Women’s Basketball Holds Off Delaware for 63-59 Homecoming OT Win

Sunday, January 19

Daskalakis Athletic Center

2 p.m.

Drexel University

11-6,4-1CAA

Delaware

5-11,1-4CAA

OT 1

Delaware

Drexel

Women’s Basketball Holds Off Delaware for 63-59 Homecoming OT Win

1/19/2020 4:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – The Drexel University women's basketball team (11-6, 4-1 CAA) held off the University of Delaware Blue Hens (5-11, 1-4 CAA) for a homecoming win by a final of 63-59 in overtime from the Daskalakis Athletic Center on Sunday afternoon.

HIGHLIGHTS
* The win comes as the fourth-straight for Drexel as the Dragons improved to 8-1 at home.
* The Dragons took their largest lead (12) in Sunday's game midway through the third quarter. But the Blue Hens fought back immediately with a 12-0 run to tie it up. In the final seconds of the fourth, Delaware's Kayla Shaw hit a game-tying three-pointer with time expiring to send the game into overtime, 55-55.
* Drexel prevailed in extra five-minute period, going 6-of-8 from the free-throw line while senior Niki Metzel opened the frame with a jumper.
* Senior Bailey Greenberg scored a game-high 26 points behind 10-of-18 shooting. Late in the fourth quarter, Greenberg moved into seventh place on Drexel's all-time scoring list. She now has 1,563 points in her career.
* Senior Aubree Brown scored six points, dished out eight assists and grabbed three rebounds while adding two steals and two blocks in an all-around game. Brown made a key block in the final seconds of the OT period to keep the Dragons ahead.
* Seniors Niki Metzel and Mariah Leonard each finished with nine points on the day. Metzel, in the fourth, and Leonard, in overtime, each made key free throws down the stretch.
* Sophomore Kate Connolly had seven points, all in the first half.
* Junior Hannah Nihill recorded six points, five assists and two steals in the win.

GAMEPLAY
Q1 /
Delaware held a six-point lead at 12-6 before the Dragons closed the gap with baskets from Leonard and Greenberg to get within two. With time winding down, the Blue Hens knocked down a three-pointer before Nihill delivered a floater in the lane with time set to expire. Drexel held a 15-12 edge after 10 minutes.

Q2 /
Drexel took the lead for the first time at 18-17 following a deep two-pointer from Metzel. Connolly then drained a three-pointer to give the Dragons a 21-17 edge with 6:17 to play in the half as Delaware called timeout. The Blue Hens then evened it back up at 21 all. DU made the final two shots of the half to head to the locker room with a 25-21 advantage. Greenberg led Drexel with eight points followed by Connolly with seven.

Q3 /
An 8-2 run helped the Dragons eventually take a 12-point lead, their largest of the game. But the Blue Hens erased the double-digit advantage with a 12-0 stretch to tie it up at 37-37. A layup from Greenberg gave Drexel a two-point lead heading into into the fourth, 39-37.

Q4 /
Greenberg took over for the Dragons in the fourth, scoring 10 of their 16 points while Brown facilitated four assists, half of her total on the day. Delaware took the lead at 44-43 before Greenberg converted a three-point play, starting her own 7-0 run to put DU up six with 3:43 to go. Delaware then tied it up with a 6-0 run, 50-50. A technical foul called on Delaware with 1:02 to play gave Drexel the lead while Metzel hit two clutch free throws with 10 seconds on the clock. But down on the other end, Delaware's Shaw hit the game-tying trey at the buzzer to send it to overtime, 55-55.

OT /
Only one basket was scored in overtime as Metzel knocked down the first shot of the period with 4:33 to go. From there, Drexel won the free-throw contest, making 6-of-8 late to win by four. With Drexel up by two with 18 seconds left, Delaware's Shaw used a screen to get open in the corner but Brown was there this time to block her attempt and preserve the win at the DAC.

NOTES
* Drexel shot 44.6% (25-of-56) from the floor, 12.5% (1-of-8) from three-point range and 80.0% (12-of-15) from the foul line.
* Delaware shot 38.7% (24-of-62) from the field, 28.6% (4-of-14) from deep and 70.0% (7-of-10) from the free-throw line.
* This was the third of five games airing on NBC Sports Philadelphia+ for the Dragons at the DAC this year. Drexel is now 3-0 on NBC Sports Philadelphia+ this year. Future televised games on the network include Feb. 21 vs. William & Mary and March 5 vs. UNCW.

NEXT UP
The Dragons now hit the road to face Elon on Friday, Jan. 24 and William & Mary on Sunday, Jan. 26.