Women's Basketball Pulls Away from Cornell Thursday Afternoon, 61-39

Thursday, December 21

Daskalakis Athletic Center

1 p.m.

Drexel University

8-4

Cornell

2-8

CORNELL

DREXEL

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Women's Basketball Pulls Away from Cornell Thursday Afternoon, 61-39

12/21/2017 2:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – The Drexel women's basketball team closed out non-conference play on Thursday afternoon when the Dragons defeated Cornell at the Daskalakis Athletic Center, 61-39. Drexel struggled offensively at times but never trailed and pulled away late as its defense once again secured the victory.

Aubree Brown finished with a game-high 15 points, knocking down all four of her three-point attempts. She added four assists and three steals as Drexel came up with 11 steals as a team, forcing 19 total Cornell turnovers. Sara Woods added 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting with a pair of steals of her own. Ana Ferariu added eight points off the bench, her best offensive production since netting 14 against La Salle on Nov. 16. Hannah Nihill added seven points and three steals.

Megan Marecic saw her team-leading six-game double-figure scoring streak snapped, but contributed six points and four rebounds. It was her eighth game with multiple three-pointers made this year as she leads the team in that category. Kelsi Lidge added five points, a team-high seven rebounds, and three assists, while Bailey Greenberg scored four with five boards. Eline Maesschalck added three points and Kayla Bacon netted two to round out the Dragons' scoring. Niki Metzel did not score but did add four boards, a block and two assists in 13 minutes of work.

The Dragons scored the first five points of the afternoon and never looked back, but it was nonetheless a slow start as Drexel turned the ball over five times in the first quarter and nine times by the midway point of the second. The Dragons' lead was just 14-12 with 5:35 to go in the first half when Aubree Brown nailed a three-pointer, her second of the day. After a stop on the defensive end, Hannah Nihill stepped into a three of her own to stretch the Dragons' lead to 20-12, prompting a Cornell timeout with 4:31 remaining before halftime.

Drexel led by seven at the half, 24-17. The Dragons had forced 12 turnovers by the Big Red, but had given the ball away 10 times themselves. After halftime, Drexel's offense continued to sputter, but the Dragons gave themselves opportunities by taking better care of the basketball. The Dragons turned it over just twice in the third quarter and twice more in the fourth. Though a 6-for-16 shooting quarter in the third saw Drexel's lead trimmed by one, the Dragons finally got the shots to fall in the fourth quarter, knocking down 8 of their last 11 attempts while allowing Cornell to hit just three of its 12 fourth-quarter shots.

The Dragons' win extended their record in the series with Cornell to 8-0. Drexel opened play as a Division I program with a win over the Big Red on Nov. 26, 1982 and has come out on top in every meeting of the two teams since.

Drexel, which has won six of its last seven games, will now turn its attention to Colonial Athletic Association play. The Dragons open league play against their nearby rival Delaware, which comes to the Daskalakis Athletic Center on Dec. 29 for a 4 p.m. tip. That will be the first of two home games for Drexel to open league play, as Hofstra will follow the Blue Hens into the DAC on Dec. 31 for a 2 p.m. game.