Overtime Thriller in Semis Sends Women's Basketball to Title Game

Friday, March 9

Daskalakis Athletic Center

3 p.m.

Drexel University

26-6

Delaware

19-12

OT 1

DELAWARE

DREXEL

Photo by: Gavin Baker

Overtime Thriller in Semis Sends Women's Basketball to Title Game

3/9/2018 6:39:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – After two comfortable victories over their oldest rival during the regular season, the Drexel women's basketball team knew that a win over Delaware in the Colonial Athletic Association semifinals would not be easy. They may not have counted on it being as dramatic as it turned out, though, as the Dragons overcame a late three-point deficit to defeat the Blue Hens in overtime at the Daskalakis Athletic Center, 58-53.

Drexel trailed by 10 right out of the gates before a historic defensive quarter sent the Dragons into the locker rooms with a lead. But Delaware led for nearly the entire second half before Kelsi Lidge tied it at the free throw line with 21 seconds to go in regulation. Lidge finished with 11 points, scoring nine of those in the fourth quarter and overtime despite playing that entire time with four fouls.

Bailey Greenberg finished as the Dragons' leading scorer, scoring 13 to go along with four rebounds. She powered a struggling Drexel offense early on, scoring seven before halftime. Sara Woods added her second career double-double with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, tying a career high with five steals. The steals also left her with 13 in her career during CAA Tournament play, a new Drexel program record. Aubree Brown also finished in double figures with 11 points, adding five rebounds, five steals and four assists.

Niki Metzel scored five with three rebounds and a block. That included a critical late three-pointer from the top of the key, just the second trey of her career. Hannah Nihill finished with seven points, six rebounds and two assists, while Ana Ferariu had a pair of steals and Megan Marecic scored one with a block and three rebounds.

The Dragons shot a combined 29 percent as a team from the floor and hit just two three-pointers, one day after nailing nine in the quarterfinals against UNCW. But the Dragons remained perfect on their home court thanks to their commitment to rebounding and defense. Drexel outdid the Blue Hens on the glass 46-36, holding CAA Player of the Year Nicole Enabosi to 11 points and eight rebounds. Enabosi was held without a double just eight times in total this season, with three of those coming against the Dragons. Meanwhile, Drexel forced 26 Delaware turnovers including 10 in the last 2:48 of regulation and the five minutes of overtime.

Delaware was the hot team to start, building a 12-2 lead and forcing Denise Dillon to use a timeout just 4:09 into the contest. It was still a 10-point deficit when Woods bullied her way to the hoop, drawing a foul as she scored with 1:12 to go in the first quarter. Her three-point play, the second of two for her in the opening period, made it a 17-10 game. After a pair of Blue Hens free throws, Greenberg sank a three-pointer to get the deficit down to six before the end of the frame.

The second quarter belonged to the Dragons, though their continued shooting woes prevented them from taking full advantage. Drexel stifled Delaware's offense, forcing the Blue Hens to go without a field goal for the entire quarter. Delaware managed just one point by splitting a pair of free throws, a CAA Tournament record for scoring futility in a quarter. Nevertheless, the Dragons went just 4-for-14 from the floor themselves. They did close the half on an 11-0 run, sparked by four points from Nihill, to seize a 24-20 lead at the break.

In total, the Blue Hens went 13:57 without a field goal but a three-pointer with 8:47 to go in the third got them back within one at 24-23. One minute later, Delaware was back in front. In all, the Hens opened the third quarter on an 11-2 spurt to take a 31-26 lead with 5:38 to go in the third.

Drexel pulled back even late in the quarter, but once again found itself down by six with just over five minutes to play. Without a point for nearly four full minutes of play, the Dragons turned to Metzel, found by Nihill alone at the top of the key. Metzel has found her stroke in the mid-range game late in the regular season, and was ready with the much-needed triple to slash the Delaware lead in half.

In the final two minutes, Lidge went to work. Playing with four fouls, she drove to the hoop fearlessly and finished, scoring five in the span of 1:16 including the tying free throw with 21 ticks left on the clock. Both teams had looks at the basket in the final five seconds, but Delaware's jumper rimmed out and a putback by Woods was ruled just late.

After trailing for nearly the entire second half, the Dragons never did in overtime. Two scoreless minutes preceded Brown hitting a pair of free throws with 3:06 to play, the start of a 9-2 Drexel run. Again it was Lidge leading the way with four points in that span.

Drexel has now been involved in all three overtime games that have taken place during CAA play throughout the league this season. The Dragons have won all three.

The Dragons' win not only moved them to 15-0 at the DAC this season, it also ensured that this year's team will set a program record for win percentage. Drexel is currently 26-6 (.813), and can fall to no worse than .765. The previous record, held by the 1989-90 team, was .759.

Next up for Drexel is a date in the championship game with either No. 2 James Madison or No. 3 Elon. That game, which will also be at the DAC, will tip off Saturday at 1 p.m.