Dragons Upset No. 25 James Madison in CAA Opener

Sunday, January 3

Daskalakis Athletic Center

1:00

Drexel University

James Madison

Dragons Upset No. 25 James Madison in CAA Opener

1/3/2010 3:31:58 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Philadelphia - Gabriela Marginean led a balanced Drexel (7-5, 1-0 CAA) scoring attack with 23 points, including shooting 9-for-10 from the free-throw line in a thrilling 68-67 upset of No. 25 James Madison (10-2, 0-1 CAA). The Dragons knocked down six straight from the stripe in the waning seconds to hold off the Dukes as Dawn Evans, who led all scorers with 30 points, knocked down a long three-pointer as time expired. The victory is Drexel's first win ever against an opponent ranked in the nation's top 25.

Jasmina Rosseel returned to the Drexel lineup and deposited an efficient 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the floor. Rookie Taylor Wootton turned in one of her best performances as a Dragon, scoring a career-high 11 points and leading the team with five rebounds. Sophomore point guard Marisa Crane led her team with seven assists and proved to be a decisive defensive thorn in the Dukes' sides down the stretch.

Jalissa Taylor led the Dukes with 14 rebounds, nine on the offensive glass, and Sarah Williams chipped in 11 points. James Madison dominated Drexel on the boards, pulling down 44 caroms to Drexel's 30, including 24 on the offensive glass. Drexel edged James Madison in shooting from the floor, 39.2 percent to 38.1 despite shooting an icy 26.9 percent in the second half. The Dragons' 15-for-18 shooting from the free-throw line in the period (21-24 overall) proved to be the decisive factor in holding off the Dukes' charge.

Drexel led by as many as nine points in the second half after rallying from a seven-point deficit in the first period to take a 37-34 lead into halftime. Every Dragon who played in the contest got on the scoreboard. Marginean scored 14 of her 23 points in the second half.

The Dragons took their largest lead of the game, nine points, after Tyler Hale knocked down a pair from the line at the 4:33 mark. Drexel dug in and waited for the Dukes' barrage of the final four minutes. Evans connected with her first three-pointer of the second half to slice the Dragons lead to five points, 62-57 with 2:34 on the clock.

The game's turning point would come a half a minute later when Taylor Wootton and Tyler Hale hustled down a pair of offensive rebounds, allowing the Dragons to run more than a minute off the clock before returning the ball to James Madison's possession with just under a minute to play.

The cagey Evans drew a foul while shooting a three-pointer on the Dukes' end of the court and knocked down all three from the charity stripe to make it a 62-60 game with 48 seconds left.

But the Dragons were able to find Gabriela Marginean twice on inbounds passes, sandwiched around a Sarah Williams jumper, and the senior connected with all four free shots to put Drexel up 66-62 with 18 seconds in the game.

Following a layup by Tarik Hislop, Marisa Crane drew the Dukes' foul brigade. The sophomore also knocked down both of her free tosses. The resulting four-point lead proved to be crucial when Evans' launch from just over half court found its way into the net for the final one-point margin.

James Madison raced out to an 11-4 lead to open the game, making five of its first seven shots from the field to stun the Dragons in the early moments of play. Drexel countered with three-pointers by Rosseel, Marignean, Renee Johnson-Allen and Kamile Nacickaite to pull ahead for the first time and swing the momentum of the contest in favor of the home team.

And after turning the ball over five times in the first 12 minutes of play, the Dragons would clean up their possessions and turn the ball over to James Madison just five more times in the duration of the contest. At the break, Drexel's 5-for-7 shooting from deep and sizzling 52 percent accuracy from the floor stood a the difference in the contest. A long three-pointer by Jasmina Rosseel and a driving layup by Crane in the final 48 seconds of the period gave Drexel a four-point margin at halftime. Evans scored 15 of her team's 34 points in the first half.

The Dragons surged ahead first coming out of the locker room, using a 7-2 run to take a 47-40 lead on a three-pointer by Rosseel at the 15:42 mark. Although the Dragons never surrendered their lead in the second half, Drexel would need its cushion when the team weathered a drought of nearly five and a half minutes without a field goal midway through the period.

Marginean, who was recently named to the Philadelphia women's basketball all-decade team, is now just seven points away from tying the CAA's all-time scoring record of 2,121 held by James Madison alumna Tamera Young ('08). The Dragons host William & Mary on Thursday, Jan. 7 to complete a nine-game Philadelphia homestand.