Women's Basketball Fights Back for 62-52 Win Over Providence

Friday, November 15

Daskalakis Athletic Center

7:00 p.m.

Drexel University

2-1

Providence

2-1

Providence

Drexel

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Women's Basketball Fights Back for 62-52 Win Over Providence

11/15/2013 9:24:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - The Drexel women's basketball team fought back from a 17-point deficit in the first half to overtake the visiting Providence Friars and win a 62-52 game in their home opener in front of 1,003 fans at the Daskalakis Athletic Center on Friday night. Freshman guard Alexis Smith poured in 17 points, 13 of which came in the second half, while senior Fiona Flanagan put together her first-career double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds to lead Drexel.

The Dragons (2-1) trailed 26-9 in the first half before turning on the jets. By halftime, the lead was down to eight, and the Dragons retook the lead just under eight minutes into the second half when Smith knocked down a jumper to make it 37-35.

Sarah Curran chipped in with 12 points and six rebounds, her first double-digit scoring output of her career. Carrie Alexander had eight, while Meghan Creighton had seven points, five rebounds and four assists. Abby Redick had five points, three rebounds and five assists without a turnover. For Flanagan, who had earned a spot on the Glass City Tournament All-Tournament Team with showings of 19 and 17 points last weekend against Toledo and Villanova, her 11-point outing marked the first time in her career that she reached double figures in three-straight games.

Alexis Harris had a team-best 14 points and 11 rebounds for Providence (2-1), which had come into the game scoring no less than 104 points in each of its first two contests. The Friars were held to exactly half that on Friday night.

The game started slow for the Dragons, who hit just three of their first 20 shots as Providence built its 26-9 lead. When Aliyah Miller's layup built that lead with 8:11 to go, the Dragons began to turn up the defensive pressure, methodically going on a 15-3 run over the next 7:12 that sliced the deficit to just five points. Creighton had five points during the run, with Flanagan and Smith each adding four and Alexander chipping in two. Evi Iiskola's three-point play, the third old-fashioned three-point play of the half for the Friars, sent the visitors into halftime up eight, 32-24.

After halftime, Drexel kept up the intensity, scoring the first five points of the half. Sarah Curran knocked down a jumper, followed by a three-pointer from Fiona Flanagan. After Providence free throws extended the lead back to five, Smith hit another jumped, followed by Jamila Thompson's first field goal as a Dragon to cut things to one. Less than two minutes later, Curran knocked down a shot to tie the score at 35 all. Providence promptly turned the ball over, and Smith made them pay with a jumper to take a 37-35 lead.

The Dragons would not trail again, methodically building a lead of as many as 13 points with just over three minutes to play. In the second half, it was Smith, Curran and Carrie Alexander who led the way for the yound Drexel team, knocking down shots and keeping the defensive pressure on Providence. The Friars had just five turnovers in the first half compared to seven for Drexel. In the second half, the Dragons turned the ball over just three times, while Providence gave it up 10 times.

Drexel will not be back at the Daskalakis Athletic Center for over a month, with the next home game coming on December 18 against Hampton. However, the Dragons will be staying in Philadelphia for their next game, a trip to Hagan Arena on the campus of St. Joseph's on Wednesday evening. That game will tip off at 7:00 p.m.