Women's Basketball Rolls to 71-38 Win at UNCW

Friday, January 13

Wilmington, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

Drexel University

12-3 (3-1CAA)

UNCW

5-10 (0-4CAA)

Drexel

UNCW

Photo by: UNCW Athletics Communications

Women's Basketball Rolls to 71-38 Win at UNCW

1/13/2017 8:49:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Drexel women's basketball team took care of business on the road on Friday night, jumping out to an early double-digit lead and rolling to a 71-38 victory at UNCW. The win was the 10th in a row for the Dragons in their series with the Seahawks and improved their season record to 12-3, keeping pace with the best 15-game start in program history.

Sarah Curran led all scorers with 17 points. Ana Ferariu chipped in 12 points off the bench. Both Curran and Ferariu added five rebounds to their lines. Bailey Greenberg was a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor, scoring nine points and pulling down a team-best six rebounds. She also had three assists, matching her season best. Meghan Creighton scored 10 to go along with two assists. Sara Woods added seven points, Kelsi Lidge and Aubree Brown each scored five with three assists, and Tereza Kracikova chipped in four while Niki Metzel had two points and two of Drexel's season-high four blocks.

Drexel turned the ball over just five times on Friday night, a season-low. The turnover total also was a record low for a UNCW opponent in that program's history. Meanwhile, the Dragons forced 15 UNCW giveaways including seven steals - two each by Megan Marecic and Ferariu - and did not allow the Seahawks to score double digits in a quarter after the first.

The Dragons took control early and never looked back. Drexel spotted the Seahawks a quick 2-0 lead on a pair of free throws before rattling off the game's next 16 points. Sarah Curran and Meghan Creighton each scored five during the run. Drexel held UNCW without a field goal for the first 5:37 of the contest, and although UNCW responded with eight quick points to end the Dragons' run, Drexel did not back down.

The first quarter ended with a highlight for the Dragons when Kelsi Lidge barely beat the final horn, launching a 30-footer that banked in to give the Dragons a 25-14 edge. It was the third time that Drexel scored 25 points in a quarter this season, their most prolific quarters of the year.

The offense, which hit at a 52.9 percent rate in the first quarter, slowed a bit in the second but the Dragons' lead only increased as their defense picked up the slack. Drexel held the Seahawks to just seven points in the second quarter on 2-of-11 shooting, and took a 36-21 halftime lead. Creighton would finish the first half with 10 points and Curran sat right behind her with nine. Aubree Brown added five points and a pair of rebounds, while Ana Ferariu scored four and corralled four boards. Lidge and Bailey Greenberg ended the opening 20 minutes with three points and three rebounds apiece. Drexel finished the first half with just one turnover, while forcing seven UNCW giveaways.

Just under three minutes into the second half, Lidge drove to the basket and scooped it in to build a 21-point Drexel lead, 42-21, and force a UNCW timeout. The Dragons would trade baskets with UNCW most of the rest of the quarter, leading by 24, 53-29, heading into the fourth quarter.

Though the game was well in hand, Drexel did not let up on the defensive end in the fourth quarter. UNCW hit just three of 10 attempts in the fourth and turned the ball over six times. The Dragons held the Seahawks without a field goal over the final 5:40 and without a point over the final 3:28, ending the game on a 7-0 run.

Drexel's win sets up a battle for first place on Sunday afternoon. The Dragons will head across North Carolina to take on Elon at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday in a rematch of the Dragons' only loss of the last month-and-a-half. With a win, Drexel would move into a tie for first place in the Colonial Athletic Association. Sunday's game will be televised nationally on the American Sports Network, and locally in Philadelphia on the Comcast Network.