Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
Delaware
Dragons' Defense Stifles Delaware For Ninth Straight Win
2/19/2009 9:10:19 PM | Women's Basketball
Philadelphia - Drexel held Delaware to just 33 points on 9-for-40 shooting from the floor in the Dragons' most dominant defensive performance this season, a 54-33 win over the rival Blue Hens. Gabriela Marginean posted her 21st career double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds as the Dragons rolled to their ninth straight victory and improved to 17-8 on the season. Drexel remains in a first-place tie in the CAA with Virginia Commonwealth at 12-2 in league play, but the Dragons clinched a spot in the top four of conference with the victory, thus guaranteeing the team a first-round bye in the CAA Tournament.
Drexel followed up its best defensive performance ever against Delaware, 40 points in their first game this season, with an even better on this time around. The Dragons held their rival to 22.5 percent shooting from the floor and just nine field goals in the contest. Drexel's defense also forced Delaware into 21 turnovers and its offense converted them into 24 points.
Marginean scored 14 straight points for the Dragons early in the contest and finished with 16 of her 25 in the first period. Drexel outworked Delaware on the boards 42-33 and 20-13 on the offensive glass and put in 19 second-chance points.
Defense dominated for both teams in the opening minutes as the score was deadlocked at 9-7 with just over eight minutes left in the first half. But Marginean energized her team with a pair of three-pointers on successive possessions. Marisa Crane hit a jumper in the lane and Jasmina Rosseel capped the 13-0 run with a three-pointer from the elbow to make it a 22-7 Drexel lead with 5:22 in the period. Drexel took a comfortable 24-13 lead into the locker room thanks to a last-second put-back by Crane off a missed three pointer by Marginean. Delaware shot just 5-for-20 in the period and coughed up 12 turnovers at the break.
The Dragons effectively put the game away with a 7-0 spurt to open the second stanza, opening up a 20-point lead two and a half minutes into the period. Jennifer Stjarnstrom, who grabbed a career-high six boards in the contest, also provided an offensive lift for her team early in the half. After spinning in a scoop layup on the baseline she followed up a Rosseel miss with a put-back layup. Drexel pushed its gaping lead to as much as 22 points when an Alison Lupariello three-pointer swished in with 2:56 left to play. Delaware did not make a shot from the field for the final 5:11 of the game.
The win guaranteed that Drexel will finish no lower than fourth in the final conference standings. The top four teams in the regular season secure byes in the CAA Tournament. Drexel is one win away from matching its best conference record ever, a mark that was set at 13-5 last season. The nine-game winning streak matches the Dragons' longest effort of consecutive wins since last season when they won nine straight from Dec. 16, 2007 to Jan. 24, 2008. The Dragons are back in action this weekend when they travel to Boston to play Northeastern on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 2:00 p.m.
