Drexel University
George Mason
Dragons Clinch First CAA Regular-Season Championship With 64-47 Win Over Mason
3/1/2009 3:25:02 PM | Women's Basketball
Philadelphia - On Senior Day at the DAC, Drexel honored its three senior captains Brooke Cornish, Andrea Peterson and Nicole Hester by clinching a share of its first regular-season CAA Championship ever. The Dragons made quick work of the George Mason Patriots 64-47 to give Head Coach Denise Dillon her first 20-win season and the team's first since 1989-90. Drexel is now 15-2 in CAA play and will end the regular season on the road at Towson on Wednesday, March 4. The Patriots drop to 4-24 overall and 2-15 in conference play.
Gabriela Marginean led all scorers with 19 points and also grabbed eight rebounds. Senior Nicole Hester added 10 points and six boards in her final game at the DAC. Andrea Peterson added six points, four boards and two assists and Brooke Cornish, who also finished her high school career playing alongside Peterson, matched her career high with eight points, grabbed two boards and swatted her 75th career blocked shot.
Drexel outscored the Patriots 37-16 in the first half, using 10-2 spurt to open the game and never looking back. Nicole Hester spun in a put-back layup as time expired on the first half to cap an 18-4 Drexel run that put the Dragons up by a commanding 21 points at the break. Drexel shot 48 percent in the first half and held Mason to 7-for-25 shooting from the floor and 0-for-5 from deep.
The Dragons came out with defensive intensity on Senior Day, swatting four shots early in the first half. Hester swatted a Patriot drive at the 14:40 mark and tipped the ball up to keep it in bounds. She then hit Andrea Peterson with a pass in the lane to make it a 14-4 Drexel lead just seconds later.
Drexel managed to augment its lead despite a lackluster shooting performance in the second half. The Dragons knocked down their first eight free-throw attempts in the period and pushed their advantage to as large as 23 points. The Dragons weathered two significant field-goal droughts in the period, one of nearly seven minutes and one of just under six, to maintain a sizeable cushion. Drexel committed a season-low five turnovers while forcing the Patriots into 13 miscues.
George Mason outscored Drexel 31-27 in the second half, but it was not enough to pull within striking distance of the red-hot Dragons. The victory assures Drexel of the No. 1 seed in the CAA Tournament for the first time since joining the conference. The last time Drexel finished first in regular-season conference play was 1989-90 when the Dragons went 13-1 in the East Coast Conference. That season was also the last time Drexel racked up 20 wins in a season, as the team posted a 22-7 overall mark. The Dragons close out their regular-season schedule on the road at Towson on Wednesday, March 4 at 7:00 p.m.
