Women's Basketball Fends Off Towson, 66-52

Sunday, February 15

Towson, Md.

2:00 p.m.

Drexel University

15-9, 9-4CAA

Towson

10-16, 6-8CAA

Drexel

Towson

Photo by: Ryan Samson

2/15/2015 4:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

TOWSON, Md. – Coming off a week-long break, the Drexel women's basketball team got a much-needed victory on Sunday afternoon as they opened a three-game road trip with a 66-52 victory at Towson. The Dragons got timely shooting and clamped down defensively when they needed to as they held off a pesky Towson team which erased a 10-point deficit early in the second half, but did not have enough in the tank to close out the second-place Dragons.

Drexel (15-9, 9-4) retained sole possession of second place in the Colonial Athletic Association with the victory, a half game ahead of Hofstra. Alexis Smith led the way for the Dragons with 19 points, matching a career high. She hit four of her five three-pointers, and was 5-for-6 from the free throw line down the stretch. Rachel Pearson added 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from long range. Jackie Schluth and Sarah Curran each added eight points. Curran had four rebounds and two assists. Schluth had two steals and eight rebounds, matching Jamila Thompson for the team lead. Thompson and Carrie Alexander each had six points, with Sara Woods and Kelsi Lidge chipping in two apiece.

After a week away from the court, the Dragons showed some signs of rust early. Midway through the first half, the Dragons were shooting just 25 percent. Drexel's first three field goals were from long range as Rachel Pearson knocked down one and Alexis Smith had a couple to erase an early 7-3 Towson lead and turn that into an 11-7 Drexel edge. The Tigers pushed back, and the teams traded leads back and forth as the half continued.

With 7:15 remaining, Towson's LaTorri Hines-Allen knocked down a jumper to put the Tigers on top, 20-17. Those would be the last points Towson would score in the half as Drexel's CAA-leading defense clamped down, stifling Towson inside and out down the stretch. Slowly but surely, Drexel found its shot on the offensive end. With 3:30 remaining in the half, the Dragons grabbed the lead on Smith's third trey of the afternoon, 22-20. Two minutes later, after forcing a shot clock violation by the Tigers, the Dragons were in danger of committing one themselves before Jamila Thompson gained possession on the right wing, turned around and splashed in a jumper to make it a four-point lead.

The next possession saw Towson, unable to solve the Dragons' defense, once again find itself unable to get off a shot. Drexel got the half's last points on another three-pointer, this one by Pearson as the Dragons went into the break ahead 27-20. The Dragons turned the ball over just twice in the first half, forcing 10 giveaways by the Tigers.

Early in the second half, Towson cut the Dragons' lead to four, but Pearson had an answer. Thompson found the junior sharpshooter with 17:00 to play as Pearson knocked down her third long-range bomb of the afternoon to stretch the lead back to seven. Exactly a minute later, Kelsi Lidge fed Pearson, who spotted up from the wing and drained another three, giving the Dragons a 35-25 margin.

After another Smith trey, the lead was 40-32 with 13:11 to play, but Towson's Dominique Johnson had an answer, spotting up and knocking down a three of her own from the top of the key. That started a methodical 11-0 Towson run as the Tigers surged back in front, 43-40.

With 9:22 to play, Drexel head coach Denise Dillon called a timeout. As was the case with her early first-half timeout, the break seemed to calm the Dragons, who immediately responded. Smith dished it to Pearson, who knocked down her fifth three-pointer of the afternoon to tie the score. On the next Drexel possession, Sara Woods gave the Dragons a lead they would not relinquish, hitting two free throws to put the Dragons on top by two.

Woods' free throws were the first attempted by the Dragons on the afternoon, but they would not be the last. Drexel began working its way inside down the stretch, drawing fouls and extending its lead. The Dragons came into play on Sunday second in the nation in free throw percentage, boasting a .782 mark to Iowa State's .783. By the time they walked off the court on Sunday, the Dragons had hit 17 of 19 free throw attempts in the final 8:18 and improved their percentage for the season to .789.

The Dragons would ultimately hold Towson without a field goal for 5:29 before LaTorri Hines-Allen worked inside for a lay-up with 3:55 to go that cut Drexel's lead to 53-46. Towson would inch as close as five points down after a stop and score on its next possession, but the Dragons continued to hit their free throws, including 4-of-5 by Jackie Schluth, to hold off the Tigers. All eight of Schluth's points came in the second half, and six of them were in the final 2:41 to help the Dragons seal the game away.

Drexel will remain on the road for its next two games. Drexel will be back in action on Thursday evening when it visits the College of Charleston at 7:00 p.m. A win there would ensure a winning season for Drexel, not only overall but also in CAA play.