Women's Basketball Comes Back for Dramatic Win at JMU, 48-46

Thursday, January 10

Harrisonburg, Va.

7:00 p.m.

Drexel University

9-4,CAA 2-0

James Madison

7-7,CAA 1-1

Drexel

James Madison

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Women's Basketball Comes Back for Dramatic Win at JMU, 48-46

1/10/2013 8:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. - Hollie Mershon hit two free throws with four seconds on the clock to give the Drexel women's basketball team its first lead of the night as they overcame a 15-point first-half deficit to defeat the host James Madison Dukes, 48-46. Mershon finished with a game-high 20 points, 17 of which came in the second half.

Drexel (9-4, 2-0) won for just the second time at James Madison during the regular season. The Dragons have now won three of their last four against the Dukes, and are 2-0 in Colonial Athletic Association play for the first time since the 2009-10 season.

Renee Johnson-Allen and Taylor Wootton had nine points each, as Drexel won with just one double-digit scorer for the first time this season. Johnson-Allen also pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds. Tarik Hislop had 13 points to lead James Madison, adding five of the Dukes' eight assists.

Drexel trailed by 11 at the break, 29-18. Despite never leading, the Dragons kept the game close until foul trouble forced Mershon and point guard Meghan Creighton to the bench for the last eight minutes of the half. From there, James Madison expanded its five-point lead to 15 within five minutes. Precious Hall knocked down a three-pointer with 3:02 to go in the first half to finish off a 12-2 run and give the Dukes a 27-12 advantage.

James Madison took a 29-18 lead into halftime, but Drexel methodically worked its way back into the contest. After the Dukes got the half's first bucket, Mershon scored four straight points, followed by a three-pointer by Fiona Flanagan that cut the deficit to 31-25 with 16:05 to play. James Madison recovered, and held onto a 40-32 lead with 8:11 to play in the game.

From there, the Dragons made their final push. After three fruitless trips up and down the court, the Dragons got back on the board with a lay-up from Rachel Pearson. James Madison then hit one of two free throws, but the Dragons answered with two free throws each from Mershon and Wootton that made the score 41-38 with 2:53 to play.

Hislop, who had scored eight of her 13 points in the first half, got back in action with 2:42 left in the game. Her turnaround jumper pushed the Dukes' lead back to five, but Johnson-Allen countered with a lay-in on a nice feed from Flanagan. She was fouled on the play and hit the free throw to make it a two-point game.

Hislop got her final points of the night with 2:01 to play, another contested jumper at the top of the key. On the other end, it was Mershon whose short jumper cut the lead to two. After a defensive stop, Mershon got the ball back and calmly nailed a 15-foot jumper to tie the score.

James Madison got the ball back with 59 seconds to play. Hislop and Hall each had looks, but despite two offensive rebounds, the Dukes could not get a field goal to fall. Crystal Ross would wind up being fouled with 23 seconds left, and hit one of her two free throws to give Madison a one-point lead.

With nine seconds to go, senior forward Nicki Jones was fouled in the paint after grabbing an offensive rebound of her own. She hit the first free throw to tie the score, but missed the second. As two Madison players went for the rebound, the ball hit off them and fell out of bounds, giving the Dragons second life. After a timeout, the ball found its way to Mershon, who drove to the paint and was fouled. She stepped to the line and knocked down both. A last-second three-point attempt by Hislop fell short as Drexel escaped with the victory.

Drexel won the game at the free throw line, where it was 8-for-9 in the second half after going just 3-for-6 in the first half. The Dragons also outrebounded the Dukes 22-15 in the second half to help secure the victory.