Women's Basketball Guts Out 65-58 Overtime Comeback at William & Mary

Tuesday, January 9

Williamsburg, Va.

6 p.m.

Drexel University

11-5 (3-1CAA)

William & Mary

11-4 (2-2CAA)

OT 1

Drexel

William & Mary

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Women's Basketball Guts Out 65-58 Overtime Comeback at William & Mary

1/9/2018 9:03:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – For a second time this season, the Drexel women's basketball team turned around a game that appeared to be a lost cause and mounted an improbable fourth-quarter comeback capped by a Megan Marecic three-pointer. This time, the Dragons required overtime after her three tied the score as Drexel came back from a double-digit second-half deficit to earn its first Colonial Athletic Association road victory of the season, 65-58 at William & Mary on Tuesday night.

It was the Dragons' seniors who provided leadership from start to finish on what was a frustrating night on the offensive end, and their leading scorer who put them over the top. Sara Woods seemed to be the only reliable scorer for the Dragons for most of the night, finishing with a career high 17 points to lead all scorers. Kelsi Lidge singlehandedly scored eight straight over a 3:29 span late in the fourth quarter to erase a 44-36 deficit, then found classmate Marecic with five seconds to go for a long three-pointer at the top of the key to tie things up after the Tribe had retaken the lead.

Lidge finished with 10 points and a career high 13 rebounds for her second double double of the season. She also dished out eight assists, matching a personal best. Seven of those were in the second half and overtime. Marecic netted 12 points off the bench to go along with three steals. She went 6-for-6 from the free throw line and added three steals as Drexel forced 23 William & Mary turnovers on the evening.

In the overtime period, Bailey Greenberg scored seven of her 12 points to push the Dragons over the top. William & Mary recovered quickly from Marecic's dagger, scoring the first four points of overtime before Greenberg drove to the hoop, scored and was fouled for an old-fashioned three-point play. After two Tribe free throws, the sophomore from North Wales, Pa. did it again with another and-one, knotting the score at 56 with 3:02 to play in the extra period. That one sparked a 10-0 Drexel run that nearly finished off William & Mary, which had led by 10 midway through the third quarter and nine at the start of the fourth. The final nail in the coffin came when the Tribe stole a Drexel inbounds pass trailing the Dragons by five with just over 30 seconds to play. Lidge chased down the play and blocked a Tribe lay-up attempt from behind. William & Mary retained possession but got nothing on its offensive set.

It was just the second time in program history that Drexel overcame a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win. The first was earlier this year, when a Marecic three-pointer in the final seconds pushed Drexel out to a 66-65 win at Niagara on Dec. 7.

In addition to the four double-figure scorers, Drexel got five key points from Ana Ferariu off the bench in the first half to help Drexel stay within range despite shooting just 9-for-32 before halftime. She would finish with seven on the evening with three rebounds and two assists. Aubree Brown also added five points and seven rebounds, while Niki Metzel scored two.

Two days after a disappointing result at James Madison, the Dragons did not get off to the fast start they had hoped for. They were up 5-2 early before going ice cold from the floor and committing a number of unforced turnovers. William & Mary went on a 12-3 run at that point to grab the lead as Drexel knocked down just two field goals over the final 8:23 of the first quarter.

Despite shooting struggles that plagued the team throughout the first half, Drexel kept up the effort plays that allowed the Dragons to hang in there. Drexel grabbed nine offensive rebounds, and its defense forced 14 Tribe turnovers in the first half. Near the end of the half, the three-pointers began to fall at long last for the Dragons, as Marecic and Ferariu each drilled threes to cut what was once an eight-point William & Mary lead down to one before the break, 25-24.

Dragons tied it at 26 early in the third quarter, but the Tribe had an answer. They scored eight straight over 1:11 to prompt a Dragons timeout with 7:27 to play in the quarter, then added two more to cap a 10-0 run. In all, the Dragons went 3:19 without a point as William & Mary led 36-26 with 5:34 to play when a Woods jumper ended the drought.

It was a 42-33 Tribe lead at the start of the fourth quarter, and Drexel had trimmed just one point off that lead with 6:16 to play when Lidge worked inside for a lay-up off an assist by Ferariu. It was the start of a stretch where the senior from Colorado took over, going 4-for-4 from the line with another lay-up mixed in, as well as a steal on the defensive end. With 2:47 to play, she tied the game at the free throw line, and after another stop on the other end, Brown kissed a lay-up off the glass to put Drexel in front for the first time since that 5-2 lead early on.

The Tribe responded with the game's next four points to retake the lead. It was 48-47 when the Tribe's Nari Garner sank two free throws with 23 ticks to play, giving her team a three-point lead.

The Dragons attempted to go inside at first, but Abby Rendle blocked her fifth shot of the night. Brown fought for the offensive rebound, and while she couldn't wrest it away from Rendle entirely, she forced a tie-up that gave the Dragons the ball back. Needing a three with the clock winding down, Lidge found Marecic – as she had in Niagara last month – at the top of the key for the biggest shot of the night.

Drexel finished the night with a pedestrian 22-for-68 showing from the floor (32.4 percent), but went 4-for-5 in overtime and 16-for-20 from the free throw line. The Dragons scored 33 points through three quarters and 32 over the course of the fourth period and overtime. Meanwhile, they forced more than 20 turnovers for an eighth time this year, and pulled down 19 offensive rebounds compared to just six for the Tribe, outdoing them 10-3 in second-chance points. It was not their prettiest offensive performance, but the effort plays did the trick to get Drexel an uplifting road victory.

For a second consecutive week, the Dragons will not have a game on Friday as they enjoy one of their two regularly-scheduled CAA byes. Drexel will return to action on Sunday afternoon when the Dragons host UNCW at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. That game tips off at 2 p.m.