Women's Basketball Takes Control in Second Half at Towson, 77-44

Saturday, March 9

Towson, Md.

2 p.m.

Drexel University

22-7, 14-4CAA

Towson

17-12, 11-7CAA

Drexel

Towson

Women's Basketball Takes Control in Second Half at Towson, 77-44

3/9/2019 4:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

TOWSON, Md. – The Drexel women's basketball team kept its cool and took control while the Towson Tigers were losing theirs in the third quarter, turning a two-point game at halftime into a rout, 77-44. The Dragons never trailed, but took advantage of mental breakdowns by the Tigers and went on a 19-2 run in the third and never looked back in posting a season-high point total.

Niki Metzel scored 15 points to lead all scorers, knocking down 9-of-11 from the line, all in the third quarter, to help the Dragons pull away. Keishana Washington scored 14 with three assists and Aubree Brown added 13, hitting all six of her attempts from the line. Kayla Bacon put up eight in her home state, going 2-for-2 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the line.

Bailey Greenberg finished with seven points, just the third time this year that she was held below double figures. She was 3-for-4 from the floor, though, and pulled down a team-best six rebounds. Despite the low-key afternoon, Greenberg became just the third Dragon in program history to lead the CAA in scoring during conference play (Gabriela Marginean, 2007-08; Michelle Maslowski, 2001-02). Greenberg put up 18.6 per game in CAA play. She also leads the league overall at 17.9 following the regular season, and could join Maslowski as the only Dragons ever to lead the CAA in scoring overall.

Maura Hendrixson knocked down a pair of three-pointers for six points, Ana Ferariu added five and three rebounds, Eline Maesschalck scored three and Tereza Kracikova chipped in two.

The Dragons led 29-27 at halftime, a physical first half in which Greenberg was sidelined with a pair of fouls, as was Towson's leading scorer Kionna Jeter. Drexel led by as much as nine in the first half, but the Tigers continued to battle back and closed the half on a 6-0 spurt that got them back within a bucket.

After the teams traded hoops to open the third quarter, the Dragons took off. They scored seven straight, including a Washington three, and prompted a Towson timeout with 5:24 to go in the third.

Although they did get the next basket, the break did little to settle the Tigers. Metzel hit a pair of free throws with 3:58 to play that made it 40-31, and after Greenberg grabbed a rebound on the Tigers' next possession, Towson's Ryan Holder committed a foul on the defensive end that caused Jeter to lose her cool, slamming the ball in front of a referee and drawing a technical foul. Metzel again hit a pair of free throws, followed shortly thereafter by a Washington lay-up that proved to be the only field goal needed in a 12-0 Drexel run.

With the fouls mounting in the third quarter, Holder was called for a flagrant at the 2:14 mark, slamming Aubree Brown to the ground. In all, Towson committed nine free throws in the third quarter and sent Drexel to the line 15 times, where the Dragons hit 12 of the attempts. Washington capped the 24-6 Drexel quarter with a buzzer-beating three-pointer after Bacon had stolen the ball near midcourt.

The lead continued to grow in the fourth quarter as Drexel hit seven of its 11 attempts from the floor. In all, the Dragons shot 45.1 percent (23-for-51) and knocked down eight threes on 15 attempts. They were also 23-for-29 from the line, a season-high in charity stripe points.

The Towson loss knocked the Tigers out of third place in the CAA, and left them as the No. 4 seed in the upcoming CAA Tournament. Towson will play the host Delaware, seeded fifth, as UNCW leapfrogged both in the final weekend to earn the No. 3 seed. Drexel came into Saturday's action assured of the No. 2 seed.

With the regular season now in the rearview mirror, the Dragons now set their sights on the CAA Tournament, which will take place at the Bob Carpenter Center at Delaware next weekend. The Dragons will take on either seventh-seeded William & Mary or No. 10 Charleston at 5 p.m. on Thursday in the quarterfinals. Drexel has advanced past the quarterfinals in six of the last seven seasons, making four championship game appearances during that span.