Women's Basketball Runs Past Towson, 62-48

Tuesday, February 5

Towson, Md.

7:00 p.m.

Drexel University

15-6, 8-2CAA

Towson

7-14, 1-9CAA

Drexel

TOWSON

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

2/5/2013 9:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

TOWSON, Md. - Life on the road suits the Drexel women's basketball team. The Dragons, who set a program record with 10 road victories last season, improved their road record to 8-3 this year on Tuesday with a 62-48 victory at Towson. Hollie Mershon led all scorers with 19 points, while Tory Thierolf set a career high with nine.

Drexel (15-6, 8-2) put together a balanced scoring attack aside from Mershon's 19 points, with nine of the 10 Dragons who suited up netting points, and six players contributing at least six points. The Dragons shot 45.7 percent from the floor, and got 23 points off their bench while Towson's reserves were held scoreless.

Towson's Tanisha McTiller, the Colonial Athletic Association's second leading scorer after Mershon, had 14 points for the Tigers (7-14, 1-9). However, she was just 1-for-9 from the floor, doing the bulk of her damage from the free throw line where she went 12-for-14.

Drexel raced out of the gate in the first half, relying on its typically strong offense. The Dragons did not allow a field goal to Towson for the game's first 6:27. After falling behind 1-0 on an early Tiger free throw, Drexel scored the next eight points and would not trail again.

Mershon had seven of her 19 in the first half, and also dished out five of her game-high six assists. She finished the night with 1,256 points, two better than Debbie Ponist (1,254 from 1987-90) to move into 12th place all-time in Drexel women's basketabll history. Mershon is also climbing the Drexel assists chart, and is now just eight shy of becoming the ninth Dragon in program history to dish out 300 career assists.

In the second half, Towson stuck around thanks to improved numbers on the offensive end. The Tigers shot 44.4 percent from the floor in the second half after netting just five field goals and shooting 22.2 percent in the first. Towson twice got the Drexel lead into single digits, but could not get closer than nine points down the stretch.

Thierolf, who finished with nine points, two assists and two rebounds, poured in seven of her nine points in the second half. The junior was reliable from the charity stripe in the game's final minutes, hitting 5-of-6 free throws to help the Dragons ice the game away.

Renee Johnson-Allen finished with six points and five rebounds, the latter being a game-high for the Dragons. Abby Redick also added six points off the bench including a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line, while Taylor Wootton scored eight and Nicki Jones added six.

Drexel, which played on a Tuesday for the first time since the start of conference play at the beginning of last month, will now enjoy the rewards of playing two games in three days - a Thursday off. The Dragons will return to the court on Sunday at the Daskalakis Athletic Center when they host Old Dominion at 4:30 p.m. That game will be televised on Comcast SportsNet.