Wright State Outlasts Women's Basketball in OT, 71-63

Saturday, December 8

Riverdale, N.Y.

3:30 p.m.

Drexel University

6-2

Wright State

6-3

OT 1

Wright State

Drexel

Photo by: Greg Carroccio

Wright State Outlasts Women's Basketball in OT, 71-63

12/8/2018 5:51:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Despite career highs from Bailey Greenberg and Hannah Nihill, the Drexel women's basketball team saw its six-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday afternoon at the Manhattan Classic, as the Dragons fell in overtime to Wright State, 71-63. The Dragons came up empty on the final possession of overtime, then saw Wright State score the first six of the extra session to grab control after a back-and-forth contest throughout.

Greenberg finished with 24 points and seven rebounds, the eighth time in as many games that she has led the team in scoring. Nihill finished with 15, all after halftime, including three three-pointers as Drexel knocked down a season-best eight. Aubree Brown also chipped in 15 points, adding seven assists and six rebounds.

That trio finished 20-for-56 from the floor, but the rest of the squad knocked down just two field goals in 14 attempts. Niki Metzel scored four with seven assists – a personal best – and eight rebounds, while Kayla Bacon and Tereza Kracikova added two points apiece and Mariah Leonard added one. Both Bacon and Kracikova added four boards.

The Dragons led this matchup of two teams ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 for most of the first half, but trailed 21-20 at the break thanks in large part to a 24-15 advantage on the glass for Wright State. The Raiders, ranked No. 18 in that poll, had nine offensive boards but No. 7 Drexel's top-ranked defense kept them in check. Greenberg fueled the Dragons in the first, scoring 12 of the team's 20 points while Brown added six and Metzel contributed a pair.

After halftime, both offenses seemed to wake up. The Dragons shored things up on the glass and began seeing contributions from the rest of the offense, particularly Nihill who began working it inside and taking the open outside looks when available. Neither team could create any separation, though, as neither led by more than three throughout the second half.

Drexel led by two with just over a minute to play, but Wright State knotted it up with 55 seconds to go. After the Dragons came up empty on their next possession, Bacon deflected a pass inside and dove on the loose ball to give Drexel one last chance with four ticks to go. The last look by Metzel came up short, though, and the teams headed for bonus basketball.

Given another life, Wright State took advantage with the first six points of the overtime. Nihill got Drexel on the board with her third trey of the afternoon with 3:06 to play, and after another Raiders bucket, Brown sank another three to make it a two-point game. An offensive rebound and putback for Wright State made it a two-possession game again with 1:49 to go, and Drexel never got it as close as three again.

The Dragons will now return home for the first time since Nov. 15 when they take on Gardner-Webb next Sunday at 2 p.m. That will be the first meeting between the two programs in either's history.