Comeback Effort Falters for Women's Basketball at JMU, 67-56

Friday, January 15

Harrisonburg, Va.

7:00 p.m.

Drexel University

6-9, 2-2CAA

James Madison

10-5, 3-1CAA

Drexel

JMU

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Comeback Effort Falters for Women's Basketball at JMU, 67-56

1/15/2016 9:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Drexel women's basketball team made a late push and had opportunities to crank up the pressure on the host James Madison Dukes, but fell short on Friday night, 67-56. The Dragons trailed by 17 heading into the fourth but despite slashing the lead to single digits could not convert on a couple of looks that could have tightened the gap even more as the two-time defending Colonial Athletic Association champions held on at home.

Sarah Curran and Jessica Pellechio each had 11 points to lead the Dragons. Pellechio added three steals and three rebounds, while Curran had two steals, a block and three boards. Meghan Creighton added 10 with four assists. The Jeckyll and Hyde Dragons, who were outrebounded by 33 against Northeastern and responded by pulling down 19 more boards than William & Mary, found themselves on the short end again with the Dukes corralling 46 boards to the Dragons' 27. James Madison had 18 offensive rebounds and turned those into 23 second-chance points, compared to just 10 and six for the Dragons.

Tereza Kracikova had seven points, six rebounds and two blocks in 18 productive minutes. Jackie Schluth added seven points and three blocks as the Dragons matched a season high with six rejections.

After Jessica Pellechio hit the Dragons' first field goal attempt of the evening to give them a 2-0 lead, the Dragons missed on six of their next seven attempts as the Dukes built an early 15-5 lead. That was ended by a Jackie Schluth jumper, but James Madison hit a pair of three-pointers down the stretch, including one banked in from the left wing by Angela Mickens, to take a 24-10 edge after the first quarter. James Madison had hit at a .667 clip in the opening period, sinking all three of their attempts from long range.

The Dragons defense was strong throughout the first half, and the Dukes' field goal percentage started to shrink in the second quarter. After hitting on 10 of their 15 field goal attempts in the first quarter, the Dukes were just 6-for-15 in the second as the Dragons chipped away at their lead. Meghan Creighton nailed a pair of three pointers, then side-stepped a defender and drained a long two from just inside the arc. Drexel had the lead down to seven before a four-point James Madison possession resulting from an offensive rebound after a missed free throw pushed the lead back to 11. With 44 seconds to play in the quarter, Schluth knocked down her first three-pointer of the season to cut the lead to 37-28, but James Madison responded with the half's final two points to go into intermission up by 11, 39-28.

Drexel trailed by 17 going into the fourth quarter, but Pellechio opened the period by driving in and scoring, and Sarah Curran followed with a jumper to get the lead down to 13. After a Madison score, Curran hit the first of two-straight three-pointers that trimmed the Dukes' lead to nine with 6:50 to play. James Madison called timeout, but the Dukes' offense did not respond to the stoppage as Angela Mickens promptly turned it over. Curran's attempt for a third-straight trey was off target, and after a Schluth block aided a stop on the defensive end, Creighton's three-point attempt rimmed out.

Creighton would answer a James Madison bucket with a short jumper to get the deficit back to nine with 5:06 to play, but the Dukes responded with a three-pointer and the Dragons did not get it back to single digits until 1:55 remained.

Drexel was ultimately done in by the Dukes' hot start and ability to get timely offensive rebounds. The Dragons forced 15 James Madison turnovers while committing just nine of their own. Creighton, who led the team with four assists, did not commit a turnover for a second-consecutive game. Her assist-to-turnover ratio is now 4.26, second-best in the nation. Rachel Pearson, who scored four points in the loss, will head into Sunday's game at the DAC just two points shy of becoming the 22nd member of Drexel's 1,000 point club.

The Dragons will return home on Sunday afternoon when they host the Elon Phoenix at 2:00 p.m. It will be Girl Scout Day at the Daskalakis Athletic Center, with local troops on hand to sell cookies. It will also be Dollar Dog Day.