Women's Basketball Falls in CAA Semis, 55-43 to James Madison

Saturday, March 15

Upper Marlboro, Md.

12:00 p.m.

Drexel University

(15-16)

James Madison

(27-5)

Drexel

James Madison

Women's Basketball Falls in CAA Semis, 55-43 to James Madison

3/15/2014 3:12:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

UPPER MARLBORO, Md. – The Drexel women's basketball team came into Saturday's Colonial Athletic Association semifinal against James Madison having knocked the Dukes out in that round in each of the last two CAA tournaments. Unfortunately for the Dragons, the third time was the charm for top-seeded James Madison, which used a 16-0 run that stretched across halftime and lasted over eight minutes to grab control of the game. The Dukes advanced with a 55-43 victory over Drexel.

The loss eliminated Drexel (15-16) from consideration for the NCAA Tournament and WNIT, the first time Drexel has not appeared in either postseason event since 2008.

Fiona Flanagan and Abby Redick, each appearing in their final game for the Dragons, led the team with 10 points apiece. Flanagan added six rebounds, also a team high. Rachel Pearson added nine points for the Dragons to cap off an All-CAA season.

Kirby Burkholder, the Player of the Year in the CAA, led the Dukes (27-5) with 11 points and added 22 rebounds, a career high. Despite the loss, Drexel held James Madison to a season-low 55 points on just 37.5 percent shooting.

Drexel started off strong, going up 7-2 right out of the gate. Redick and Flanagan put up early buckets, with Rachel Pearson knocking down a three. The Dragons forced two quick James Madison turnovers as Drexel held the Dukes to two points over the game's first 5:04.

Burkholder's three-pointer that cut the Drexel lead to 7-5 got the Dukes' offense going. James Madison went on a 10-2 run over the next three minutes, taking a 12-9 lead. As it turned out, the Dukes would not trail again the rest of the way.

The Dragons kept things close for much of the remaining portion of the first half, however. Tory Thierolf, who finished with seven points and matched Flanagan's six rebounds, got a shooter's bounce on a three pointer from the left corner to tie things up at 12 with 9:22 to play.

The pattern would continue three more times over the next five minutes, with the Dukes edging ahead only to have Drexel knot things up. With 4:28 remaining in the frame, Thierolf knocked down a short jumper to answer a Burkholder lay-up and tie things at 18 all.

That would prove to be the last Drexel points for a span of 8:06 stretching into the second half. The Dukes went into a full court press, disrupting the methodical, grinding offensive flow that Drexel had developed. That forced not only a few turnovers, but also led to hurried shots on the Dragons' offensive end. James Madison capitalized on both, rattling off 11 straight to end the first half and go into the intermission ahead 29-18.

James Madison would add the first five points of the second half before a Carrie Alexander free throw ended the skid. After two Dukes free throws, Flanagan nailed a three-pointer to make it a 36-22 deficit with 15:55 to play. From there, the teams traded staunch defensive play, with the margin remaining essentially unchanged. Drexel briefly fell behind by as much as 21, but scored the game's final nine points to create the final 12-point margin.

Flanagan finishes her Drexel career as the program's all-time leader in games played, a record she earned with the start on Saturday in her 132nd career appearance. She also leaves as one of just two players (Gabriela Marginean) to appear on the program top-10 lists in both field goal percentage (7th, .456) and three-point percentage (1st, .408). Flanagan set the Drexel three-point percentage record by 26 percentage points, outdoing former teammate Kamile Nacickaite (.382).

Redick, who started 28 games this year and made 108 college appearances, had seven double-digit scoring outings during the season, including the program's first and still only triple-double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists in the win at William & Mary.

Thierolf made a name for herself as a scorer during CAA play this season, coming up with 137 points since conference play began, good for 60.1 percent of her career scoring total. She was called upon to step into the starting lineup for the last nine games, reaching double figures in six of them including three-straight career-high 16 point performances.