Women's Basketball Uses Big Quarter for 54-47 Win at Elon

Sunday, February 21

Elon, N.C.

3:00 p.m.

Drexel University

15-11 (11-4CAA)

Elon

16-10 (9-5CAA)

Drexel

Elon

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Women's Basketball Uses Big Quarter for 54-47 Win at Elon

2/21/2016 5:20:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

ELON, N.C. – Sometimes, one quarter is all it takes. Down by 12 at the half, the Drexel women's basketball team exploded out of the gates in the third quarter, scoring the first 23 points of the period and holding Elon to just a single field goal as the Dragons took control and held on for a 54-47 victory. The Dragons were outscored in the other three quarters, but played tight defense throughout and did not look back after the run that put them in the lead.

Sarah Curran scored 23 points including 13 in the third quarter, adding eight rebounds to lead Drexel in both categories. Alexis Smith added nine points and three rebounds, with Rachel Pearson scoring seven. She and Jackie Schluth each had six boards, with Schluth adding three blocks . Meghan Creighton finished with five points and four assists, while Sara Woods chipped in four points and Carrie Alexander added three.

The first half was a defensive struggle for both teams, with Drexel turning the ball over eight times and hitting just five field goals. Despite that, the teams were tied at 13 with 4:20 to play in the half when Elon's Shay Burnett took advantage of an offensive rebound to knock down a three-pointer. That would spark a 12-0 run for the Phoenix, sending them into halftime up 25-13. The Dragons hit just one field goal in the second quarter, a lay-up by Carrie Alexander that led to a three-point play at the 8:11 mark. They missed their last eight attempts before halftime.

A resilient Drexel team came out of the locker room on fire. Meghan Creighton hit a three-pointer, then Jackie Schluth found a cutting Rachel Pearson for two. On the next possession, Pearson nailed a three of her own from two steps beyond the arc at the top of the key, cutting the Elon lead to 25-21 less than three minutes into the second half, and forcing the Phoenix to use a timeout.

That break did not slow the Dragons, as Creighton found Curran inside for two to make it a two-point game, and Curran immediately followed by driving to the hoop, scoring and drawing a foul. Her free throw gave the Dragons their first lead of the afternoon, 26-25, with 5:18 remaining in the third quarter.

In total, Drexel would score the first 23 points of the second half, with Elon finally getting on the board with a layup nine minutes into the quarter. Curran sank a pair of three-pointers after the Dragons had taken the lead. Elon was just 1-for-13 from the floor in the third quarter, while Drexel hit nine of its 15 attempts and four of six from long range.

Though the Phoenix never regained the lead, they did push the Dragons in the fourth quarter. Thanks to a dominant performance on the offensive glass, Elon slashed what had been an 11-point lead down to three. That wasn't the result of a slowdown on Drexel's part offensively. Woods knocked down a pair of shots early in the fourth and Drexel hit six of its 10 attempts from the field in the quarter. Elon, though, was persistent. The Phoenix grabbed offensive board after offensive board, drawing some fouls on the Dragons and slowly chipping away at the lead.

Again it was Curran coming up with a big bucket when the Dragons needed it. Up 44-41, Curran dropped a fadeaway jumper to push the lead back to two possessions. Schluth and Pearson hooked up again on the next possession to make it a seven-point lead, and while Elon would briefly pull back within four, Smith, Curran and Creighton hit six of six free throws down the stretch to hold the Phoenix at bay.

The win for Drexel moved it back into second place by itself in the Colonial Athletic Association, following a Hofstra loss at Delaware. With three games remaining in the regular season, the Dragons are now a game up on the Pride and two ahead of Elon and Delaware. Drexel, which has swept both Elon and Delaware this season and won the first matchup with Hofstra on Jan. 29 in Philadelphia, can lock up the No. 2 seed in the upcoming CAA Tournament with a win at Hofstra on Friday night. The Dragons visit the Pride at 7:00 p.m. before hosting Senior Day against William & Mary on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.