Sunday, December 13
Philadelphia, Pa.
2:00
Drexel University
71
at
69
Saint Joseph's
Marginean scored her 2,000th career point in the victory
Dillon Records 100th Win and Marginean Scores 2,000th Point in 71-69 Win at Saint Joseph's
12/13/2009 4:24:44 PM | Women's Basketball
Box Score
Philadelphia – Drexel held off a furious second-half rally by Saint Joseph's (3-7) in a contest that appeared to be ticketed for a blow-out victory for the Dragons (4-3) to escape with a narrow 71-69 win. The triumph was the 100th coaching victory for Drexel coach Denise Dillon and in the win senior Gabriela Marginean scored her 2,000th career point, becoming the first women's player in Drexel history to reach the benchmark. Marginean led all scorers with 26 points. She was a perfect 11-for-11 from the free-throw line and knocked down two in the final 10 seconds which proved to be the decisive margin in the contest.
Kamile Nacickaite added 16 points and Jasmina Rosseel chipped in 12, both players made four three-pointers in the contest. Drexel led 44-18 at halftime and expanded its lead to 29 points early in the second half. But the Hawks outscored the Dragons 51-27 in the second period and came within a shot of tying the game in the waning seconds of play. Brittany Ford led Saint Joseph's with 25 points.
Drexel exploded from the tip-off, jumping out to a 16-0 lead in opening minutes and holding Saint Joseph's off the scoreboard for the first seven minutes of play. The Hawks missed their first eight shots while Drexel shot a sizzling 61.5 percent from the floor, and 8-for-11 from deep, in the period to take a 44-18 lead into the locker room.
Marginean poured in 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting. Her jumper in the lane at the 4:41 mark put Drexel on top 33-13 and made her the first women's basketball player in Drexel history to reach the 2,000-point scoring plateau.
But the second half proved to be a nearly the opposite of the first for the Dragons. Drexel opened up shooting 1-for-10 from the floor while Saint Joseph's chipped away at the Dragons' seemingly insurmountable lead with a 20-9 run. The Dragons only respite during the rally was what amounted to a five-point play at the 10:34 mark in the period. The Hawks had just halved Drexel's lead and were within 15 points when Kamile Nacickaite drained a three-pointer from the top of the arc. During the play the Hawks were whistled for a foul under the basket. Marginean stepped to the line and stroked two free-throws to push Drexel's lead back to 20 points at 58-38.
The final push from the Hawks came at the 5:25 mark when a Kelly Cavallo putback spurred a 14-0 Saint Joseph's run. Mariame Djouara knocked down two free-throws to cap the run and trim Drexel's lead to 64-60 with just under two minutes to play. Drexel received an important defensive stop as the game entered its final minute when Nacickaite deflected an pass into the post and the Dragons came away with a steal.
The theft resulted in two points for Drexel as Marisa Crane hit a jumper in the lane with 36 seconds left to make it a 68-62 lead for the Dragons. Djouara answered with a jumper of her own on the other end and Saint Joseph's drew within three points when Crane made one of two free throws and Ford hooked in a layup to make it 69-66 with 12 seconds to play. Marginean's free-throws gave Drexel its final points and they proved to be necessary as Shelby Smith knocked down a three-pointer with six-tenths of a second on the clock for the final margin.
With the win, Denise Dillon becomes the second coach ever to win 100 games at Drexel. Marginean is the seventh women's basketball player in Philadelphia history to score 2,000 points and just the third CAA player to reach the plateau. Drexel's victory is its third in the last four meetings with its city rival Saint Joseph's.
The Dragons return to the DAC on Thursday, Dec. 17 to face Princeton at 7:00 p.m.
Philadelphia – Drexel held off a furious second-half rally by Saint Joseph's (3-7) in a contest that appeared to be ticketed for a blow-out victory for the Dragons (4-3) to escape with a narrow 71-69 win. The triumph was the 100th coaching victory for Drexel coach Denise Dillon and in the win senior Gabriela Marginean scored her 2,000th career point, becoming the first women's player in Drexel history to reach the benchmark. Marginean led all scorers with 26 points. She was a perfect 11-for-11 from the free-throw line and knocked down two in the final 10 seconds which proved to be the decisive margin in the contest.
Kamile Nacickaite added 16 points and Jasmina Rosseel chipped in 12, both players made four three-pointers in the contest. Drexel led 44-18 at halftime and expanded its lead to 29 points early in the second half. But the Hawks outscored the Dragons 51-27 in the second period and came within a shot of tying the game in the waning seconds of play. Brittany Ford led Saint Joseph's with 25 points.
Drexel exploded from the tip-off, jumping out to a 16-0 lead in opening minutes and holding Saint Joseph's off the scoreboard for the first seven minutes of play. The Hawks missed their first eight shots while Drexel shot a sizzling 61.5 percent from the floor, and 8-for-11 from deep, in the period to take a 44-18 lead into the locker room.
Marginean poured in 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting. Her jumper in the lane at the 4:41 mark put Drexel on top 33-13 and made her the first women's basketball player in Drexel history to reach the 2,000-point scoring plateau.
But the second half proved to be a nearly the opposite of the first for the Dragons. Drexel opened up shooting 1-for-10 from the floor while Saint Joseph's chipped away at the Dragons' seemingly insurmountable lead with a 20-9 run. The Dragons only respite during the rally was what amounted to a five-point play at the 10:34 mark in the period. The Hawks had just halved Drexel's lead and were within 15 points when Kamile Nacickaite drained a three-pointer from the top of the arc. During the play the Hawks were whistled for a foul under the basket. Marginean stepped to the line and stroked two free-throws to push Drexel's lead back to 20 points at 58-38.
The final push from the Hawks came at the 5:25 mark when a Kelly Cavallo putback spurred a 14-0 Saint Joseph's run. Mariame Djouara knocked down two free-throws to cap the run and trim Drexel's lead to 64-60 with just under two minutes to play. Drexel received an important defensive stop as the game entered its final minute when Nacickaite deflected an pass into the post and the Dragons came away with a steal.
The theft resulted in two points for Drexel as Marisa Crane hit a jumper in the lane with 36 seconds left to make it a 68-62 lead for the Dragons. Djouara answered with a jumper of her own on the other end and Saint Joseph's drew within three points when Crane made one of two free throws and Ford hooked in a layup to make it 69-66 with 12 seconds to play. Marginean's free-throws gave Drexel its final points and they proved to be necessary as Shelby Smith knocked down a three-pointer with six-tenths of a second on the clock for the final margin.
With the win, Denise Dillon becomes the second coach ever to win 100 games at Drexel. Marginean is the seventh women's basketball player in Philadelphia history to score 2,000 points and just the third CAA player to reach the plateau. Drexel's victory is its third in the last four meetings with its city rival Saint Joseph's.
The Dragons return to the DAC on Thursday, Dec. 17 to face Princeton at 7:00 p.m.
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