Women's Basketball Edged at Penn, 46-44

Saturday, December 21

Philadelphia, Pa. (Palestra)

2:00 p.m.

Drexel University

4-7

Penn

5-2

Drexel

Penn

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

12/21/2013 4:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - For the second straight game, the Drexel women's basketball team found itself unable to hold a big early lead as the Dragons fell at Penn on Saturday afternoon, 46-44. Drexel led nearly the entire game before an Alyssa Baron runner with 2.6 seconds to play provided the final margin for the Quakers.

Drexel (4-7) led by as many as 19 late in the first half before a prolonged scoring drought allowed Penn (5-2) to get back into the game. Penn took a brief one-point lead with 6:14 to play, but otherwise, the last shot provided the Quakers' only lead of the day.

Alexis Smith finished with 13 points to lead the Dragons. She added five rebounds, matching her young career high. Tory Thierolf finished with seven points and had two blocks. Fiona Flanagan and Meghan Creighton also had seven points each, with Flanagan adding a team-best nine rebounds. Sydney Stipanovich led the Quakers with 14 points and pulled down 19 rebounds, including five offensive boards as the Quakers outdid the Dragons in second chance points, 15-2.

Drexel took a quick lead with two inside buckets by Sarah Curran, who would finish with six points on the day. Flanagan added a three-pointer and Smith knocked down a jumper to put the Draongs on top 13-3 just over seven minutes into the game. The Dragons would build the advantage to 26-7 thanks to a 13-0 run midway through the first half. Thierolf provided the final seven points of that run, capping it with a midrange jumper to make it 26-7 with 4:33 remaining in the first half.

Thierolf's points marked a season high.

The last Thierolf bucket would prove to be the last points scored by the Dragons in the first half, as Penn methodically built a 15-0 run that stretched across halftime. It was ended with 18:06 to play when Smith drained a three-pointer, making the score 29-22 at the time.

As was the case on Wednesday against Hampton, the Dragons continued to struggle offensively despite ending the scoreless stretch. They would manage just six points over the first 9:49 of the second half before Smith, who scored seven of Drexel's first eight points in the second half, cut to the hoop and scored to push the Dragons' lead back to two possessions at 34-30.

After two Jackie Schluth free throws with 6:53 to play once again put the Dragons up by four, Penn's Kathleen Roche scored five quick points to put the Quakers up 37-36, their first lead of the night. Immediately, though, Smith came down the court and buried a three-pointer from the left wing to put Drexel back on top. Two minutes later, after both teams missed several opportunities, Smith found Flanagan alone in the left corner, where the senior drained a three-pointe rot put Drexel on top.

The two teams traded buckets over the next 90 seconds before Roche again was free at the top of the key for a three-pointer to bring the Quakers within two. After a Smith missed jumper, Stipanovich got her own offensive board and put it back to tie things at 44 with 1:31 to play.

Both teams could not convert on their next possessions, setting up the Quakers' final shot. After a timeout with 13 seconds to play, Penn found Baron, who finished with just seven points, slashing to the hoop. She finished the play and left just 2.6 seconds for a desperation heave by the Dragons which hit just off the back iron.

Drexel will now have its next eight days off before taking on Cornell in Ithaca on December 30 for the Dragons' final game in 2013. The game is the second of three straight against an Ivy League opponent, and will tip at Cornell at 7:00 p.m.