Dragons Open CAA Play Friday with 74-53 Win over Rival Delaware

Friday, December 29

Daskalakis Athletic Center

4 p.m.

Drexel University

9-4, 1-0

Delaware

7-5, 0-1

DELAWARE

DREXEL

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Dragons Open CAA Play Friday with 74-53 Win over Rival Delaware

12/29/2017 6:22:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – The Drexel women's basketball team jumped on rival Delaware from the opening tip on Friday afternoon at the Daskalakis Athletic Center and never looked back, opening Colonial Athletic Association play with a 74-53 win over the Blue Hens. The win was their fifth straight over the Blue Hens and seventh in the last eight meetings between the two long-time rivals.

Kelsi Lidge led the Dragons with 16 points, her first game in double figures since Dec. 7 at Niagara. Lidge, playing her 100th career game, pulled down six rebounds and came up with a team-best five steals as Drexel forced 20 turnovers for the seventh time this year and the fourth time in five home games. Bailey Greenberg added 14 points, 12 of which came in the first half as she powered the Dragons offense in the early going.

Aubree Brown added 10 points with five assists and two blocks. Sara Woods and Megan Marecic each scored eight, with Woods grabbing seven rebounds. Eline Maesschalck scored six and Hannah Nihill chipped in five with five assists, four boards and two steals. Ana Ferariu added three points with two assists and two steals and Tereza Kracikova and Kayla Bacon each had two to round out the Dragons' scoring column.

Drexel's win was the largest in its series with Delaware and its first by more than 10 points since another 21-point victory on Feb. 19, 2009. The Dragons have now won five in a row against Delaware for the first time since winning six straight from Jan. 10, 2008 through Jan. 31, 2010.

The start of conference play saw the Dragons play their best opening quarter of the season. Drexel jumped out on top with the game's first five points as Sara Woods knocked down a pair of free throws and Aubree Brown nailed a three-pointer. The Dragons still led by two, 11-9, with 3:16 to play when Bailey Greenberg drove inside and scored, setting off an 11-2 Drexel run to close the first quarter. She would add a three-pointer later in the run as Drexel took a 22-11 lead after the first, its largest lead after 10 minutes this season.

A back-and-forth second quarter was highlighted by the Dragons' defense, which kept the Blue Hens without a field goal over the last 5:26 of the half. Delaware did not manage a single point over the last 4:01 following a pair of Nicole Enabosi free throws. Drexel forced 11 first-half turnovers by the Blue Hens and closed the half on a 6-0 spurt to take a 35-22 lead into the locker room.

After the break, the Dragons continued to keep Delaware off the scoreboard for the first 3:51 of the third quarter. In all, they started the half with a 12-2 run fueled by a pair of Megan Marecic three-pointers and five points from Kelsi Lidge. Drexel led by 23 points with 4:27 to play, matching what would be its largest lead of the game.

From there, the Blue Hens briefly started to climb back in it. Delaware scored 12 of the game's next 13 points, pulling back within 12 before Lidge worked inside for a bucket off a feed from Greenberg to give Drexel a 50-36 edge heading into the fourth quarter.

Early in the fourth, Delaware crept back within 10 after a pair of free throws by Samone DeFreese. But the Blue Hens' chances were short-lived. Woods dropped in a jumper on the Dragons' next possession, triggering a 14-2 Dragons run that put the game away. Three-pointers from Hannah Nihill and Lidge were sandwiched around Delaware's only bucket of the stretch. Ana Ferariu and Greenberg followed with jumpers that stretched the lead back to 20, and essentially put the game away.

The victory was the 264th of head coach Denise Dillon's career with the Dragons. She is now tied with Lil Haas for the most overall victories in Drexel coaching history. Haas, who won 145 games after the program moved to Division I in 1982, won 264 total games from 1963-92.

The Dragons will have their first opportunity to put Dillon over the top when they continue Colonial Athletic Association play on Sunday afternoon. Drexel hosts Hofstra at 2 p.m.