Drexel University
Towson
Dragons See Winning Streak Snapped With 53-48 Loss at Towson
2/4/2010 8:55:29 PM | Women's Basketball
Box Score
Towson, Md. - Gabriela Marginean scored 28 points but it was not enough to overcome Towson's (10-11, 4-6) tenacious rebounding and a second-half spurt in a 53-48 Drexel loss on the road. The defeat is Drexel's second loss in conference play and snaps a six-game winning streak for the Dragons (14-7, 8-2). Drexel will be back on the road on Monday, Feb. 8 when they face James Madison in a game that was rescheduled from Sunday due to the threat of inclement weather.
Halenia Snowden led the Tigers with 21 points and shot 10-14 from the floor. Shanae Baker-Brice had a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double for Towson, who outrebounded Drexel handily 51-24. Towson converted its 19 offensive rebounds into 12 points, which helped keep the Tigers in the contest during a cold shooting first half.
The Tigers trailed 38-32 early in the second half, but pulled away during a span of 12 minutes and 29 seconds during which the Dragons scored just two points. Towson closed the game with a 21-8 run to earn its fourth conference victory of the season and snap a three-game losing skid.
Baltimore native Tyler Hale led the Dragons with seven rebounds. Kamile Nacickaite, who faced a pair of her compatriots from Lithuania on the Towson squad, scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds. Marisa Crane added three assists and career-high five steals.
Drexel held a slim 26-25 lead at halftime. Marginean scored 14 of Drexel's 26 points in the first half while the Dragons shot 40.9 percent from the floor. Rebounds kept Towson in the contest as the Tigers pulled down 24 boards to Drexel's 11 caroms, 12 of them on the offensive glass.
Marginean spent three and a half minutes on the bench midway through the second half after drawing her third foul. Towson used a 6-0 run to draw even at 38-38. But when the reigning CAA Player of the Week returned to the game and promptly hit a driving layup, the Dragons seemed poised to close out their ninth CAA win.
Towson had other plans, however, as Snowden drove for a layup and followed it with a three-pointer after a Drexel turnover. Simona Petronyte gave Towson a sizeable advantage when she swished a three from the top of the arc to make it 46-40. The Dragons would go five minutes and 40 seconds without a score following Marginean's layup which allowed Towson to close out its win at home.
Drexel shot 25.9 percent in the second half (7-27) and the Dragons' normally reliable free throw shooting also betrayed them as the NCAA's leader in free-throw percentage went 12-for-18 from the line.
The Dragons will face James Madison on Monday at 7:00 p.m. in Harrisonburg, Va. It will be the Dragons' first trip back to the JMU Convocation center since they won the 2009 CAA Championship.
