Big Comeback Sparks Milestone Win for Women's Basketball, Dillon

Thursday, February 16

Norfolk, Va.

7:00 p.m.

Drexel University

Old Dominion

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Big Comeback Sparks Milestone Win for Women's Basketball, Dillon

2/16/2012 9:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball

BOX SCORE

NORFOLK, Va. – In what is sure to be one of the Dragons' most memorable wins of 2011-12, the Drexel women's basketball team stormed back from a 14-point halftime deficit to defeat Old Dominion on Thursday, 53-45. The win would have been notable enough just for that impressive comeback effort, but it will also hold a special place in annals of Drexel history as it marked the 145th-career victory for head coach Denise Dillon, moving her into first-place all-time in the program for Division I victories.

Hollie Mershon led all scorers with 18 points, including four big points in the final 2:27. Kamile Nacickaite added 16, all of which came in the Dragons' explosive second half. Fiona Flanagan finished with 11 points, a career-high on a personal-high 4-for-7 shooting.

The Dragons finished with a season-high nine three-pointers, something that would have come as a big surprise at halftime when Drexel stood just 1-for-13 from downtown (7.7 percent) and 4-for-25 from the field overall (16 percent).

Drexel's defense kept the Dragons within striking range for most of the first half before a late 10-2 run by the Lady Monarchs extended their lead to 27-13 going into the half. Drexel had just one point, a free throw from Ayana Lee that also served as the team's only bench point of the night, over the half's final 5:21.

The good looks that Drexel was not knocking down in the first half turned into big buckets all the way through the second, as the team opened by hitting three of their first four attempts to force first-year ODU coach Karen Barefoot to use a timeout with the Dragons down just 29-20. Flanagan added another three-pointer, while Tyler Hale and Taylor Wootton each got buckets down low as the Dragons made an effort to work the ball inside. After the stoppage, the Lady Monarchs committed two straight traveling violations and missed a fast-break lay-up, as Mershon nailed a three and Nacickaite buried her first trey of the night. Suddenly, the game was 29-26 and ODU was forced to call another timeout.

That stoppage seemed to work, as the offensive outburst for Drexel was neutralized. Nevertheless, the Dragons' defense, which came into the game as the best scoring defense in the CAA, stepped up and kept Drexel in the game. With 5:40 to play, after the Drexel defense had held ODU scoreless for the previous three minutes, Mershon calmly stepped into a three from the top of the key that gave the Dragons their first lead of the night, 40-39.

The Lady Monarchs continued to battle, going back up by a point almost immediately and tying the score at 43 after another Nacickaite three. But down the stretch, the Dragons' long-range firepower proved too much. Flanagan got a lay-up with 3:26 to give Drexel a 45-43 lead, an advantage they would not relinquish. Mershon made it a four-point game nearly a minute later, and the Dragons were a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final minute to pull away in the end.

Drexel will return to the court on Sunday, when they host tenth-ranked Delaware. The Dragons renew their rivalry with the Blue Hens that afternoon at 2:00 p.m. at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. Tickets are still available, and can be purchased by visiting DrexelTickets.com.