Women's Basketball Thumps Georgia State, 65-38

Sunday, January 15

Daskalakis Athletic Center

2:00 p.m.

Drexel University

Georgia State

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Women's Basketball Thumps Georgia State, 65-38

1/15/2012 4:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball

BOX SCORE

PHILADELPHIA - Kamile Nacickaite scored 20 points, including 17 in the first half as the Drexel women's basketball team jumped out early and did not let up against Georgia State on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Panthers 65-38. The Dragons never trailed as nine different players scored to help lead the team to its third straight victory.

Drexel forged ahead quickly, thanks once again to a fast start by Nacickaite. The senior scored 10 of the team's first 16 points as they built a quick 16-4 lead midway through the first half. Georgia State (6-10, 0-5) cut the deficit to eight at 20-12 with 7:20 to play in the first half, but they would not get it back to single digits the rest of the way.

With Nacickaite leading the way in the first half, it was Hollie Mershon who led the offensive attack down the stretch. The junior finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, 12 of those points coming after intermission. Mershon, who was coming off a career-high 27 points at James Madison on Thursday, went 7-for-9 from the floor and was a perfect 2-for-2 from the free throw line. She added six assists to lead the team, tying a career high set earlier this year.

As it has been over the past week, rebounding remained a big factor in the Dragons' success. After keeping up with two of the league's top rebounding teams in Towson and James Madison, Drexel dominated the glass on Sunday, coming up with 42 rebounds, which tied a season best. The Panthers managed just 30 boards, although they did have 11 offensive rebounds. Still, Drexel outscored the Panthers 14-10 in second-chance points.

Aside from the two leading scorers, the Dragons displayed a solid, balanced offense. Sophomore Fiona Flanagan scored seven points off the bench, setting a new season high and just one shy of a career high. Tyler Hale added seven points, while redshirt-freshman Jackie Schluth scored five points, including her first-career three-pointer on her first-career three-point attempt from the right wing with 4:49 to play.

The story on Sunday, though, was really the defense. The Dragons held Georgia State to 38 points, matching the lowest output by a Drexel opponent this year. The Panthers shot just 25.5 percent from the floor (13-for-51), and 22.2 percent from long range (2-for-9). Kendra Long led the Panthers with eight points on 3-of-12 shooting from the floor.

Drexel will be back in action on Thursday evening, when they host Northeastern at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are still available, and fans who cannot make it to the DAC can listen to all the action on DrexelDragons.com, where Ari Bluestein will have the call.