Women's Basketball Dominant in Sunday Afternoon Win over UNCW, 68-42

Sunday, January 14

Daskalakis Athletic Center

2 p.m.

Drexel University

12-5, 4-1

UNCW

7-10, 0-6

UNCW

DREXEL

Photo by: Kevin Rossi

Women's Basketball Dominant in Sunday Afternoon Win over UNCW, 68-42

1/14/2018 3:51:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – Following up one of its most dramatic victories of the season on Tuesday at William & Mary, the Drexel women's basketball team eliminated any drama from Sunday's matchup with UNCW early, cruising to a 68-42 victory at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. The Dragons had a double-digit lead by the end of the first quarter, and UNCW never got back to single digits the rest of the afternoon as Drexel put up its largest margin of victory of the year.

With the victory, Drexel improved to 7-0 at home on the season. The Dragons are now 12-5 overall and 4-1 in Colonial Athletic Association play. Drexel has also won 12 straight against the Seahawks dating back to the 2010-11 season.

The Dragons' defense held UNCW without a double-figure scorer, the first time this season a Drexel opponent has failed to do so. Drexel forced 25 turnovers by the Seahawks while giving the ball away just nine times, only twice in the first half as the Dragons established a commanding lead.

Kelsi Lidge led all scorers with 18 points, going 8-for-14 from the floor with five rebounds and five assists added to her line. She and Sara Woods, who finished with 12 points and three steals, powered the Dragons early on. Lidge netted eight and Woods seven in the first quarter as the Dragons built a 20-10 cushion.

Bailey Greenberg added 11 points and four boards, while Aubree Brown finished just shy of a double double with nine points and rebounds to go along with four assists. Eline Maesschalck chipped in five points, while Hannah Nihill scored four with four rebounds, three assists and three steals. NikI Metzel also had four points with a block, the only rejection of the game on either side. Megan Marecic and Ana Ferariu each scored two with Kayla Bacon adding a point late. Drexel shot 50 percent from the floor as a team (28-for-56), its first time reaching that since its win over Delaware State on Dec. 3.

After a brief 3-2 deficit early in the first quarter, Woods stepped into her signature mid-range jumper to put Drexel back on top, 4-3, with 7:50 to play in the opening period. The Dragons would never trail again. That bucket sparked a 9-0 Dragons run over the next 2:05 as they raced out to an 11-3 lead and prompted first-year UNCW head coach Karen Barefoot to spend a timeout.

The Dragons did not turn the ball over in the first quarter and hit eight of their 14 attempts from the floor (57.1 percent) to help build their 20-10 lead. In all, the Dragons did not commit a turnover for the game's first 14:52. They went into the break with two total turnovers. UNCW, meanwhile, had 13 including nine in the second quarter as the Dragons held a hefty 34-17 margin at the break.

In the third quarter, Lidge took over to ensure there would be no comeback attempt from UNCW. She scored five of the team's seven points in a 7-0 run to open the quarter, part of a nine-point quarter for the senior from Colorado. In fact, Lidge was the only Dragon to get on the scoreboard between the 9:51 mark when Woods dropped in another jumper and the 1:34 mark when Brown worked inside for a bucket plus a foul. That lack of scoring options didn't hurt Drexel, as Lidge kept Drexel in front by 18 before Brown's lay-up.

In the process of putting together her 18-point game, Lidge became the 50th player in program history to reach 500 career points. She now sits at 514, the active leader in scoring for the Dragons.

The win kept Drexel perfect at home, but the Dragons will have to wait to put that mark to the test yet again. Sunday's game was the only one at the DAC in a 26-day period for Drexel, which will get back on the road on Friday night for a visit to Northeastern. That game, which will be followed on Sunday by a trip to Hofstra, tips off at 7 p.m.