Women's Basketball Cruises to Win Over Towson in CAA Opener, 76-55

Sunday, January 6

Daskalakis Athletic Center

2:00 p.m.

Drexel University

8-4, 1-0

Towson

6-6, 0-1

TOWSON

Drexel

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Women's Basketball Cruises to Win Over Towson in CAA Opener, 76-55

1/6/2013 4:21:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - The second season began on Sunday, as the Drexel women's basketball team won its Colonial Athletic Association opener over Towson at the Daskalakis Athletic Center, 76-55. Hollie Mershon scored 20 points, Taylor Wootton had 14 and Fiona Flanagan added 13 as Drexel hit 11 three-pointers, tying a season high.

Wootton got Drexel (8-4, 1-0) off to a strong start. With the Dragons coming off two straight losses, the senior powered in six of the team's first 11 points, helping them get off to an 11-7 lead. After back-to-back buckets by Mershon, Wootton hit the first three-pointer of the day for the Dragons, burying a three from the left wing that pushed Drexel's advantage to 18-11.

Wootton would finish with 14 points and five rebounds, shooting 6-for-8 from the field and 2-for-2 from three-point range.

Leading 19-13, the Dragons went on an 8-0 run that put them up by double digits, a margin they would never relinquish. Mershon hit a long jumper to get the run started, followed by three-pointers by Rachel Pearson and Renee Johnson-Allen.

Early in the second half, with Drexel leading 46-30, Flanagan stepped up and buried two straight three-pointers, hitting her second with 13:42 remaining to push the lead to 52-30. That forced Towson to call a timeout, but Drexel did not yield the rest of the way. They led by as many as 27 with 8:17 to play when Nicki Jones spun and hit a bucket to make it 64-37.

Meghan Creighton dished out seven assists, a new career high for the freshman starting her first league contest. She also had six points and three rebounds.

Prior to the game, Drexel wore green shooting shirts for warmups. The shirts had the word "Sandy Hook" on the back where the players' names usually would be, as a tribute to the victims of the shooting that took place last month in Connecticut. Players on Drexel's bench wore the shirts throughout the game.

Drexel will now go on the road for its next two games, visiting James Madison on Thursday and UNC Wilmington on Sunday afternoon.