Women's Basketball Rolls to 69-53 Win Over Dartmouth in Opener

Friday, November 13

Daskalakis Athletic Center

7:00 p.m.

Drexel University

1-0

Dartmouth

0-1

DARTMOUTH

DREXEL

Photo by: Gavin Baker

Women's Basketball Rolls to 69-53 Win Over Dartmouth in Opener

11/13/2015 9:50:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – Led by their all-conference players, the Drexel women's basketball team put together a strong start to their 2015-16 campaign, handling Dartmouth in the first round of the Preseason WNIT, 69-53. The Dragons led the entire game as Rachel Pearson netted 21 points and Sarah Curran added 20 to set the tone for Drexel's fourth-straight season-opening victory.

Pearson, who was playing in her 100th career game, put together her highest output since scoring 21 at Elon on January 6, 2015. She was 8-for-10 from the floor and added six rebounds and five assists. Curran added six boards, three assists and a pair of steals to her 20 points. Graduate student forward Jackie Schluth matched a career high with 12 rebounds, chipping in eight points. As a team, Drexel out-rebounded the Big Green 41-28, with Schluth leading the way and Kelsi Lidge adding seven. Redshirt-junior Jessica Pellechio also had eight points in her first outing with the Dragons. Meghan Creighton, also a redshirt-junior, played her first game since last Dec. 14. She returned from injury with five points and eight assists against just one turnover.

The Dragons (1-0) advanced to the second round of the Preseason WNIT with the win. They will take on No. 19/20 South Florida in Tampa on Sunday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.

Curran was the catalyst early on, scoring the game's first seven points. She hit a pair of free throws to get the Dragons on the board, then nailed a three-pointer before knocking down a jumper to complete the solo 7-0 run. Dartmouth charged back, and closed the first quarter on a 5-0 run to leave the Dragons on top 12-9 at the break.

After the Big Green cut the Dragons' lead to one early in the second quarter, Drexel went on an 8-0 spurt to pull ahead by nine. Curran and Pearson contributed treys to the run, with Creighton adding a pair of free throws to cap it off.

With 3:37 to play in the first half and Drexel maintaining an eight-point margin, Pellechio notched her first points as a Dragon, drilling a three-pointer from the right wing to make it a 27-16 game. After grabbing a rebound on the defensive end, Pellechio made it back-to-back threes and gave Drexel a 14-point cushion with 3:01 remaining in the first half.

Drexel led by 13 with just under seven seconds to play before halftime when Meghan Creighton drove the length of the court, putting up a twisting lay-up that fell. She was fouled on the play and hit the free throw with two seconds still on the clock, giving the Dragons a 16-point halftime margin.

The Dragons pushed the lead to 24 in the third quarter, with the first 12 points of the frame coming once again from preseason All-CAA selections Sarah Curran and Rachel Pearson. Pearson was particularly productive, scoring 10 of those points on her own. With 2:02 to play, sophomore guard Megan Marecic drained a three-pointer from the right corner, the first Dragon other than that pair to score in the quarter. She would knock down another three with just under a minute remaining and finish with six points on the evening.

The lead grew as high as 28 early in the fourth quarter before Dartmouth rallied late. The Big Green cut the deficit as low as 12 points, 63-51, with 2:03 to play but Drexel scored six straight – including four from Schluth – to end any glimmer of hope for a Dartmouth comeback.

The Dragons will play at least two more games in the Preseason WNIT, beginning with their second round matchup with No. 19/20 South Florida on Sunday. Drexel will be playing its first-ever game against the Bulls, and its American Athletic Conference opponent foe since that league's renaming in 2013. With a win, Drexel would advance to the Preseason WNIT semifinals next week.