Curran's Double Double Leads Women's Basketball to 62-49 Win Over Quinnipiac

Monday, December 21

Daskalakis Athletic Center

2:00 p.m.

Drexel University

4-6

Quinnipiac

5-5

Quinnipiac

DREXEL

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Curran's Double Double Leads Women's Basketball to 62-49 Win Over Quinnipiac

12/21/2015 4:40:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – The Drexel revenge tour 2015 is complete. Three teams on the Drexel women's basketball's non-conference schedule – St. Bonaventure, Hampton and Quinnipiac – handed the Dragons defeats last season, and after the Dragons' 62-49 victory over Quinnipiac at the Daskalakis Athletic Center on Monday afternoon, Drexel has responded by toppling all three this season.

Sarah Curran put together her first-career double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds. She was 8-for-13 from the floor in an efficient outing, hitting a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Meghan Creighton also had a well-balanced game with seven points, a season-high eight rebounds, and seven assists. Jessica Pellechio added 10 points, with Rachel Pearson netting eight to go with three rebounds. Jackie Schluth had nine rebounds, four points and two blocks. Alexis Smith also chipped in four points.

In the first half, the Dragons went back to what they have done best over the past several seasons – play defense. Drexel held Quinnipiac to just five field goals over the opening two periods, including just two in the second quarter. The Bobcats shot 14.7 percent from the floor and did not hit one of their 11 attempts from long range.

Offensively, the Dragons relied upon some upperclassmen to lead them to a big early lead. Meghan Creighton had five points, four assists and six rebounds before halftime. The rebound total matched her season high. Sarah Curran, who was held to single digits in each of the last two games after reaching double figures in the first seven Drexel games, nearly took care of that by halftime. She had nine points and eight rebounds in the first half to lead all scorers as the Dragons built a 26-11 halftime edge.

The Dragons broke out offensively in the third quarter, getting to the line 12 times and converting 11 free throw points. They scored 20 points in the third quarter, with Curran leading the way with seven of those to go along with three rebounds that clinched her double-double.

Curran, who was just one rebound away from a double-double in the Dragons' win over Hampton, had reached double-figure rebounds once in her career, also against Hampton in last year's WNIT. Her 12 boards on Monday marked a career high as she was able to reach double figure scoring for the eighth time this year to cap it off.

Drexel held the Bobcats to just 22.7 percent shooting from the floor. Quinnipiac was 15-for-66 from the floor and hit just four of 26 attempts from long range. The Bobcats did trim the Dragons' lead to 10 late in the fourth quarter on the strength of nine free throws in the period, but Curran knocked down four straight points and Pellechio hit a pair of free throws to stem the tide.

The Dragons pulled down 47 rebounds, their highest total of the year. They outrebounded the Bobcats 47-41, just the second time this year that they pulled down more boards than their opponent.

Drexel could get a bit of revenge in their next game, but only one member of their roster – Jackie Schluth – was a Dragon the last time the team played Syracuse. The Orange knocked Drexel out of the 2012 WNIT in the second round, 65-43, after the team had won its first-ever postseason game in the opening round at Fairfield. Drexel will visit Syracuse to wrap up non-conference play on Dec. 29, invading the Carrier Dome at 7:00 p.m.