Drexel University Athletics
Drexel University
Kansas State
Kansas State Upends Dragons in NCAA Tournament
3/22/2009 12:49:52 AM | Women's Basketball
Box Score: Pdfs/wbball/2009/3/23/NCAA Box Score-KStateNCAAs.pdf
Albuquerque, N.M. - Drexel saw its most successful season in school history come to an end the hands of the Kansas State Wildcats (25-7) in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament as the Dragons (24-9) fell 68-44. Gabriela Marginean scored all 15 of her points in the second half after being hampered by foul trouble in the first period. Jasmina Rosseel scored 13 points and made three three-pointers to set a new single-season record for treys with 90 this year. Seniors Nicole Hester, Andrea Peterson and Brooke Cornish played out the final minutes of their Drexel careers on the floor of the Pit in Albuquerque, N.M. after leading their team to its first NCAA Tournament appearance ever.
All-American candidate Shalee Lehning led the Wildcats with 13 assists and nine boards. Marlies Gipson was the game's high scorer with 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting. The Wildcats used a 6-for-11 three-point performance in the second half to pull away from the Dragons. Drexel managed to hang within seven points Kansas State in the first half despite shooting a frigid 23.8 percent from the floor and missing the presence of Marginean for 15 minutes while she remained on the bench after two early fouls. Kansas State shot 42.3 percent from the floor and Drexel trailed 26-19 at the break.
Rosseel scored 10 of her 13 points in the first period including shooting 2-for-2 from deep to keep her team in the game. The Dragons match-up zone limited Kansas State to 3-for-10 shooting from long range, but the Wildcats did their damage in the paint with 14 points in the lane and 12 off of eight Drexel turnovers.
In the second period the Dragons picked up their care for the ball, but this time the Wildcats would victimize the Drexel zone to make five of their first seven three-point attempts and jump out to a lead as large as 31 points after opening the period with a 17-4 run.
Marginean did her best to pull her team back into the game by pouring in 15 points and pulling down seven rebounds in the half, but it proved to be too late to stave off the red-hot Wildcats who shot a sizzling 57.7 percent in the period and 54.5 percent from deep.
Drexel's loss snapped a 16-game winning streak which matched the program's longest ever. The Dragon set a single-season record with 24 victories this year and they won their first ever CAA Championship. Gabriela Marginean finished her junior season just 46 points shy of Drexel's career scoring record. She set single-season marks for scoring, scoring average, field goals and field goal attempts this year. And Rosseel wrapped up her sophomore season as the team's single-season record holder for three-pointers and in third-place on Drexel's career list.
