Women's Basketball Dismantles Bucknell, 64-42

Thursday, November 15

Daskalakis Athletic Center

7 p.m.

Drexel University

Bucknell

Drexel

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Women's Basketball Dismantles Bucknell, 64-42

11/15/2018 9:35:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – The Drexel women's basketball team outworked Bucknell on Thursday night in the finale of a season-opening three-game homestand at the John A. Daskalakis Athletic Center, pulling away for a 64-42 victory. The Dragons dominated defensively, forcing 19 turnovers and holding the Bison to four total field goals in the second and third quarters as they took control.

Bailey Greenberg led all scorers for a third consecutive game, matching a career high with 20 points. Niki Metzel had a career night as well, posting personal bests with 11 points and eight rebounds. Metzel did much of the heavy lifting for Drexel in the paint, pulling down four of the Dragons' 17 offensive rebounds. As a team, Drexel outdid the Bison 40-36 on the glass despite a height disadvantage at most positions.

Freshman Keishana Washington, making her third start in her third collegiate game, had a bit of a breakout with nine points and three steals. She was 4-for-8 from the floor and added two rebounds and an assist in 24 minutes of action. Aubree Brown also netted nine points to go along with seven rebounds, while Hannah Nihill scored seven with five rebounds, four as assists and three steals. Tereza Kracikova and Ana Ferariu each scored four.

After a slow defensive start for the Dragons, which saw the Bison go 6-for-13 from the floor with just two turnovers in the first quarter, they began getting disruptive. Drexel forced nine turnovers by Bucknell in the second quarter and prevented the Bison from getting to the hoop for easy looks. Metzel put the Dragons on top for the first time at 17-16, and after two Bucknell free throws gave the Bison the lead back again, Brown came up with an open-court steal and drove down the lane for a lay-up, putting the Dragons up 19-18 and starting a 9-0 run to close the half. Bucknell went just 1-for-9 from the floor in the second and was held without a point over the final 6:05 of the period as Drexel grabbed a 25-18 halftime lead.

It was more of the same after the break, as Drexel forced six Bison giveaways in the third quarter and allowed them to knock down just three of 15 attempts. Meanwhile, the Dragons seemed to dominate possession, grabbing eight offensive boards converting those into nine second-chance points. Drexel scored the final 13 points of the third quarter and the first six of the fourth, extending its lead to 30 points early in the fourth quarter as the Dragons iced the game away. Greenberg had nine third-quarter points, while Metzel had six and three offensive rebounds.

As the Dragons forced 19 Bucknell turnovers, they gave the ball up just seven times themselves, a season low in the early going. Their 19-0 run was also a best for the young season, and the second time this year that Drexel has had a scoring run of more than 15 straight points.

After a week of rest, the Dragons will hit the road for the first time in 2018-19 next week when they venture up to Vermont for the TD Classic in Burlington. The Dragons will take on Siena on Friday evening at 7 p.m., then either Wagner or the host Vermont Catamounts on Saturday. The tournament begins a stretch of five straight games away from home as Drexel will not be back in action at the DAC for just over a month, returning on Dec. 16 against Gardner-Webb.