Women's Basketball Nets First Round Win Over Robert Morris in WNIT

Friday, March 16

Daskalakis Athletic Center

7 p.m.

Drexel University

27-7

Robert Morris

25-8

ROBERT MORRIS

DREXEL

Photo by: Kevin Rossi

Women's Basketball Nets First Round Win Over Robert Morris in WNIT

3/16/2018 10:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – Six days after a tough loss in the Colonial Athletic Association championship game, the Drexel women's basketball team took some time to find its stride on Friday night in the first round of the WNIT, but took the lead late in the first quarter and never looked back, defeating Robert Morris 57-44 at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.

Bailey Greenberg scored 14 points to lead all scorers. Hannah Nihill and Kelsi Lidge each added 10, with Lidge chipping in five assists, four steals and six rebounds, and Nihill chipping in three steals and four boards. Aubree Brown scored eight with four assists, while Megan Marecic and Ana Ferariu each scored five. Tereza Kracikova netted three and Eline Maesschalck two to round out the scoring for the Dragons (27-7). Robert Morris (25-8) did not have a scorer reach double figures, as it was led by Megan Smith's nine points.

Drexel forced 22 Robert Morris turnovers while committing just 12 of its own. It was the 13th time this season that a Dragons opponent turned it over at least 20 times, and the third time in Drexel's last four games. Drexel also outdid the Colonials on the glass. Though their overall rebounding edge was just four, the Dragons grabbed 17 offensive boards compared to just eight for the Colonials, turning that into a 25-7 second-chance advantage.

The game seesawed back and forth at the start, with Robert Morris holding an 8-6 lead before Nihill fed Brown for a lay-up to tie it with 4:16 remaining in the opening quarter. That lay-up started a 13-2 Drexel run to end the quarter, giving the Dragons a lead they would never relinquish. A three-pointer from Brown put Drexel in front with 3:04 to play, and after a bucket on the other end, Nihill and Brown responded with back-to-back treys to make it a 17-10 game. A short jumper from Greenberg just before the clock expired gave the Dragons a nine-point lead after one.

Another big Dragons run in the second quarter gave them a substantial cushion heading into the locker rooms for halftime. With Drexel up 21-15, Ferariu weaved her way through the lane, scoring and drawing a foul for a three-point play. Kracikova followed with a score, then another Nihill three made it 29-15 and capped an 8-0 run. The Dragons' run was momentarily stopped by a Robert Morris jumper, but Greenberg responded with a triple of her own and Kracikova added a late free throw to make it a 33-17 game at the break.

The lead grew as large as 24 midway through the third quarter when Lidge drained a three-pointer to make it 44-20. Though improved shooting by the Colonials and an uncharacteristically poor night at the free throw line allowed them to creep back within shouting distance late, the margin was too much for them to overcome as Drexel cruised to its second consecutive first-round WNIT victory.

The win will extend Drexel's season to Sunday, when the Dragons will host Fordham at the DAC at 4 p.m. A win would match the program's record for single-season victories, as their 28th win would equal the total put up by the WNIT championship team in 2012-13. That year's squad went 28-10 en route to the tournament title.