Women's Basketball Falls at Buzzer to Saint Joseph's, 47-45

Wednesday, November 14

Daskalakis Athletic Center

7:00 p.m.

Drexel University

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Saint Joseph's

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Saint Joseph's

Drexel

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Women's Basketball Falls at Buzzer to Saint Joseph's, 47-45

11/14/2012 9:41:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - A game of runs both ways saw the Drexel women's basketball team end up on the wrong side of a buzzer beater, as they fell to Saint Joseph's on Wednesday night, 47-45. The game was tight throughout, with Drexel holding the lead for most of the second half but never putting a lead bigger than eight points together.

Senior guard Hollie Mershon led all scorers for a second-consecutive game, knocking down 19 points including a lay-up which gave the Dragons a 45-44 lead with just under 30 seconds to play. Fellow seniors Taylor Wootton and Nicki Jones also had big offensive nights, with Wootton adding 12 points and Jones contributing nine points and a Drexel-career high 10 rebounds.

The Dragons fell behind 7-0 off the bat, and were down by as much as nine points when Saint Joseph's went ahead 12-3 with 15:48 to play. After that, though, Drexel battled back. With Jones and Wootton taking the lead offensively, Drexel fought back to even the score at 16-16 at the 11:08 mark of the first half. After the Hawks rallied, Drexel took its first lead with 6:11 to go in the first half. They would not cede that advantage until 1:09 remained in the game.

Coming off a year which saw the Dragons put together their best scoring defense in program history, Drexel has been right back at it in its first two games. After holding Providence to 50 points in their 60-50 win on Friday night, the Dragons did not allow a Saint Joseph's field goal for a 10:31 stretch in the middle of the game, from 6:59 remaining in the first half until just 16:28 was left in the game.

Unfortunately for Drexel, the offense went cold at the same time. Holding a 32-27 lead at the half, Drexel scored just seven points in the first 14:17 of the second half as the Hawks climbed back into the game. With 5:43 to go, Mershon converted on a lay-up that put the Dragons back up by four, 41-37. Taylor Wootton's bucket nearly two minutes later pushed the lead to four again after a Saint Joseph's jumper had cut the lead in half.

With the Dragons leading by one with 1:09 to play, Saint Joseph's guard Erin Shields knocked down a jumper that gave the Hawks a 44-43 advantage, their first lead of the second half. Drexel came down and missed a three-point attempt, but Jones corralled a big offensive rebound to keep the ball for the Dragons. After a timeout, Mershon scooped up and in with a lay-up to give the Dragons a 45-44 lead with 26 seconds remaining.

The final sequence saw missed opportunities on both sides, as the Hawks airballed a three, only to see them steal the inbounds pass as Drexel tried to get the ball back in. After a missed jumper and a fight for a loose ball saw Mershon lying on the floor in pain, the officials were unable to find evidence on replay to call a flagrant foul on Saint Joseph's, keeping the ball in the Hawks' hands. Drexel knocked away an inbounds pass with 1.6 seconds to go, leaving 0.9 on the clock. The Hawks inbounded to Shields, whose long three just beat the buzzer. Another replay confirmed the shot was good, giving Saint Joseph's the comeback victory.

Drexel will get back to work on Saturday with another intra-city contest, this time at La Salle. That game will get underway at Tom Gola Arena at 1:00 p.m.