Women's Basketball Tops Hofstra on the Road, 63-56

Thursday, January 22

Hempstead, N.Y.

12:00 p.m.

Drexel University

11-7, 5-2CAA

Hofstra

12-6, 5-2CAA

Team	1	2	F
Drexel	33	30	63
Hofstra	23	33	56

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Women's Basketball Tops Hofstra on the Road, 63-56

1/22/2015 2:07:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – The Drexel women's basketball team got a measure of redemption on Thursday afternoon at Hofstra, defeating the Pride 63-56 to claim a critical road victory and a share of second place in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Dragons, who fell to Hofstra 53-52 in overtime at the Daskalakis Athletic Center earlier this month, won in Hempstead for the first time since January 14, 2010.

Four players scored in double figures for the Dragons (11-7, 5-2) for the first time this season. That group was led by Alexis Smith, who had a season-high 16 points. Smith was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line down the stretch, helping the Dragons hold off Hofstra's last-ditch charge. Jamila Thompson finished with a career-best 15 points, adding six rebounds. Sarah Curran had 14 points and a team-high six assists, while Rachel Pearson chipped in 10 points and a team-leading eight rebounds to go along with three steals and three assists. Hofstra (12-6, 5-2) lost at home for the first time since November. It was led in the scoring column by Elo Edeferioka's 15 points.

Getting off to quick starts had not been a strong suit of the Dragons in recent weeks, but they got just what they needed on Thursday, building as much as a 12-point lead in the first half. Drexel was hitting from inside and out, shooting 48.3 percent (14-for-29) on the half and 42.9 percent (3-for-7) from long range. The Dragons quickly jumped out to a 7-3 lead before Hofstra found its form and pushed back.

The Pride, who missed their first six three-point attempts, were able to hit two in a row midway through the first half to take a brief 15-14 lead. A three-point play by Curran put Drexel back on top, but Hofstra responded with four straight to go back on top, 19-17, with 8:55 remaining in the half. That is when Drexel clamped down. Fueled in part by Curran, who had eight points over the remainder of the half, the Dragons went on an extended 16-4 push to take a 33-23 lead into the break. The Dragons held Hofstra without any points at all for 4:25, building a 26-19 edge. After Hofstra got back on the board, Drexel rattled off seven more points in a row to take a 33-21 lead. A loose ball ended up as a lay-up for the Pride near the end of the half, but Drexel still took a double-digit lead into the break for the first time since leading by 14 over Northeastern on January 4.

Curran finished with 10 points in the first half, while Jamila Thompson, who was 4-for-5 from the floor largely thanks to midrange jumpers, had nine. Alexis Smith contributed seven, while Rachel Pearson had five points and seven big rebounds. Drexel continued the trend it established at James Madison, hanging tough with the conference's best on the glass. The Dragons outrebounded Hofstra 19-16 in the first half.

After maintaining their lead through the first several minutes of the second half, the Dragons saw Hofstra chip away with some breakaway chances. The Pride went on an 11-0 run, pulling within a point at 38-37 before Kelsi Lidge buried a big three-pointer from the right corner. Shortly thereafter, Lidge corralled a big offensive rebound, extending a Drexel possession until the Dragons found Pearson free in the left corner for three. That gave the Dragons a bit of breathing room at 44-37 with just over 11 minutes to play. Buckets from Thompson and Curran made it a 10-0 Drexel spurt before Hofstra called a timeout with 9:41 to play. In all, it was a 14-0 run as the Dragons built their largest lead before the Pride hit one free throw to end their drought after more than five minutes of Drexel domination.

The Pride did not go quietly. Though they never got back within a possession, the Pride did slice things down to five with 5:05 to play. Drexel, as it did all day, had an answer when Jackie Schluth knocked in a midrange jumper from the left side to extend the cushion back to seven. After another Hofstra score got its deficit back to five, Smith responded with a lay-up off a nice feed from Sarah Curran, who fired a bullet from the three-point line in to a backdoor-cutting Smith to put Drexel on top 57-50. The Pride would not close further the rest of the afternoon.

With the first of two three-game road trips in conference play now behind them, the Dragons will return home to the Daskalakis Athletic Center for their next two games. Drexel will host rival Delaware on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. as part of the school's Homecoming Weekend. The game will be preceded by the annual alumni game. The Dragons will also host the College of Charleston next Friday, January 30, to close out the month.