Women's Basketball Wins LIU Turkey Classic Crown, 51-33 Over Colgate

Saturday, November 24

Brooklyn, N.Y.

4:00 p.m.

Drexel University

4-1

Colgate

2-3

Drexel

Colgate

Photo by: Stacy Podelski/1495 Sports

Women's Basketball Wins LIU Turkey Classic Crown, 51-33 Over Colgate

11/24/2012 6:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The Drexel women's basketball team wrapped up a dominant performance at the LIU Turkey Classic on Saturday as they defeated Colgate, 51-33 at the Wellness Center on the campus of LIU Brooklyn. The Dragons, who never trailed throughout the two-day event as they took care of UMKC and Colgate, displayed the defense that has been their trademark over the last two seasons in shutting down the Raiders and putting the game away early.

Hollie Mershon, who led all scorers with 18 points, was named the tournament MVP. Mershon has now scored in double figures in each of the Dragons' first five games as they improved to 4-1. Nicki Jones, who matched her season high with 12 points and added three rebounds, three steals and two blocks, was also named to the All-Tournament Team.

The championship was the first for Drexel in an in-season tournament since they won the Big Apple Classic on December 28-29, 2000 with wins over Liberty and Davidson.

Lost in the shuffle of Friday's 76-point offensive outburst was yet another outstanding defensive effort from a Drexel squad that set the program record for points allowed last season and allowed an impressive 50.0 points per game coming into the tournament. During Saturday's first half, that defense came to the forefront. The Dragons allowed just nine points in the half, forcing 11 Colgate turnovers as the Raiders shot just 16.7% and Drexel jumped out to a 21-9 lead. Taylor Wootton, who had two points in the half, got seven of her career-high 12 rebounds.

The defense stepped up despite a first half that got off to an extremely fast-paced start. With the teams going up and down the court, Drexel got back on defense and allowed nothing on that end of the court. Despite allowing eight offensive rebounds to the Raiders in the half, the Dragons buckled down and did not allow a second-chance point. Colgate was without a point for the final 6:35 of the first half, and went another 3:29 into the second before finally getting their tenth point, a layup that made the score 25-11 in favor of the Dragons.

Although Colgate began to find openings on the offensive end in the second half, Drexel never let the Raiders back in the game. Mershon scored 11 of her 18 points in the second half, adding seven rebounds and three assists for the night. Renee Johnson-Allen chipped in a career-high five points. The Dragons kept the Raiders without a scorer in double figures, limiting them to 26.9 percent shooting for the game. Drexel also turned the ball over just seven times, their best figure of the young season.

Drexel will return to Philadelphia this evening, and will have two days of practice before embarking on a five-day trip that will take them to South Carolina and Vermont. The Dragons will visit South Carolina on Wednesday night before heading to Vermont for the TD Bank Classic next Friday and Saturday.