Women's Basketball Nets Impressive Road Win at UNCW, 65-53

Friday, February 22

Wilmington, N.C.

7 p.m.

Drexel University

UNCW

Drexel

UNCW

Photo by: Greg Carroccio/Sideline Photos

Women's Basketball Nets Impressive Road Win at UNCW, 65-53

2/22/2019 9:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

WILMINGTON, N.C. – In a game where something had to give, the Drexel women's basketball team did not yield an inch down the stretch as the Dragons extended the nation's longest road winning streak and handed UNCW its first home loss of the season, 65-53. The Dragons (19-5, 11-2) closed the game on a 9-0 run after the Seahawks had pulled to within three with just over two minutes to play.

Keishana Washington finished with a career high 21 points to lead the way. She went 8-for-12 from the field and scored eight of those in the fourth quarter, becoming the first Dragon besides Bailey Greenberg to lead the team in scoring since Dec. 21. Greenberg, who fouled out late in the game, nevertheless finished with a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, her fourth double-double of the season. She knocked down five of her 10 attempts from the floor, the eighth consecutive game in which she shot at least 50.0 percent. Niki Metzel scored 13 and went 5-for-6 from the line including a perfect 4-for-4 down the stretch to help seal the game away after the Seahawks had made their run.

The win, the 11th in a row overall for the Dragons, gives them 13 straight road victories dating back to last season. They have the nation's longest road winning streak, four clear of the nine-game streaks maintained by Rice and North Carolina A&T. UNCW had won their first 12 home games of the season coming into Friday night's action, which opened the final home weekend of the year for the Seahawks.

Though the trio of Washington, Greenberg and Metzel did the bulk of the scoring for Drexel, the Dragons got contributions from nearly the entire lineup. Aubree Brown finished with six points and six assists. She hit a pair of the Dragons' eight three-pointers, one shy of the season high. Tererza Kracikova and Ana Ferariu each scored four, and Hannah Nihill finished with two points, six rebounds and three steals. Mariah Leonard drew three charges and added a point from the free throw line.

The Dragons took control with a 9-0 run early in the first quarter. Trailing 4-3, Drexel got a three from Aubree Brown to retake the lead. After Niki Metzel knocked down one of two from the line, Keishana Washington took advantage of a Seahawks turnover for a quick bucket, and Bailey Greenberg made it a 12-4 game with her second three-pointer of the night, this one banked in from the top of the key.

Drexel led the rest of the night, but the Seahawks did not stop pushing back. Leading by nine early in the second quarter, the Dragons saw their lead cut down to four midway through the period. It was in the second quarter when Washington began to take over. She hit three of her four shots in the period, scoring six to help Drexel push the lead back up to seven, 32-25, at the break.

After UNCW briefly slashed the Dragons' lead down to three early in the third, Drexel rattled off 10 straight to build its largest lead of the evening, 42-29. Washington got the run started with a lay-up, then drilled a trey to make it 37-29. Greenberg followed with her third three-pointer of the evening, then Ferariu capped the run with a short jumper with 4:11 to go in the third.

The Dragons led by 10, 56-46, with 4:17 to go in the fourth when GiGi Smith worked inside for a bucket that opened the late Seahawks' push. Over the next 2:07, UNCW would score seven straight points to make it a three-point game with 2:10 to go. The run was capped by a three-point play by Ashli Jeune who drew Greenberg's fifth foul to make it a one-possession game.

The Seahawks had a chance to pull even closer, but a quick jumper was off the mark and Washington, driving up the right side, threaded a pass down low to Metzel for a wide open and much-needed lay-up with 1:15 to go, pushing the lead back to five. That took the air out of the sails for UNCW, which would go 0-for-5 in the final minutes as Leonard, Washington and Metzel sank free throws that sank the Seahawks' comeback attempt.

Drexel will once again put its winning streaks on the line on Sunday afternoon when the Dragons visit the College of Charleston. That game tips off at 1 p.m.