Second Half Propels Women's Basketball by VCU, 73-63

Wednesday, February 29

Daskalakis Athletic Center

7:00 p.m.

Drexel University

VCU

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Second Half Propels Women's Basketball by VCU, 73-63

2/29/2012 9:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball

BOX SCORE

PHILADELPHIA - The Drexel women's basketball team used a big second half to earn a third-straight victory, defeating VCU on Senior Night at the Daskalakis Athletic Center, 73-63. Senior Kamile Nacickaite led the Dragons with 19 points. Sophomore Fiona Flanagan added a career-high 16, all in the second half. Flanagan was 4-for-4 from downtown in the second half, getting 14 of those points in a six-minute stretch to help Drexel go from seven points down with 13:20 remaining to four points up with 7:31 to go.

With the victory, Drexel moved to 12-6 in the Colonial Athletic Association, one game ahead of Hofstra, which lost at Northeastern on Wednesday night. That moved the Dragons into the third seed in the upcoming CAA Tournament. They will play in the quarterfinals at 7:30 p.m. next Friday evening, having earned a bye through the first round.

The Dragons traded baskets with VCU for much of the first half, with neither team able to build much of an advantage. Drexel led by a bucket several times and the Rams built a brief six-point cushion, but the Dragons did not let that last long. Senior Ayana Lee, who got her first start of the season in her final home game, had six points and five rebounds in the first half, finishing the game with six and six. She had four offensive boards - three in the first half - helping the Dragons stay with the Rams. Tyler Hale also had six points, leading the way for Drexel in the first half. She would finish with 11.

A late three-pointer by VCU's Courtney Hurt send the Rams into the locker rooms leading, 30-27. Although the Dragons took a brief 35-34 lead on a Nacickaite three-pointer early in the second half, VCU would regroup and hit their next four shots, going on a 9-1 run to take a 43-36 lead with 13:20 to play.

From there, it was the Fiona Flanagan show. First, she hit a 10-foot jumper from the right baseline to make it a five-point game. After Taylor Wootton netted two of her six points to cut the VCU lead to 43-40, Flanagan would score the next 12 points for Drexel. She buried threes from both sides of the court, dialing in for the best shooting performance of her career to propel a 12-3 run that put the Dragons on top, 52-48.

The Rams fought back within a point on two occasions, but the Drexel defense, which has been the team's calling card all season, clamped down when it had to and maintained the Dragons' advantage. Nacickaite answered a VCU three that cut the lead to one with a three-point play of her own, slashing to the hoop and drawing the foul with 6:47 remaining.

With the Dragons leading by two, 59-57, Drexel turned it over and the Rams had a chance to tie. This time, it was junior Hollie Mershon who provided a boost, grabbing a steal on the defensive end and ultimately nailing a three-pointer from the left corner on the offensive side. Still, VCU would not go easy. Two free throws from Andrea Barbour cut Drexel's lead to 62-61 with 2:17 to go, but Nacickaite again had the dagger, knocking down a three with 2:00 to play from the right wing. After a steal by Tyler Hale, Flanagan finished in the paint to push Drexel's lead to 67-61 and force VCU to call a timeout. Mershon and Nacickaite hit six free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

The Dragons held a pregame ceremony to honor its four seniors - Marisa Crane, Lee, Hale and Nacickaite - in addition to senior team manager Melanie Tepel. Crane, making her 100th appearance in a Drexel uniform, reached a milestone of her own with her 300th career assist. She became just the eighth player in Drexel women's basketball history to reach that mark.

Drexel could play these Rams again in their first game at the CAA Tournament. The Rams earned the league's sixth seed, and will face No. 11 William & Mary at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. The winner of that game will take on the Dragons in the quarterfinals. Drexel was 4-0 against those two teams in the regular season.