Women's Basketball Pulls Away at Elon, 59-44

Friday, February 1

Elon, N.C.

7 p.m.

Drexel University

14-5, 6-2CAA

Elon

7-12, 2-6CAA

Drexel

Elon

2/1/2019 9:03:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

ELON, N.C. – The Drexel women's basketball team went back to a tried and true formula, winning on the road thanks to its lockdown defense as the Dragons shut down Elon down the stretch for a 59-44 victory. The win, Drexel's first at Elon since 2016, extended the team's road winning streak to 11, moving it into a tie with Oregon State for the longest active road win streak in the nation. The win was the sixth straight overall for Drexel, which moved to 14-5 overall and 6-2 in CAA action.

Drexel led most of the way, but created some breathing room in an otherwise close game with runs of 10-2 in the third quarter and 9-0 in the fourth. The Dragons held Elon to just eight points in the fourth and forced 22 turnovers on the evening including six in the fourth quarter while giving the ball away just 10 times themselves in the rematch of the 2018 CAA Championship Game.

Bailey Greenberg once again was the offensive catalyst for Drexel, scoring 24 on 8-of-14 shooting and pulling down a game-high nine rebounds. She now sits just two points shy of 1,000 for her career, which would make her the 25th member of the Dragons' 1,000 point club. Aubree Brown and Niki Metzel scored eight each, with both pulling down six rebounds. Brown added four assists without a turnover and came up with three steals of her own. Maura Hendrixson chipped in six points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Keishana Washington added five points and a pair of assists, while Hannah Nihill scored four with three helpers and two steals. Mariah Leonard also scored four and grabbed a pair of rebounds.

The Dragons got off to a fast start, grabbing an 11-2 lead midway through the first quarter. Niki Metzel got the Dragons on the board, scoring the first four points of the game for Drexel on a tip-in and a baseline jumper. Bailey Greenberg got into the mix next, draining a three-pointer from the top of the key before a turnaround down low made it 9-2. Mariah Leonard capped what was a 9-0 Dragons run with a putback with 4:08 to go in the first.

A media timeout after Leonard's bucket seemed to settle the Phoenix, who trailed 15-9 by the end of the quarter. In the second, after Drexel pushed its lead to 19-12, Elon rattled off a 10-2 spurt of its own to briefly take a 22-21 lead. The Phoenix had an opportunity to expand that edge at the free throw line, but came up empty. Greenberg grabbed the lead back for Drexel with a pair of free throws of her own on the Dragons' next trip down the court. She followed that up with another lay-up, then added two more free throws to make it a 27-22 Drexel lead with 43 ticks to go before halftime. At the break, it was a three-point Drexel lead at 27-24.

The Dragons led 29-28 early in the third quarter when Aubree Brown drove inside for two to start a 10-2 run that relieved the pressure. Greenberg netted four during the run, which was highlighted by a Maura Hendrixson three-pointer that pushed it to 38-30 with 2:48 to go in the third.

It was 44-36 heading into the fourth quarter, when the freshmen duo of Hendrixson and Keishana Washington quickly established the Dragons as double-digit leaders. A Hendrixson jumper opened the scoring, followed by a drive to the hoop by Washington and a Washington three-pointer that made it 51-36. Greenberg got into the fourth-quarter action with a lay-up off a Washington assist with 6:49 to play, giving Drexel its largest lead of the evening at 53-36. Elon would not pose a serious threat the rest of the way.

The Dragons close out the road trip on Sunday afternoon when they take on William & Mary at Kaplan Arena in Williamsburg. That game tips off at 2 p.m.