Comeback Ends in Heartbreak as Women's Basketball Falls 59-56 in Title Game

Sunday, March 17

Upper Marlboro, Md.

2:00 p.m.

Drexel University

(22-10)

#15/15 Delaware

(30-3)

Drexel

Delaware

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Comeback Ends in Heartbreak as Women's Basketball Falls 59-56 in Title Game

3/17/2013 4:23:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. - After a season of trying to get over the hump against the top-seeded No. 15/15 Delaware Blue Hens, Drexel was not about to give up before the final buzzer sounded in Sunday afternoon's Colonial Athletic Association championship game. Trailing by 17 points with 14:37 to play, the Dragons defied the odds and erased most of that deficit in just 5:29 with a 13-0 run that got them back in the game. With 1:12 to play, it looked like the work might pay off when Taylor Wootton drained a three-pointer to give the Dragons their first lead since 2-0, 56-55. In the end, though, it was Delaware that repeated as CAA champions after scoring the game's final four points to win, 59-56.

Wootton led the Dragons with 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting, including a career-high four three-pointers. Hollie Mershon added 18 points and nine assists for Drexel (22-10), which fell to the Blue Hens in the title game for a second-consecutive season. Elena Delle Donne score 28 points to lead the Blue Hens, who have now won 42 consecutive CAA contests. Trumae Lucas added 12 including two free throws that gave Delaware its final lead with 44 seconds to play.

Drexel put together one of the most impressive defensive showings in the history of the CAA Tournament, averaging just 41.3 points allowed per game over the three-day event. After falling down by 17 early in the second half, the Dragons' defense was as impressive as it was all season, clamping down on the normally explosive Blue Hens and holding them to just 11 points over the final 12:50 of the game and just two points during a 7:23 span in the middle of the period. Abby Redick was particularly impressive inside for Drexel, helping keep Delle Donne and Delaware forward Danielle Parker at bay. Redick pulled down eight rebounds, a career high, while adding four points and four assists.

The Dragons fought back from two separate double-digit deficits. In the first half, the Dragons trailed by 12, 21-9, midway through the period. Drexel chipped away, and the Delaware lead stood at eight, 28-20, with 3:36 to play before Redick knocked down a jumper that cut the deficit to six. Two stops were followed by two scores by Mershon, who would add a free throw with 40 seconds left in the half that cut the Delaware lead to 28-27. The Blue Hens would net the half's final points on Kayla Miller's putback at the buzzer, taking a 30-27 advantage into the locker room.

After halftime, the defending CAA champions appeared to come out on a mission. The Blue Hens scored the period's first 11 points before Renee Johnson-Allen hit a mid-range jumper to get Drexel on the board in the second half 4:21 into the stanza. Delle Donne kept going, though, netting the next five points as Delaware pushed its lead to 46-29.

With 14:02 to play, freshman Rachel Pearson, who had bedeviled the Blue Hens in both of the teams' regular season meetings, downed her first three-pointer of the afternoon, trimming the deficit to 14. After both Parker and Delle Donne hit one of two free throws on successive possessions, the Delaware lead was back to 16 at 48-32.

From there, Drexel's defense stepped up, and the Dragons began hitting their shots. Wootton stepped into a three-pointer, followed by a short jumper from the left side by Pearson. With 11:12 remaining, Wootton hit another trey to get the deficit back into single digits at 48-40. Just 55 ticks later, Meghan Creighton hit one of her two three-pointers on the day to bring the Dragons within five. After two more defensive stops, Mershon was fouled and knocked down both her free throws, pulling Drexel within a possession at 48-45.

Delaware would break out of its scoreless slump with 7:23 to play when Delle Donne hit a short jumper. Two Mershon three-pointers sandwiched around a three-point play for Akeema Richards cut the deficit to two with 4:49 to play, though, and after both teams came up empty, Wootton hit a bucket from the free throw line that knotted things at 53 with 1:55 to play.

After two Delle Donne free throws with 1:33 remaining put the Blue Hens back on top, Redick found Wootton alone in the right corner, where the senior sank her fourth three-pointer of the afternoon with 1:12 remaining. Drexel was on top, 56-55, its first lead since the 18:18 mark of the first half.

Delaware brought the ball down the court, and with the Dragons denying Delle Donne a touch, Lucas drove to the hoop and drew a questionable blocking call foul on Redick that sent her to the line. She hit both, and the Dragons turned the ball over on their ensuing possession while down by a point. Needing to foul, it appeared the Dragons had Lauren Carra fouled in the backcourt, but it went uncalled and Delaware was able to get the ball upcourt and run precious seconds off the clock. Delle Donne would hit both her free throws with 9.9 ticks to play, and after the Blue Hens used a foul they had to give on Mershon in the back court, the Dragons were unable to get a final shot off as they looked to tie.

Drexel will now await its postseason fate, finding out on Monday night when and where it will play, in all likelihood in the WNIT. The Dragons' 22 wins sits just two shy of the program record of 24 set by the 2008-09 squad that won the program's only CAA championship to date.