Women's Basketball Advances to CAA Final, 67-50 over JMU

Saturday, March 10

Upper Marlboro, Md.

2:30 p.m.

Drexel University

James Madison

Photo by: CAA/Rafael Suanes

Women's Basketball Advances to CAA Final, 67-50 over JMU

3/10/2012 5:26:00 PM | Women's Basketball

BOX SCORE

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. – The Drexel women's basketball team is heading back to the CAA championship game, as it defeated James Madison on Saturday in the Virginia 529 CAA Tournament semifinals, 67-50. Kamile Nacickaite led the Dragons with 16 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for her second double-double of the year. Hollie Mershon added 15 points and Tyler Hale knocked down 12 as the Dragons never trailed in the second half.

Drexel will face top-seeded Delaware in the championship game, the second in the history of Drexel women's basketball and the second-straight finals appearance for the Blue Hens. Drexel won its previous appearance, 64-58 over James Madison in 2009.

The Dragons and Dukes matched each other for pesky, unrelenting defense early on, as the Dukes clung to an early lead. With Madison leading 11-8 midway through the first half, senior Marisa Crane stepped into a three-pointer from the top of the key, burying it to tie the score. After a JMU three put the Dukes back ahead, Crane had the answer from long range again, knotting things up at 14. Drexel would not trail the rest of the way.

For Crane, the back-to-back threes gave her eight points in the game, matching her season high. She finished a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor in 26 minutes.

James Madison and CAA Defensive Player of the Year Nikki Newman did a good job holding down Drexel's top scoring threats early on, as Mershon had just six points in the first half and Nacickiate was scoreless with just over a minute to play. Then, with 63 seconds remaining in the stanza and the Dragons up by six, Nacickaite curled around a screen and hit a short jumper to put herself on the board. She hit a similar shot with 19 seconds to go, extending Drexel's lead to 30-22 heading into the break.

After halftime, Drexel stormed out to a 7-0 run to take a 15-point lead just over two minutes into the period. Mershon had five points in the run, including a three-point play that put Drexel up 37-22. After a Kirby Burkholder three-pointer for James Madison with 17:37 to play, the Dukes did not score again until 11:53 remained on the clock, by which point Drexel had built a 41-25 lead.

Much like VCU had done on Friday in the quarterfinals, James Madison started to press the Dragons and force the issue at that point. Although they got some turnovers and quick buckets, they could not drastically cut into the Dragons' lead thanks to sharpshooting efficiency at the free throw line. The Dragons tied a CAA Tournament record by going 18-for-18 at the stripe, and built a 23-point lead with 2:22 to play on free throws from Hale. She was 8-for-8 from the line, matching the Dragons' best individual showing of the season.

Drexel won in large part thanks to its ability to outdo the Dukes on the glass. James Madison came into the game averaging 45.0 rebounds per game, best in the league, while Drexel sat 12th at 33.9 a contest. On Saturday, the Dragons held the edge throughout, and finished with a 39-31 advantage on the glass. James Madison managed just nine second-chance points on nine offensive rebounds. Drexel also forced 14 James Madison turnovers, including four charging fouls drawn by senior Ayana Lee. She finished with two points, three rebounds and two steals in addition to those four big plays.

Taylor Wootton knocked down nine points and Fiona Flanagan added five to round out the scoring for the Dragons. Flanagan added three assists and Wootton two blocks, both season highs.

The Dragons and Blue Hens played two memorable games in the regular season, with Delaware prevailing in both games. Most recently, Delaware escaped with a 40-39 victory at the DAC on February 19. The Blue Hens advanced to the title game with wins over No. 8 Old Dominion in the quarterfinals and No. 5 UNCW in the semis.

Sunday's game will be aired live on the Comcast Network in Philadelphia, and will tip at 12:30 p.m. Fans who are considering making the drive to Upper Marlboro for the game are reminded to purchase their tickets in advance through the CAA's website, www.CAASports.com, and that daylight savings time takes effect on Saturday night, moving clocks forward one hour. Fans who cannot make it to the arena or watch on TV can still follow all the action live by listening to Ari Bluestein's call on DrexelDragons.com.