Women's Basketball Takes Down Northeastern on the Road, 69-58

Friday, January 19

Boston, Mass.

7 p.m.

Drexel University

13-5, 5-1CAA

Northeastern

8-9, 3-3CAA

Drexel

Northeastern

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Women's Basketball Takes Down Northeastern on the Road, 69-58

1/19/2018 9:40:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

BOSTON – The Drexel women's basketball team earned a hard-fought road victory on Friday night, defeating Northeastern 69-58. The Dragons went toe-to-toe with the Huskies in a neck-and-neck first half in front of a packed house at the Cabot Center, then quieted the crowd with a strong third quarter to pull away. The win was the Dragons' third in a row and seventh in their last eight games as they improved to 13-5 overall and 5-1 in Colonial Athletic Association play.

Kelsi Lidge finished with 21 points, two shy of her career high, to lead the Dragons. She added nine rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Megan Marecic scored 13 and helped seal the game late at the free throw line as the Huskies attempted a late rally. Sara Woods scored nine with six rebounds on 3-of-4 shooting from the floor, and Bailey Greenberg added eight points and eight rebounds. Aubree Brown netted seven with five assists, Eline Maesschalck scored seven and Hannah Nihill added four points and three assists.

The game paired the two leading three-point shooting teams in the CAA, with the Huskies averaging 8.9 made threes a contest and Drexel putting up 6.6. It was the Dragons that came out on top in that category on Friday, sinking seven to the Huskies' four. Northeastern was just 1-for-7 heading into the fourth quarter before some late threes threatened to get them back in the game.

The teams battled back and forth nearly the entire first half, with neither team able to grab more than a two-point lead until the Dragons finally created separation in the final minutes of the half. With Drexel trailing 21-20 with 2:08 to play, Kelsi Lidge knocked down a three-pointer from the right wing. After a defensive stop, Aubree Brown nailed a jumper from the left baseline. It put the Dragons up 25-21 and provided the first two-possession lead for either team with just 1:17 to go in the second quarter.

Northeastern responded with a bucket, but after a Sara Woods jumper, the senior from Bowie, Md. came up with a steal as the clock wound down and found Brown cutting from the left to scoop in a lay-up as time expired, leaving Drexel up 29-23 at the break.

Both teams were exactly 11-for-26 from the field in the first half, but the Dragons – the CAA's second-most prolific three-point shooting team – buried three treys while Northeastern – the top three-point shooting team in the league – hit just one. The Huskies also turned the ball over nine times compared to just five giveaways by the Dragons.

Coming out of the locker room, the teams traded buckets early before the Dragons began to pull away. Up by six with 7:46 to go in the period, the Dragons once again turned to Lidge to spark a run. Her three-pointer opened a 15-3 spurt for Drexel which turned a 33-27 edge into a 48-30 cushion.

Trailing by 14 midway through the fourth quarter, the Huskies threatened to get back in it when Jess Genco, who finished with a game-high 23 points, finally connected from long range to make it an 11-point game with 5:47 to play. Drexel would not score for another 3:42, but its defense hung tough and kept the Huskies off the board as well until another Genco three-pointer with 3:27 to play.

Again it was Lidge with an answer, her third trey of the evening on the next possession to push the lead back out to 11. Northeastern would creep to within seven in the final moments, but the Dragons were able to get out of town with an impressive road victory.

The road trip will continue for the Dragons on Sunday afternoon when they visit Hofstra. That game tips off at 2 p.m.