Women's Basketball Grinds Out 65-58 Win at Saint Joseph's

Sunday, December 17

Philadelphia, Pa.

1:30 p.m.

Drexel University

7-4

Saint Joseph's

5-5

Drexel

Saint Joseph's

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Women's Basketball Grinds Out 65-58 Win at Saint Joseph's

12/17/2017 4:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – Three strong offensive performances and yet another swarming defensive showing proved to be enough for the Drexel women's basketball team to earn its first victory at Saint Joseph's in eight years, as the Dragons fended off the host Hawks, 65-58. The victory, Drexel's fifth in six games, was the team's first at Hagan Arena since Dec. 13, 2009 in a series that has largely been dominated by the home team over the last decade.

Megan Marecic finished with a career best 20 points to lead all scorers. She was 6-for-12 from the floor and 7-for-8 from the free throw line in a personal high 30 minutes of action. Bailey Greenberg also netted a career best with 19 points, going 7-for-10 from the floor. She and Kelsi Lidge each came up with five steals, another career high for Greenberg, as the Dragons forced 22 Hawks turnovers. Aubree Brown got her offensive game back on track at the free throw line, going 8-for-8 as part of a 17-point day.

Lidge added five points and Ana Ferariu chipped in four that jump-started Drexel's offense late in the first quarter. Overall, it was not the best offensive day for the Dragons as just those five players scored and the team was held to 38.5 percent shooting (20-for-52) overall. Saint Joseph's, meanwhile, fired at a 50 percent clip (22-for-44), but was done in by those 22 turnovers compared to just 13 for the Dragons.

A tight contest throughout leaned the Hawks' way for most of the first half. Saint Joseph's was able to get to the rim early on and built a 17-8 lead, the biggest margin of the afternoon either way until the final moments of the game, with just under two minutes to go. Then, Ana Ferariu checked into the game and gave Drexel a spark. Though it was not the electrifying 18-point performance she had against Saint Joseph's as a freshman last season, Ferariu's pair of drives to the hoop on back-to-back possessions gave the Dragons life and, along with a late jumper by Bailey Greenberg, left Drexel down just four after the opening quarter.

As has been the trend this season, the first quarter proved to be the aberration for Drexel. Having forced just three turnovers by the Hawks in the first quarter, the Dragons pressured Saint Joseph's into six giveaways in the second. Megan Marecic got Drexel back even with 5:05 to play in the second quarter with a pair of free throws, part of a 22-for-26 performance at the stripe for Drexel overall. That marked both the most free throws made and taken by the Dragons this year.

The game seesawed back and forth over the final minutes of the half, but Saint Joseph's held a 30-28 edge with just under a minute to play as Brown found Greenberg beyond the arc on the left side. Greenberg stepped into the three, the only bucket from long range hit by either team in the first half. She finished the first half 6-for-7 from the floor, netting 13 points and leading the Dragons into the locker room with a one-point lead, 31-30.

Aubree Brown opened the second half just as her high school teammate Greenberg had ended the first, with a three-pointer to push Drexel's lead out to four. It would be the only Dragons field goal over the first 4:29 of the third quarter, though Drexel's swarming defense forced five turnovers in that span and Brown added a pair of free throws to help keep the team in front. Though they could never create any separation from the Hawks, the Dragons stayed ahead throughout the third quarter, taking a 45-42 lead into the fourth.

Saint Joseph's cut the Dragons' lead to two with 7:21 to play, a layup by Sarah Veilleux that would prove to be the last time that the Hawks would be within a possession. Brown answered with a bucket on the Dragons' next possession with 6:55 to go, and the score would stay at 49-45 for the next 2:23 as the teams combined for four turnovers and five missed shots in that stretch. Marecic broke the drought with a drive to the hoop to match Drexel's largest lead to that point, 51-45, with 4:32 to play.

In all, Marecic would score the Dragons' next eight points before Brown's free throws with 1:45 to play made it an eight-point lead. It was the Dragons' prowess at the free throw line, something that has been a challenge early this season, that gave Drexel the victory. Marecic's jumper with 3:36 to play would prove to be the final field goal of the day for the Dragons but Drexel went 12-for-14 from the line the rest of the way to keep Saint Joseph's at arm's length.

The Dragons' win wrapped up a season-long four-game road swing which saw the team go 3-1 overall. Now, Drexel will play its next three at home at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. That starts on Thursday afternoon as the Dragons host Cornell at 1 p.m. in the final non-conference tune-up of the season.