Women's Basketball Scores 56-40 Win Over Towson as Curran Nets 1000th

Friday, February 19

Daskalakis Athletic Center

7:00 p.m.

Drexel University

14-11, 10-4

Towson

6-19, 3-11

TOWSON

Drexel

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Women's Basketball Scores 56-40 Win Over Towson as Curran Nets 1000th

2/19/2016 9:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – Sarah Curran became the 23rd player in Drexel women's basketball history to reach the 1,000 point milestone as the Dragons pulled away from a pesky Towson team in the second half to defeat the Tigers, 56-40. The Dragons led nearly the entire game, and utilized an 11-0 run that opened the second half to fend off Towson.

Curran finished with eight points in the game, leaving her with 1,001 in her career. She was largely held in check by Towson's physical defense, but scored the milestone bucket with 4:18 remaining to join teammate Rachel Pearson as active Dragons with 1,000 points. Jackie Schluth led the team with 10 points, adding six rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals. Meghan Creighton nearly recorded the second double-double of her career, finishing with nine points and nine assists with just one turnover.

The win was the 13th in a row for Drexel (14-11, 10-4) in the series against Towson (6-19, 3-11), and gave the Dragons their 50th win over the Tigers in the Division I history of the programs. That is the most wins for the Dragons over any single opponent. Drexel also ensured itself a 10-win season in CAA play for the eighth time in the past nine years.

Curran, who also had five rebounds in the game, scored the game's first points, but was held to just two points after that until a lay-up with 7:27 to play pulled her within a point of the milestone. With a large contingent of family and former AAU teammates on hand to witness her milestone, Curran drove to the hoop and scored on her next field goal try, giving Drexel a 12-point lead at the time.

It was a balanced offensive attack, with just Schluth reaching double figures but eight Drexel players chipping in at least four points. Jessica Pellechio scored eight, hitting a pair of three-pointers. Rachel Pearson added six points on 2-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. She also had four rebounds. Carrie Alexander also scored six and Alexis Smith added five, with Kelsi Lidge chipping in four points to round out Drexel's scoring. The Dragons were 9-for-22 from long range, with five different players knocking down at least one three-pointer.

Though it was not one of the Dragons' most overwhelming offensive evenings, they did display particularly strong defense to pull away after leading by just one at halftime. Drexel did not allow a Towson field goal for 4:23 after halftime, pulling out to an 11-0 run during that time thanks to a pair of three-pointers from Meghan Creighton and one from Jessica Pellechio. Six of Drexel's nine treys came in a pair of hot streaks to open the two halves, but that would be enough as Towson had no response in the second half.

While Drexel spread the wealth offensively, just four players scored for the Tigers. Philadelphia natives AJ Timbers and Sianni Martin accounted for 30 of the Tigers' 40 points, all off the bench. The starting lineup for Towson netted a total of eight points, all coming from Raven Bankston who was 4-for-11 from the field and turned the ball over four times.

The first half saw the Dragons start hot. They hit four of their first five attempts from the field including three from beyond the arc. Jessica Pellechio had five points in the game's first three minutes, and Rachel Pearson drained a three-pointer that put Drexel ahead 10-2 with 6:24 remaining in the first quarter. After a Towson bucket, Meghan Creighton added a three of her own that pushed the lead to nine, 13-4.

From there, the Tigers began to chip away at Drexel's lead. They would close the quarter on a 7-2 spurt, and after Jackie Schluth netted the first points of the second quarter, the Tigers began another 7-2 run that closed the gap to one. A three-pointer from Sianni Martin gave Towson a brief lead with 1:50 remaining, but the Dragons got a pair of free throws from Carrie Alexander to take a one-point lead into intermission, 24-23.

Drexel had finished the first half hitting five of its last 22 attempts from the field after its hot start. The Dragons also saw Towson control the glass in the opening 20 minutes, outrebounding them 18-11. On the bright side, Drexel moved the ball well with eight assists on its nine made field goals. Meghan Creighton had five of those first-half assists without a turnover and the Dragons took the ball from Towson seven times while giving it away just twice themselves. Creighton would keep the Dragons flowing offensively in the second half while the team righted the ship on the glass, pulling down five more boards than Towson after halftime.

Drexel will return to action on Sunday afternoon when it visits Elon at 3:00 p.m. for a game that will be televised by the American Sports Network and locally in Philadelphia on the Comcast Network. The Dragons will be looking for a season sweep of the Phoenix, who remain just one game behind Drexel and Hofstra for second place in the CAA.