Second Half Comeback Not Enough as Women's Basketball Falls to Penn in OT, 67-65

Thursday, December 22

Philadelphia, Pa.

12:00 p.m.

Drexel University

Penn

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Second Half Comeback Not Enough as Women's Basketball Falls to Penn in OT, 67-65

12/22/2011 2:20:00 PM | Women's Basketball

BOX SCORE

PHILADELPHIA - It's the shortest trip in NCAA Division I basketball, but that doesn't mean it won't be a long walk home for the Drexel women's basketball team after they fell at Penn on Thursday afternoon, 67-65 in overtime. The Dragons overcame an 11-point deficit with 4:15 to play to force overtime on Marisa Crane's twisting, sprawling lay-up at the buzzer, but there would be no overtime heroics as Penn held on for the win, their first in six meetings.

Kamile Nacickiate led the Dragons with 24 points, while Hollie Mershon added 13. Penn was led by Kara Bonenberger, who put up 27. Alyssa Baron added 26.

The Dragons led the bulk of the first half, but despite putting up a 47.6% field goal percentage compared to just 31.0% for Penn, were only up one at the break. Seven Drexel turnovers in the period contributed to that, as did six Quaker offensive rebounds that led to eight points.

Drexel scored the first four points of the second half, but after building a 26-21 advantage, they saw that lead slip away. The Quakers scored the next eight points, going on a 10-4 run to push their lead to 31-27. With 14:32 to play, Nacickaite finally hit the Dragons' first three-pointer of the game, adding another two minutes later that put the Dragons back on top, 35-33.

That would be Drexel's final lead until overtime. Penn began drawing fouls on the Dragons, taking advantage of their free throws and adding in a couple lay-ups by Baron to build a formidable 50-39 lead with 6:13 to play. The score remained that way for nearly two minutes, with neitehr team able to capitalize until Nacickaite nailed her third three-pointer of the game with 4:15 remaining.

Trailing by eight, the Dragons began to chip away. With a renewed focus on defense, Drexel forced the Quakers into several turnovers, and began earning the offensive rebounds and drawing the fouls that had helped Penn build their lead in the first place.

With 1:04 to play, Nacickaite stepped into a three and buried it, drawing the Dragons within two at 56-54. The team quickly forced a Penn turnover on the inbounds, but could not capitalize, and Penn regained possession. However, the Quakers also had trouble getting a good look, and after two offensive rebounds, they turned the ball back over to the Dragons with 23 seconds to play.

Coming down the court, Drexel pushed the ball towards the hoop, only to see it squirt away and through the legs of a Penn defender. Still loose on the ground, a Dragon was able to fall on it as head coach Denise Dillon called for a timeout with just two seconds left on the clock.

Bringing the ball in from the sideline, the inbounds pass went straight to point guard Marisa Crane, who drove towards the left side of the hoop, but seemed to lose her balance at the last second. Twisting and falling to the ground towards the baseline, Crane lofted a shot just before the buzzer sounded that kissed off the glass and in, knotting the score and sending the game to overtime.

Drexel had its opportunites in overtime, but it was not to be. The Dragons hit just one field goal in the first 4:59 of the extra period, with Ayana Lee adding four free throws to keep Drexel in it. Meanwhile, Penn regained its offensive strategy that had build them such a strong lead, going to the free throw line 10 times in overtime, hitting seven. Nacickaite added a three-pointer with 0.1 seocnds to go, but it would be too late for a miracle as Drexel could not make one last charge.

The Dragons will now enjoy the holiday break for six days before returning to the court as part of a doubleheader with the men's team on Dec. 28. The women will tip at 5:00 p.m. as they host South Carolina, the first SEC women's team to ever visit the Daskalakis Athletic Center. The men will host Fairfield at approximately 7:30.