Defense Clamps Down in 53-49 Women's Basketball Win at Northeastern

Monday, January 25

Boston, Mass.

7:00 p.m.

Drexel University

9-9, 5-2CAA

Northeastern

7-11, 2-5CAA

Drexel

Northeastern

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Defense Clamps Down in 53-49 Women's Basketball Win at Northeastern

1/25/2016 9:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BOSTON – Coming into the Cabot Center at Northeastern University on Monday night, the Drexel women's basketball team had something to prove. After a heartbreaking overtime loss to Northeastern at the Daskalakis Athletic Center, the Dragons seemed in danger of being swept in the season series when they trailed by 12 early in the third quarter. Despite never quite finding their rhythm offensively, the Dragons played outstanding defense over the last 15 minutes of the game and pulled off their biggest comeback of the season, defeating the Huskies 53-49.

Meghan Creighton led all scorers with 17 points, a season high. Her previous best was a 15-point performance in the loss to Northeastern on Jan. 8. Sarah Curran added 13 points and Rachel Pearson netted 12 as Drexel allowed just seven points in the fourth quarter – only two in the first 9:51 of the period – to pull off the comeback.

The Dragons (9-9, 5-2) trailed by 12 with 6:18 to play in the third quarter and had only shaved one point off that deficit with 3:04 to play when a driving lay-up by Creighton pulled them back within single digits at 40-31. A pair of three-pointers from Pearson and Curran sandwiched around a jumper by Northeastern's Jess Genco sent Drexel into the fourth quarter trailing by just five, 42-37.

Genco's bucket, taken from just inside the three-point line on the left wing, came at the 2:06 mark of third quarter and would be the Huskies' last points until just 2:36 remained in the game. With a lineup consisting of Creighton, Curran, Pearson, Carrie Alexander and Kelsi Lidge for the entire quarter, the Dragons played pressure defense, disrupting any flow the Huskies had. They also made up for their offensive struggles with an overwhelming performance on the offensive glass. Drexel pulled down 15 offensive boards to just five for Northeastern, outdoing them 12-8 in second-chance points. In the first meeting, Northeastern dominated those numbers with 24 offensive boards to seven for Drexel, and a 23-4 edge in second-chance points.

With the Dragons holding Northeastern scoreless for the majority of the fourth quarter, they whittled away the Huskies' advantage and took the lead with 5:31 to play on a Creighton three-pointer from the top of the key. It was her fourth trey of the evening and gave Drexel its first lead since 10-9 late in the first quarter.

After Kazzidy Stewart ended Northeastern's drought and tied the score, Curran responded by working her way underneath and scoring off a feed from Pearson. Another stop on the defensive end ensued, and the duo reversed course the next time down with Curran feeding Pearson for a three-pointer to give Drexel a five-point lead with 1:10 to play.

Drexel led by seven after a pair of free throws from Alexander and Creighton when Northeastern's Zoe Zwerling banked in a three-pointer from the right wing to make it a four-point game with nine seconds to go. Lidge knocked down a pair of freebies on the other end, and the Dragons escaped with the victory.

Though the defense had held the Huskies down for the most part in the opening half, the offense could not capitalize as it would later in the proceedings. Drexel shot just 7-for-31 from the floor and hit just three of its 22 attempts from long range before halftime. All three of the long-range buckets came from Creighton, who was 3-for-6 and led the team with nine points at the break. Pearson chipped in six points but could not connect on any of her first six attempts from beyond the arc. Drexel netted just seven points in the second quarter, the first time the Dragons failed to net at least 10 points in a period since the fourth quarter at Syracuse on Dec. 29 when they also managed just seven.

The Dragons, who were outrebounded 56-23 in the last meeting between these teams, outdid Northeastern 35-33 on the glass this time around. They grabbed 20 rebounds to Northeastern's 11 in the second half, helping them overcome a cold shooting night. Drexel finished just 21-for-63 (33.3 percent) from the floor on the evening and 7-for-38 (18.4 percent, a season low) from long range.

Despite the struggles, Drexel's defense came up big when it needed to. Alexander had four rebounds in her time on the court, adding five big points. Lidge scored her first points since returning from a facial injury suffered in the first matchup with Northeastern. She also had three rebounds and an assist. In addition to her 17 points, Creighton had five rebounds and three steals. Curran added seven boards and six assists to her 13 points, and Pearson had four rebounds, two assists and a steal to go along with her 12. Jackie Schluth had four points, three assists and two steals to help hold Northeastern down early on.

After enduring the one-day delay of this game due to Winter Storm Jonas, the Dragons will return to their normal schedule next weekend. Drexel will host Homecoming Weekend, which begins for women's basketball on Friday when the Dragons host first-place Hofstra at 7:00 p.m. Drexel also will welcome Delaware into the Daskalakis Athletic Center on Sunday at 5:00 p.m., a game televised on the American Sports Network.