Schluth Leads Women's Basketball to 63-52 win at College of Charleston

Thursday, February 19

Charleston, S.C.

7:00 p.m.

Drexel University

16-9, 10-4CAA

College of Charleston

4-21, 2-12CAA

Drexel

COFC

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Schluth Leads Women's Basketball to 63-52 win at College of Charleston

2/19/2015 8:57:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Jackie Schluth matched her career high with 18 points as the Drexel women's basketball team pulled away for a 63-52 win at the College of Charleston on Thursday night. The Dragons led by double digits for much of the second half and got their first-ever win at TD Arena and their sixth in seven Colonial Athletic Association road games this season.

The win improved the Dragons to 16-9 on the season and 10-4 in the CAA, keeping them in second place. Schluth's 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting led all scorers. The veteran forward also had four assists and pulled down a game-best nine rebounds, finishing one shy of her first double-double. Alexis Smith added 15 points, six rebounds and four steals in her third start of the season. Sarah Curran and Jamila Thompson added nine points apiece. Thompson had four blocks, one off her career best.

The Dragons were efficient from the floor, shooting 46.9 percent. They had 17 assists as a team, led by five given out by Rachel Pearson. Smith and Curran each had three.

Although the Dragons shot at a high percentage throughout the first half, Drexel trailed by as many as four in the opening stanza thanks to three College of Charleston three-pointers. The Cougars led 10-6 when Sarah Curran knocked down a couple of shots to tie things up, followed by a three-pointer from Alexis Smith to give Drexel the lead. Smith, who matched a career high with 19 points in the Dragons' win at Towson on Sunday, got her first start since December 17 and made the most of it with seven quick points. She added three assists in the half. Curran finished the period with six points, two rebounds and a block.

Drexel trailed 16-13 with 9:09 to play in the half when Jackie Schluth went to work. Schluth worked inside for a short jumper to pull the Dragons within one, then got another bucket 30 seconds later to put Drexel back on top. After Rachel Pearson drained a three-pointer to make it a four-point Drexel advantage, Schluth powered in another lay-up with 7:11 to play, putting the Dragons on top 22-16. She would add six more points before halftime to go into the break with a game-leading 12.

The Dragons allowed just two field goals by the Cougars over the half's final 11:40. They built a 10-point lead with 1:30 remaining when Schluth knocked down a midrange shot, but the Cougars got a late three-pointer to cut into that deficit and send the Dragons into the break up by seven, 30-23.

Coming out of the break, the Dragons wasted little time getting the lead back to double digits. Jamila Thompson sank a long jumper for the half's first points, following that up with a lay-up to make it a 34-23 game. After another Schluth bucket sandwiched between two Charleston scores, Thompson drove to the hoop and scored, drawing a foul to finish the three-point play.

The Dragons led by as many as 15 points in the second half when they pulled ahead 50-35 with 7:58 to play on a Curran three-pointer. Though they never trailed after the break, things did tighten up down the stretch as the Cougars forced a number of Drexel turnovers. Charleston was able to get to the free throw line often, hitting 10-of-13 from the charity stripe for the line to whittle Drexel's lead down to six with 42 seconds remaining.

Drexel kept its composure, and the Dragons were able to ice the game away at the line themselves. Drexel was 12-for-14 from the line on the evening, all in the second half. Smith was 5-for-6 and Schluth was 4-for-5 to carry the bulk of the load from the free throw line. The Dragons, who came into the night leading the nation in free throw percentage, improved their mark to .792 on the year.

The Dragons will fly home Friday morning, but will continue on the road for their next contest, at Delaware on Sunday afternoon. Drexel will be looking for a season sweep of their old rival, which would be their first since winning both regular season meetings in 2009-10. The game will be an important one for postseason seeding, as Delaware sits two games behind the Dragons in the CAA standings. The Dragons and Blue Hens will tip off at 2:00 p.m. Sunday.