Marginean Leads Drexel to Victory in Defensive Struggle at Hofstra

Thursday, January 14

Hempstead, N.Y.

7:00

Drexel University

Hofstra

Marginean Leads Drexel to Victory in Defensive Struggle at Hofstra

1/14/2010 8:56:42 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Hempstead, N.Y. - In a game that was largely a defensive battle, Gabriela Marginean stood apart from her peers once again. The senior led all scorers with 24 points and also pulled down 11 rebounds and snared a team-high five steals. With the game tied 33-33 at the 8:43 mark in the second half, Marginean scored 10 of her team's next 18 points during a late push that put away a 51-41 victory for Drexel (9-6, 3-1) on the road at Hofstra (8-8, 1-3).

The Dragons knocked down 11-of-13 free throws in the final four and a half minutes to close out the Pride. Hofstra was led by Sam Brigham's 11 points. Shante Evans, Jess Fuller and Candace Bellocchio pulled down eight boards apiece for Hofstra, who outrebounded Drexel 42-29 in the contest and 20-7 on the offensive glass.

Drexel trailed by as much as nine points in the first half before coming back to knot the score at 20-20 early in the second period. The contest was never more than a three-point game from that point until the 8:34 mark when the Dragons and Marginean used timely defense and free-throw shooting to put away the Pride.

While Hofstra dominated the offensive glass, to garner a number of second-chance opportunities. The Pride got up 54 shots to Drexel's 45, but they made just 27 percent of them. Hofstra's 20 offensive boards equated into onyl nine points. The Dragons limited Hofstra's top two scorers, Shante Evan and Jess Fuller to just 11 points combined on 5-for-11 shooting.

Drexel's defense came up big, with a season-high 12 steals led by Marginean's five swipes. Tyler Hale had three steals, none larger than the leaping snag she made of a would-be post entry pass with just over a minute left in the game. Drexel was up five at the time and regaining possession allowed the Dragons to expand their lead from the free-throw line and run time off the clock while making it a three-possession game for Hofstra.

Hale also chipped in seven points along with Marisa Crane, who also had a team-high five assists. Hollie Mershon added five points coming off the bench and played solid defense in Drexel's zone.

In the first half, Hofstra availed itself of 11 turnovers by Drexel, in addition to outrebounding the Dragons 21-7 to claim a 20-16 lead at halftime. Despite the rebounding disparity, in which Hofstra collected more caroms on the offensive boards than Drexel had in the entire period, the Pride was able to convert the bonus shots into just three second-chance points.

Drexel's defense did well to disrupt the tall and talented front line of Hofstra by employing a zone defense and forcing a number of deflections on entry passes to the post. It was this defensive intensity that kept the Dragons in the contest despite going 0-for-5 from three-point range and scoring just 16 points in the half.

But the Dragons cleaned up their possessions and turned the ball over just three times in the second half while outrebounding the Pride 22-21 in the second half.

The win was Drexel's first conference road victory of the season and keeps the Dragons in second place in the CAA along with James Madison, Old Dominion and Delaware at 3-1.

Drexel closes out its three-game road swing on Sunday when the Dragons travel to play at regional rival Delaware in a 2:00 p.m. contest at the Bob Carpenter Center.