Women's Basketball Rallies for Sixth Straight Win, 71-57 at UNCW

Friday, February 5

Wilmington, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

Drexel University

12-9 (8-2CAA)

UNCW

6-15 (2-8CAA)

Drexel

UNCW

Photo by: UNCW Athletics Communications

Women's Basketball Rallies for Sixth Straight Win, 71-57 at UNCW

2/5/2016 9:11:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

WILMINGTON, N.C. – The trap was set for the Drexel women's basketball team when they walked into Trask Coliseum on the campus of UNCW, but the Dragons managed to sidestep it and win their sixth-straight, defeating the host Seahawks 71-57. Drexel trailed by 12 early in the second quarter but erased that deficit quickly and never trailed in the second half.

Sarah Curran led all scorers with 21 points, 19 of which came after halftime. She was 8-for-11 from the floor, including knocking down both of her three-point attempts. Curran also was 3-for-3 from the free throw line. Meghan Creighton came through with a season-high 18 points, adding eight rebounds, six assists and two steals.

Creighton and Alexis Smith, who finished with 11 points, carried the Drexel offensive in the first half. They scored 18 points between the two of them in the opening 20 minutes as Drexel eked out a 31-30 halftime edge. Rachel Pearson also reached double figures for the Dragons, scoring 10 and pulling down five boards.

The Dragons (12-9, 8-2) moved into sole possession of second place with the victory and Hofstra's loss at home to first-place James Madison. Drexel has now won eight consecutive meetings with UNCW. Their 12-point comeback matched their largest of the season, a feat they previously accomplished at Northeastern on Jan. 25.

Things did not get off to an ideal start for the Dragons, who struggled from the floor early on. Trailing 11-10 with 1:08 remaining in the first quarter, Drexel allowed an open look from beyond the arc for the Seahawks' Madison Raque. She knocked it down, starting an 11-0 run for the Seahawks that stretched into the opening minutes of the second quarter. UNCW utilized a strong start from long range to fuel the running, hitting four of its first five from deep.

It did not take long for the Dragons to recover. After a Shatia Cole three-point play with 8:47 to play in the second quarter gave the Seahawks their largest lead of 22-10, Kelsi Lidge worked inside for a short jumper to snap the Dragons' drought. Alexis Smith would follow with five straight points including the Dragons' first three-pointer, and Meghan Creighton capped the Dragons' 10-0 run with the first of three first-half treys she would hit. That pulled Drexel back within a pair, and Creighton's second three of the evening tied things up at 26 with 2:43 to play before intermission.

Drexel briefly took a 28-27 lead when Lidge scooped a lay-up in with just under a minute to play, and after the Seahawks answered with a three-pointer on their end, Creighton dropped a step-back three-pointer to send the Dragons into the break with a 31-30 edge.

Leading by one and getting the ball out of halftime, the Dragons quickly scored seven straight to create some separation. Curran, who had been saddled with two fouls that cost her a significant portion of the first half, drove to the hoop and drew a foul, knocking down both free throws to open the scoring. Pearson followed with her first points of the evening, a three-pointer from the right wing that made it 36-30. Creighton then took a feed from Carrie Alexander, who finished with four points and three rebounds in her first start of the year, and scored down low to cap the 10-0 run that bridged the halves.

Drexel led by as many as 10 in the third quarter, and went into the fourth ahead by eight. Though the Dragons would shoot 72.7 percent (8-for-11) from the floor in the fourth quarter, three turnovers and continued hot shooting from the Seahawks prevented Drexel from putting them away. After a Pearson lay-up made it 55-46 with 7:08 to play, UNCW scored five quick points over the next 46 seconds to trim the lead to four.

The Seahawks would make one final charge in the final minutes. Drexel lead 60-51 after Sarah Curran converted a three-point play with 3:54 remaining. UNCW responded with six straight, cutting it to a one-possession game with 2:19 remaining after Rebekah Banks hit one of two free throws. On the ensuing Drexel possession, Curran nailed a three-pointer from the top of the key that pushed the lead back to six and started a game-ending 11-0 run for the Dragons.

The game of runs resulted in the sixth-straight victory for Drexel, matching its longest winning streak since the CAA championship season of 2008-09. The Dragons will look to make it a seven-game streak when they travel further south on Sunday to take on the College of Charleston, a team they beat in the CAA opener on Jan. 3, 66-54. Sunday's game will tip off at 2:00 p.m.