Drexel University
William & Mary
Tribe Comes From Behind to Hand Drexel First Conference Loss 63-57 in Williamsburg
1/8/2009 8:42:44 PM | Women's Basketball
Williamsburg, Va. – Drexel (6-7, 1-1) saw a 29-26 halftime lead slip away on the road against William & Mary as the Tribe (9-4, 2-0) used a career performance by Tiffany Benson and four second-half three-pointers by Courtney Portell to edge the Dragons 63-57. Gabriela Marginean posted her third double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Dragons in both categories.
Jasmina Rosseel finished with 14 points on 4-for-6 shooting from deep and Andrea Peterson chipped in 13 points and four assists. Nicole Hester grabbed a season-high nine boards and led the Dragons with five assists. Tiffany Benson led all scorers with 24 points to go with nine rebounds and four blocks.
William & Mary took its first lead of the contest five minutes into the second half and then used an 18-8 run to foment a 44-37 lead by the midway point. Jasmina Rosseel did her best to rally the Dragons, threading a bullet pass to Marginean on the fast break for a layup that made it a 44-39 game. She then drilled a three-pointer from the top of the arc to bring her team within two at the 8:30 mark.
Rosseel exited the game to receive medical treatment, during which time the Tribe used a 11-2 run to take command of the game, 55-47 by the 3:49 mark while Drexel struggled to find the basket. Rosseel returned to the contest and promptly knocked down a three-pointer to make it 55-47. But a series of fortuitous shots by the Tribe at the end of successive shot-clock sequences appeared to be the back-breakers for the Dragons.
Drexel used a pair of driving shots by Marisa Crane and a three-free-throw play by Marginean to cut what was a 12-point lead to six in the final seconds, but it was not enough as the Dragons fell to 1-1 in CAA play and 6-7 overall. Marginean shot a perfect 7-for-7 from the line in the game to extend her consecutive free-throw streak to 25 straight.
The Dragons jumped out to a 11-4 lead in the opening minutes of the game led by Andrea Peterson, who victimized a sluggish Tribe defense for three straight three-pointers three and a half minutes into the contest. William & Mary's half-court trap pestered the Dragons into 12 first-half turnovers and forced them to set up the offense later in the shot clock than usual. but the team's crisp ball movement opened up enough shots for Drexel to maintain a comfortable lead for the majority of the half. A pair of layups by Benson at the end of the period trimmed the Dragons' lead to 29-26 entering the break.
Drexel's performance against the trap proved to be a harbinger of things to come in the second half as the Tribe dialed up the defense and did more to disrupt the Dragons' offense. After shooting better than 40 percent in the first half and 41.7 percent from deep, the Dragons made just 3-of-13 from deep and shot just over 31 percent from the floor. The Tribe, led by Benson's 5-for-6 shooting, made nearly 58 percent of its shots and Portell put in four of the team's five three-pointers in the second half.
For the second straight game Drexel outrebounded its opponent. But this time the Dragons' 40-37 advantage on the boards was to no avail as William & Mary converted 14 second-chance points to Drexel's four even though the Dragons held a slight edge on the offensive glass. The Tribe converted Drexel's 19 turnovers into 18 points. Benson's 24 points led the Tribe's interior offense which outscored Drexel 36-18 in the paint.
The Dragons return to action on Sunday for their first home conference game of the season, against Hofstra at noon. The contest will be televised live on The Comcast Network.
