Women's Basketball Comeback Comes Up Short at No. 8 Maryland, 69-63

Monday, November 25

College Park, Md.

7:00 p.m.

Drexel University

2-3

No. 8/8 Maryland

5-1

Drexel

Maryland

Photo by: Greg Fiume

Women's Basketball Comeback Comes Up Short at No. 8 Maryland, 69-63

11/25/2013 9:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

COLLEGE PARK, Md - The Drexel women's basketball team gave No. 8 ranked Maryland everything it could handle on Monday night, but came up just short as the Dragons' late comeback bid was denied, 69-63. Drexel never led in the game, but had the Terrapins and the Comcast Center crowd of 3,421 on edge as they battled their way back from a 16-point deficit to cut the lead to as little as three late in the second half.

Alexis Smith had 19 points and Sarah Curran added 16 for the Dragons, both personal bests for the freshmen. Meghan Creighton and Rachel Pearson added nine points each, while Abby Redick had eight. Smith added five rebounds, matching Pearson and Fiona Flanagan for the team lead in that category, and four assists.

Early on, the Drexel offense consisted entirely of Curran. The freshman forward carried the team through the first ten minutes of play, scoring the Dragons' first 11 points before a Meghan Creighton three-pointer with 7:17 remaining in the first half provided the first non-Curran points. The Dragons had their chances early to keep things tight all the way through, but the team's 0-12 shooting drought outside of Curran allowed Maryland to build a double digit lead that extended to 16 in the last two minutes of the first half.

Just before halftime, the Dragons put up a 5-0 run that sent them into the locker room with momentum. Smith, who would end up with 13 of her 19 points after the intermission, cut to the hoop and scored, prompting a timeout call by the Terps. After a turnover and a Drexel timeout with just over six seconds remaining, Creighton took the inbounds pass and drove up the left side across midcourt, hoisting a shot from beyond NBA range that banked in as the buzzer sounded.

After the break, the Drexel offense began to click, particularly from long range. Three-pointers from Pearson and Redick, followed by a scoop-and-score by Redick, slashed the Maryland lead down to seven. After Alyssa Thomas converted an old-fashioned three-point play, part of her 21 point, 14 rebound night, Pearson nailed another trey. She would add one more with just under 15 minutes to play, again getting the deficit down to seven points.

Maryland held a 12-point lead with 12:31 to play when Smith grabbed an offensive board and converted the putback to start a Drexel 10-2 run. Curran followed a Maryland jumper with a three-pointer from the top of the key, her first points since those 11 to open Drexel's scoring. Jackie Schluth then grabbed a rebound, and found Curran who dished to Smith for a three-pointer to make it a six-point game. After another Drexel defensive stop, Curran again found a slashing Smith, whose lay-up made it 53-49 and prompted another timeout call by Maryland with 10:33 to play.

Drexel would keep things in range the rest of the way. After five quick points by Maryland extended the Terp lead back to nine, Smith and Creighton chipped in five straight points to get it back to four with 8:29 remaining. Three minutes later, Redick converted two free throws after having hit one of two from the line on the previous possession to get the lead down to three at 60-57 with 5:36 remaining.

The Dragons had the ball with a chance to pull within one or tie the game twice, but were unable to convert on those opportunities. Maryland again pushed the margin out to nine points by the final minute of play, but Drexel did not go away. The Dragons got a lay-up from Curran and a drive by Carrie Alexander to get the lead down to five in the final seconds, but could inch no closer as the Terps pulled away.

Monday's game was the first against a top-10 team for Drexel since December 28, 2010, a 74-45 loss against then-No. 5 Texas A&M. The Dragons showed no fear against the Terps, who held a considerable size advantage and did their best to neutralize Maryland on the boards. The Dragons also forced 12 Maryland turnovers while committing just eight themselves.

Drexel will now enjoy an eight-day layoff spanning the Thanksgiving holiday before its next game, a visit to Colgate on December 4.