Women's Basketball Drops Heartbreaker to #10/9 Delaware, 40-39

Sunday, February 19

Daskalakis Athletic Center

2:00 p.m.

Drexel University

Delaware

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Women's Basketball Drops Heartbreaker to #10/9 Delaware, 40-39

2/19/2012 5:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball

BOX SCORE

PHILADELPHIA - The Drexel Dragons nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the year in NCAA women's basketball on Sunday, but fell heartbreakingly short as No. 10/9 Delaware escaped with a 40-39 victory. Delaware standout Elena Delle Donne, who had her worst offensive night of the season and one of the worst of her career, hit a leaner with 2.3 seconds remaining to provide the winning margin.

Tyler Hale led the Dragons (13-12, 9-6) with 10 points. Hollie Mershon added eight points, all of which came in the game's final 4:04 minutes as Drexel grabbed the lead.

For a second-consecutive game, the Dragons were held under 20 percent from the field in the first half, as they were just 4-of-23 from the field, trailing 20-11 at the break. The Dragons did an excellent job on the defensive end, however, holding Delaware to just two points for the game until 9:40 remained in the period.

Fiona Flanagan, starting for the third consecutive game, hit the Dragons' only three-pointer of the first half. She added another in the second half to finish with six points.

Delaware pushed their lead to 10 points early in the second half before the Dragons began to fight back. With the score 24-14, the Dragons scored the game's next six points, four from Kamile Nacickaite and two on a lay-up by Tyler Hale to make it a four-point game. After another Hale lay-up, Taylor Wootton knocked down her only points of the game to make it 26-24 with 14:12 remaining.

Again, the defenses for both teams took over. After the teams traded buckets, the score remained 28-26 for 4:41 of gametime until Delle Donne hit two free throws with 8:29 remaining.

With the Blue Hens leading 32-28, Ayana Lee knocked down one of two free throws to cut the deficit to three. Just over a minute later, with 4:51 to play, Lee hit both from the stripe to cut the lead down to just one. Then, after another big defensive stop, Hollie Mershon drove down the left side and buried a spinning lay-up. She was fouled and hit the free throw with 4:04 to play, giving the Dragons a two-point lead.

After a timeout, Delle Donne knocked down a three-pointer that put the Blue Hens back on top, but Mershon promptly answered with the only three of the night for Drexel that did not come from Flanagan. The score remained that way until Lauren Carra got an offensive putback with 1:58 to play to tie it, but again it was Mershon who weaved her way inside to give the Dragons back the lead.

Delle Donne hit one of two free throws with 25 seconds to play, and the Dragons could not take advantage of a 1-and-1 opportunity on their end, missing the front end as Delaware regained possession with 16 seconds to play. Drexel double-teamed Delle Donne on the right wing, but the junior forced her way through the screen and heaved up a leaner that found the net, pushing the Blue Hens back on top with 2.3 seconds to play. After a timeout, Mershon had a decent look at the hoop from 35 feet, but it fell short.

Despite the offensive heroics of Mershon and Delle Donne in the final minutes, the story of the game was defense, with two of the top defensive units in the country on the floor. Drexel, which came into the day leading the league in scoring defense, held Delaware to 40 points after the Blue Hens had not tallied fewer than 60 all season. Drexel's one-point margin of defeat was the closest of any CAA opponent against Delaware this season, six points better than James Madison's seven-point defeat in Harrisonburg.

The Dragons also limited Preseason CAA Player of the Year Delle Donne to 12, her season low and just the second time she scored less than 20 in a game. With the exception of a game last season in which she played just six minutes before leaving with an illness, it marked a career low. Unfortunately for the Dragons, it was just enough to keep Delaware undefeated in the league, as they clinched the No. 1 seed in the upcoming CAA Tournament.

A preseason ceremony in front of the second sell-out crowd in the history of Drexel women's basketball honored head coach Denise Dillon, who won her 145th-career game at Old Dominion on Thursday. That moved her one past Lil Haas for the school record for Division I coaching victories.

The Dragons will return to the court for their Play for Kay Pink Zone game on Thursday, when they host William & Mary at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are still available through DrexelTickets.com.