Rosseel's Late Three Sends Dragons Past Towson Into CAA Quarterfinals

Thursday, March 10

Upper Marlboro, Md.

7:30 p.m.

Drexel University

Towson

Rosseel's Late Three Sends Dragons Past Towson Into CAA Quarterfinals

3/10/2011 9:58:48 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Upper Marlboro, Md. - Jasmina Rosseel drained a long three-pointer with 1:41 left in the game to break a 46-all tie and give Drexel a 52-46 victory over Towson (9-21) in the opening round of the CAA Tournament. Rosseel, Hollie Mershon and Kamile Nacickaite finished with 13 points apiece. The Dragons (19-11) advance to play third-seeded UNC Wilmington on Friday at 7:30 at the Show Place Arena.

Rosseel's three-pointer came at a crucial moment in the game after the Tigers had rallied from a 14-point deficit to tie the game twice in the final three minutes. The shot was the result of a scramble after a lose ball as Rosseel fumbled a hand-off at the top of the arc. She sprinted to retrieve the ball just before the half court stripe, turned dribbled twice and launched the three in stride from 10-feet beyond the arc. The ball splashed the net just as the shot clock expired, giving Drexel a 49-46 lead.

The shot deflated Towson, ended a stretch of six and a half minutes without a Drexel field goal, and gave the Dragons just enough breathing room to pull out the victory. The Dragons knocked down 3-of-4 free throws in the last 26 seconds and held the Tigers off the scoreboard for the duration. Drexel was able to weather the field goal drought thanks to quality free-throw shooting as the team shot 13-for-14 from the stripe.

Towson's rally was fueled by ferocious rebounding, which was reflected in a 37-20 final advantage in boarding. The spark for the Tigers' rally was provided at the 10:07 mark when Nacickaite contracted her fourth foul and took a seat on the bench. Drexel was up 37-25 at that point in the game, but that lead was not enough to withstand a 19-7 Towson run.

Deree Fooks drove the Tigers' comeback down the stretch, scoring 12 of her game-high 14 points in the second half. A Krystin Fields layup with 2:51 on the clock completed Towson's comeback by tying the score at 44. And it was a Fooks jumper that retied the game at 46-46 with 2:14 to play.

Drexel's only relief from the force that was Fooks down the stretch came seconds after Rosseel's game-changing three. Fooks drove the left side of the lane on Towson's ensuing possession and Ayana Lee slid into position in the post to draw a charging foul, which was Fooks' fifth. With their leading scorer on the bench for the final minute of the game, Towson was unable to score another point.

In addition to that key play, Lee had an excellent game in her sixth career start. She matched her career high with eight points to go along with three boards, two steals, an assists and a block.

The Dragons shot 40.5 percent in the contest and shot 5-for-18 from deep. The Tigers knocked down 37.3 percent from the floor and leading scorer Krystal Parnell was limited to 0-for-11 shooting and just two points in the game.

Drexel held a 26-17 lead at the half despite Nacickaite spending half the period on the bench with two fouls. The Dragons opened the game by making their first six shots from the field and taking 13-4 lead over the Tigers by the 14:55 mark.

The offense stalled just before Nacickaite exited the game after drawing her second foul. The Dragons were unable to scored for a stretch of 6:44 while the Tigers mounted a 10-2 run and pulled within a point at 15-14 with eight minutes to play.

Ayana Lee sparked the team back into action with a jumper in the lane and a put-back layup. Lee's efforts keyed a 11-3 Drexel run that sent the team into the locker room with a nine point lead.

The victory was Drexel's third over Towson on the season. It sends the Dragons into the CAA Tournament quarterfinals for the ninth time in 10 years as a member of the conference. It was also the 400th win in the program's Div. I history.

Drexel's quarterfinal opponent, the UNC Wilmington Seahawks finished tied for second in the league with a 22-7 overall record and a 14-4 mark in the CAA. The Dragons lost to the Seahawks 69-61 in North Carolina in the CAA opener, which was the teams' only meeting of the season.