Princeton Rallies Past Dragons 64-52

Friday, December 17

Princeton, N.J.

7:00

Drexel University

Princeton

12/17/2010 8:50:17 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Princeton, N.J. - Kamile Nacickaite led Drexel (6-2) with 17 points and 10 rebounds but the Dragons could not withstand a second-half rally by the Tigers (8-2), falling 64-52 on the road for only the second time this season. Jasmina Rosseel scored all 11 of her points in the first half to help Drexel lead at the break. Addie Micir led the Tigers with 18 points and Lauren Edwards chipped in 17 in place of leading-scorer Niveen Rasheed who fouled out after playing just 16 minutes.

In a match up of two of the top mid-major programs in the nation this season, the contest played out as expected. Drexel held a slight 25-24 edge at halftime after falling behind early and trailing by as much as nine points in the first half. The Dragons' defense ratcheted down over the final half of the period to keep Princeton off the scoreboard for the final 8:12 heading into the locker room.

The Dragons trailed 24-15 when Princeton scored its final points of the half, two free throws by Niveen Rasheed, which were the only points of the period for the Tigers' top scorer. From there Drexel used a 10-0 spurt to take a lead with 43 seconds left in the half on a three-pointer by Kamile Nacickaite. Jasmina Rosseel kept the Dragons in the game when Princeton sprinted out to a 7-2 lead early. The senior guard led all scorers with 11 points at the break and shot 3-for-4 from deep.

Drexel seemed poised to take control of the contest early in the second half when Rasheed, who the Dragons bottled up for just two points in the first half, drew her third and fourth fouls just over two minutes into the second half.

The Dragons pushed their lead to four points twice over the next three minutes on jumpers by Taylor Wootton and Tyler Hale. Rasheed checked back into the game with her team trailing 33-30 at the 13:10 mark. Exactly one minute later she would exit the contest for good after being whistled for an offensive foul, her fifth of the game.

A layup by Nacickaite followed the disqualification and put Drexel on top 35-30 with 11:50 to go. But far from surrendering, Princeton launched on a 10-0 run and pulled ahead by five points 40-35 at the 8:25 mark.

Drexel chipped away at the lead from the foul line and knotted the score at 40 apiece on a free-throw by Taylor Wootton.

Lauren Edwards and Addie Micir drained three-pointers on back-to-back possessions and pushed Princeton's lead back to eight points, 50-42 with just over four minutes to play.

Nacickaite quickly poached a pair of in-bounds passes and converted them into four points from the free-throw line. The heady defense sliced Princeton's lead in half and found the Dragons their lost momentum with 3:32 to play.

It would be short-lived, however, despite some excellent trapping defense by the Dragons that resulted in a pair of turnovers. Drexel failed to convert the resultant offensive opportunities and Princeton took advantage.

Devona Allgood knocked down a layup after a the Tigers broke the Dragons' press. Lauren Edwards converted a free throw to push Princeton's lead to seven points. Laura Johnson threw in the dagger via three-pointer from the corner to give the Tigers a 10-point cushion and seal their victory.

Drexel shot 35.6 percent in the game and made 6-of-15 three-pointers. But a 1-7 chill from beyond the arc in the second half hurt the Dragons offensive output in the period. Princeton shot 50 percent in the second half and 44 percent for the game. The Tigers outscored Drexel 40-27 in the second half and availed themselves of 19 Drexel turnovers in the game.

The Dragons continue their five-game road swing at Penn State next Tuesday, Dec. 21 in a 7:30 p.m. contest.