Women's Basketball Nets Road Win at Cornell, 63-53

Saturday, December 3

Ithaca, N.Y.

1:00 p.m.

Drexel University

4-2

Cornell

5-3

Drexel

Cornell

Photo by: Ryan Samson

Women's Basketball Nets Road Win at Cornell, 63-53

12/3/2016 2:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

ITHACA, N.Y. – The Drexel women's basketball team needed to battle for its first road win of the season on Saturday, but battle it did as the Dragons pulled out a 63-53 win at Cornell. Drexel led nearly the entire way, but Cornell stayed close for most of the second half and was down just three points with 1:29 to play before the Dragons pulled away at the free throw line.

Jessica Pellechio led the Dragons with 17 points, hitting three of five attempts from long range. Sarah Curran added 16 points and Meghan Creighton rounded out the senior class in double figures with 14, including a 7-for-8 performance at the free throw line down the stretch. Creighton added eight assists for Drexel, which fired at a season-best 51.2 percent (21-for-41) from the field.

The first half was defined by a pair of scoring runs, one for each team. First up were the Dragons, who methodically built an 18-2 stretch over a period of 10:42 stretching over the first and second quarters. Down 5-3 early, Drexel held the Big Red scoreless for 7:31 as they took a 12-5 lead in the first quarter. Jessica Pellechio and Meghan Creighton each had five points to get to that point.

The lead was 12-7 at the end of the first quarter, and after a Bailey Greenberg free throw, Sarah Curran knocked down back-to-back three-pointers that made it a 19-7 game. Pellechio capped off the Dragons' extended run with a lay-up that left Drexel on top 21-7 with 7:27 to play before halftime.

A Megan LeDuc three-pointer on Cornell's next possession woke up the Big Red. Over a period of 3:12, Cornell's offense got to work and built a 14-2 run of its own. Curran had a short jumper for Drexel's only points over the stretch until Kelsi Lidge knocked down a three-pointer with 3:52 to play. The Cornell run was aided by an uncharacteristically high number of Drexel turnovers. The Dragons had nine during the first half including four during that three-minute stretch.

Although the Dragons would remain in front throughout the second quarter, Cornell did cut the Drexel deficit to one with 25 seconds to play before intermission. The Big Red then forced another Drexel turnover and had an opportunity to take a lead into the break, but the Dragons got a stop when they needed it to hang onto a 31-30 edge.

Cornell briefly took a lead after a jumper on the opening possession of the third quarter, but Bailey Greenberg knocked down a bucket to answer right back and put Drexel on top, 33-32. The teams remained close through the third quarter, but Drexel never again ceded its lead.

Leading 45-40 heading into the fourth quarter, the Dragons opened the scoring with a Lidge three-pointer and a Pellechio layup, stretching the lead to double figures and prompting a Cornell timeout with 7:30 to play. Coming out of the break, Cornell threw a press at the Dragons which would prove troublesome as Drexel attempted to move the ball upcourt. The Big Red chipped away and had Drexel's lead down to four with 2:30 to play before a crucial Greenberg offensive rebound led to a Curran jumper that extended the lead out to six.

Cornell answered with a three-point play from Nia Marshall, making the score 56-53 with 1:29 remaining. That would be as close as Drexel would allow the Big Red to get, however, as Creighton got the ball and converted at the free throw line. Her 14 points left her in double figures for a third-straight game, matching a career-best streak.

The win improved Drexel to 7-0 overall in the series between the two teams, a matchup which dates to the Dragons' first-ever Division I game in 1982.

The Dragons will now enjoy an extended break for finals week. They will be back on the court at home for their next two games, starting with a matchup against Niagara on Dec. 13 at 5:00 p.m.