Women's Basketball Falls in Regular Season Finale, 62-53 to JMU

Wednesday, March 6

Daskalakis Athletic Center

7:00 p.m.

Drexel University

20-9, 13-5

James Madison

21-9, 15-3

James Madison

Drexel

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Women's Basketball Falls in Regular Season Finale, 62-53 to JMU

3/6/2013 9:25:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - The Drexel women's basketball team dropped its regular season finale on Wednesday night, 62-53 to James Madison. The Dragons shot just 33.3 percent for the game as James Madison led throughout the second half in a game that determined two of the Colonial Athletic Association's top three seeds in the upcoming CAA Tournament. Drexel will be the third seed in the tournament.

Hollie Mershon, one of four senior players honored before the game, led all scorers with 27 points. It was her 14th 20-point game of the season and third straight, matching a career-high streak. Senior Taylor Wootton added 12 points and two blocks. Also recogized were seniors Nicki Jones and Renee Johnson-Allen, along with senior manager Mai-Thy Vuong.

James Madison had three scorers in double figures, paced by Toia Giggetts' 19. Kirby Burkholder added 17 and 11 rebounds, while Tarik Hislop scored 11.

The Dragons shot just 33.3 percent from the floor as they struggled to get into their offensive flow during several stretches in the game. The Dukes were able to disrupt Drexel's offense and keep the Dragons from finding open spots, forcing them to use a significant amount of the shot clock on a regular basis. Drexel had 13 turnovers, including two shot clock violations.

After Mershon gave Drexel its first lead at 12-10 and then shortly thereafter hit a lay-up making it 14-12, James Madison took a lead it would ultimately not give up when Hislop sunk a short jumper to make it 16-14. with 12:25 to go in the first half. Thanks to its trademark defense, Drexel was able to stay within range for the next several minutes, but James Madison went on an 8-0 run and held Drexel scoreless from the 7:10 mark until 1:34 remained, building a 32-22 advantage.

Early in the second half, Mershon took over for the Dragons. She scored eight straight points for the team and six in a row overall as Drexel turned a 40-28 deficit into a 40-34 James Madison lead. That would prove to be as close as they would get the rest of the way, however, as James Madison weathered that storm and did not allow a comeback repeat of Drexel's win in Harrisonburg earlier this season.

The Dragons will now go into the CAA Tournament on a two-game skid, just its second such slide of the season. They have not lost more than two in a row since December 22, 2011 through January 5, 2012, a four-game stretch. Drexel will be the No. 3 seed in the tournament and play its first game on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro, Md. Their likely opponent at the No. 6 slot is William & Mary.