Dragons Fall to Hofstra 68-67 on Last-Second Layup in Overtime

Sunday, February 21

Daskalakis Athletic Center

1:00

Drexel University

Hofstra

Dragons Fall to Hofstra 68-67 on Last-Second Layup in Overtime

2/21/2010 3:44:35 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Philadelphia - Hofstra's Nicole Capurso capped a 21-point performance with a tough driving layup on the left side of the lane with two seconds remaining in overtime to give the Pride a 68-67 win over Drexel. Gabriela Marginean led the Dragons (17-9, 11-4) with 31 points and a season-high 13 rebounds. She hit two free throws to tie the game with 24 seconds left in regulation and came up with a key defensive play on Hofstra's (16-11, 9-6) last possession of regulation to send the game into overtime. The loss is Drexel's first home CAA loss since Jan. 27, 2008, a span of 21 straight conference games.

The Dragons committed a season-high 23 turnovers in the contest, with 16 of them coming in the first half. Hofstra scored 16 points off turnovers in the period and shot 53.8 percent to lead 37-24 at halftime.

Drexel came all the way back after trailing by 16 points in the second half to tie the game on Marginean's free throws with 24.9 seconds on the clock. Hofstra tried to get a pass to Shante Evans in the post on its final possession of regulation, but Marginean leapt to deflect it to Marisa Crane. Crane raced down the court but was unable to get off a shot before time expired.

The Dragons, who had won 11 of their last 12 overtime games dating back to the 2006-07 season, hit the opening shot of the extra period to take their first lead since early in the first half. Tyler Hale made a layup off a pass out of a double-team by Marginean to keep the Dragons on top. She also converted two free throws with less than a minute to play to maintain the Dragons' one-point advantage.

Drexel's tough man-to-man defense forced Capurso to take a running baseline jumper from 12 feet that rattled in with 37.5 seconds left, putting Hofstra on top. Coming out of a timeout Marisa Crane drew a double team on the right elbow near the three-point line. She avoided getting tied up for a jump ball and found Marginean darting to the basket for a layup in the lane that put Drexel back on top with 14.9 seconds left, setting up the thrilling conclusion.

After playing a sloppy first half, the Dragons relied on their defense to pull themselves back into the game in the second period. Drexel held Hofstra off the scoreboard for more than five and a half minutes while knocking down three three-pointers during an 18-4 spurt. Kamile Nacickaite capped the run with a turn-around baseline jumper with her toe on the three-point line as time expired on the shot clock, making it a 44-42 Hofstra lead with 13:10 to play.

Hofstra would sustain its lead, however, and give itself some breathing room on a layup by Shane Evans with 3:29 to in regulation that put the Pride on top 59-52. Drexel's trapping defense sprung into action, generating a steal by Hollie Mershon that became a three-pointer off the hands of Nacickaite. On the next trip down, a deflection by Jasmina Rosseel caused a shot clock violation that gave Drexel the ball and Marginean converted the possession into a pair of free throws that cut Hofstra's lead to two points with a minute to play. On Hofstra's next trip down Tyler Hale drew a charging foul on Capurso to give the Dragons the ball and the opportunity to tie the game on two more Marginean free throws.

Kamile Nacickaite added 16 points and six rebounds. Tyler Hale came off the bench to chip in eight points and six boards. Crane had nine points and a team-leading four assists. Drexel outrebounded the Pride 40-31 and 15-8 on the offensive glass. Sam Brigham led Hofstra with six rebounds to go with 10 points. Shante Evans finished with 12 points. Hofstra received a 31-point contribution from its bench, led by Capurso's 21-point effort.

Marginean's double-double was her ninth of the season and 31st in her career. She moved into third place on Drexel's career rebounding list and now has 917 boards. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak against the Pride and it was also Drexel's first overtime loss since falling at Towson on Jan. 24, 2008. The loss drops Drexel into a tie for second place with Virginia Commonwealth.

Drexel is on the road this Thursday, traveling to Atlanta to face Georgia State for the first time this season on Feb. 25, before returning to the DAC next Sunday for its final home game of the season.