with 13 points, scoring 11 of them in the first half. Ariene Jenkins added 12 points, all coming in the second period.
Marginean, who entered the contest averaging an NCAA-best 25.8 ppg, picked up two quick fouls to start the second half, acquiring her fourth of the contest at the 14:42 mark, and quickly found herself on the bench with Drexel holding a slim 28-26 lead. The remaining Dragons rallied to reel of a 12-2 run, led by eight points from Nacickaite including a two three-pointers, to take a 40-31 lead at the 7:14 mark. Cornish came through down the stretch, making four free-throws in the final minutes to register all eight of her points in the period.
The Dragons had the game well in hand, nursing a 42-35 lead, by the time of Marginean's return with just over five minutes left in the contest. Rosseel punctuated the Dragons' win over their archrival with a three-point splash with 1:23 left to put Drexel up 54-38. Delaware's Jocelyn Bailey banked in a runner in the waning seconds to put the Hens in the 40s, but it was not enough to stave off their lowest offensive output of the season.
Drexel opened up a 9-0 lead in the early moments of the game. The Dragons would need the cushion, however, as their leading scorers in accruing the advantage, Gabriela Marginean and Nicole Hester, would both pick up a pair of fouls by the 13-minute mark and spend the majority of the half on the bench.
In the wake of their departure, Drexel's defense would rise to the forefront. Led by Andrea Peterson's three steals, the Dragons would force 10 Delaware turnovers and hold the Hens to seven points over the next 12 minutes. The team's defense and tenacious rebounding generated offense for the Dragons. Peterson muscled away a two-handed steal from a driving Vanessa Kabongo at the top of the key which led to a fast-break layup for Ayana Lee and a 18-10 Drexel lead with just under seven minutes left. Drexel led by as much as 13 points in the period, but Delaware knocked down two three-pointers in the final 26 seconds to close the gap to 26-20 at halftime.
The win was Drexel's third straight against the Blue Hens after snapping a streak of losses against Delaware that lasted for the better part of a decade last season. The 16-point win was Drexel's largest margin of victory over their regional rival since Jan. 13, 1998, when the Dragons won a 73-48 contest.
Drexel is back in action on Thursday, Jan. 8 when the Dragons travel to play at William & Mary in a 7:00 p.m. contest in Williamsburg, Va.
