Drexel University
UNC Wilmington
Rosseel's Three-Point Barrage Helps Dragons Escape Wilmington With 55-50 Win
2/1/2009 3:59:31 PM | Women's Basketball
Wilmington, N.C. – Jasmina Rosseel drained a career-high seven three-pointers and led the Dragons with 21 points in a thrilling 55-50 over UNC Wilmington on the road. Tyler Hale and Gabriela Marginean knocked down four straight free throws in the final 12 seconds, allowing the Dragons to cling to a slim lead and hold on for their fourth straight victory. Drexel improves to 12-8 overall and remains atop the CAA standings with a 7-2 mark in conference play. The Seahawks drop to 10-10 and 4-5 in conference contests.
Hale led the Dragons with a career-high nine rebounds and played strong defense with a team-leading three steals. Gabriela Marginean added 18 points and eight boards in the victory. Andrea Peterson distributed five assists while committing just one turnover, she also led the team with three steals. Brooke Cornish Blocked four shots in the contest, all in the first half. For UNC Wilmington, Brittany Blackwell recorded a double-double with 18 points and 16 rebounds. She scored 16 of her points in the second half while bringing her team to within one point in the final seconds of play.
Drexel's defense set the tone for the Dragons in the first half. Drexel allowed the Seahawks just two baskets in the final 10 minutes of play before the break and took a 28-17 lead into the locker room. Cornish blocked four shots in six minutes patrolling the lane and Marginean poached two perimeter passes for break-away layups. Rosseel shot 5-of-7 from deep, to score 15 her team's 28 points in the period.
Despite a dominant defensive showing in the first half, the Dragons managed to maintain only a six-point advantage for most of the second period. Blackwell and freshman Martha White, who had been rendered largely ineffective in the first period, came alive for the Seahawks in the second stanza. UNC Wilmington played more aggressively in the second half and worked their way into the bonus situation at the 11:53 mark in the period. But UNC Wilmington converted only 11-of-18 free-throws from that juncture, allowing Drexel to hold onto it slim advantage.
Rosseel dropped her second three-pointer of the half, and seventh of the game at the 10:15 mark to put Drexel on top 40-31. Drexel held it's nine-point advantage through the 4:55 mark, when Peterson read a trap headed her way and passed over the charging defenders to a wide open Kamile Nacickaite who buried a three-pointer to make it a 49-40 Drexel lead. Blackwell chipped away at the lead with a free throw and a pair of put-back layups, the second of which made it a 49-45 game with 2:38 on the clock.
With less than a minute remaining in the game Blackwell faced off against Marginean in a clear-out one-on-one play. As she drove to the left side of the lane Marginean shuffled back and drew contact as she went up for the shot, but it was not enough to throw off the charging Blackwell a the layup bounced in to make the score 49-48 with 44 seconds left.
Marginean quickly atoned for her defensive misstep with a charging layup down the right side of the lane to put her Dragons on top 51-48 with 29 seconds on the clock. UNC Wilmington had a golden opportunity to tie the game on its next possession when a Whitney Simmons three-point shot from the corner caromed wide and found its way to an uncovered Julia Finlay at the top of the arc. Finlay's attempt bounced off the front rim, Hale snared her ninth board of the game and promptly drew a foul. The rookie converted both free tosses and, following a Greta Luksyte layup, Marginean matched the effort with two more free throws for the final 55-50 margin.
Drexel's victory gives the Dragons a four-game winning streak, the team's longest of the season, it is also the Dragons' fourth straight win over UNC Wilmington. Drexel remains atop the CAA standings with James Madison, who defeated Hofstra in overtime, and Virginia Commonwealth who defeated Old Dominion at home. Jasmina Rosseel's big shooting day made her the fifth player in Drexel history to make 100 three-pointers. She now has 102 career treys and sits just two away from moving into fourth place on Drexel's all-time list.
The Dragons complete the third leg of their three-game road swing with a Thursday Feb. 5 contest at George Mason in Fairfax, Va.
