Women’s Basketball Pulls Out OT Win at Elon, 55-53

Friday, January 24

Elon, N.C.

7 p.m.

Drexel University

12-6, 5-1CAA

Elon

9-9, 4-3CAA

OT 1

Drexel

Elon

Women’s Basketball Pulls Out OT Win at Elon, 55-53

1/24/2020 9:19:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

ELON, N.C. – The Drexel University women's basketball team (12-6, 5-1 CAA) pulled out an overtime win against the Elon University Phoenix (9-9, 4-3 CAA) by a final of 55-53 from the Schar Center, the site of the 2020 CAA Championships, in Elon, N.C. on Friday evening. The win comes as the fifth-straight victory for the Dragons.

HIGHLIGHTS
* After leading by an many as 12 in the first half, the second half proved to be a close affair with the game heading to overtime, 49-49.
* Sophomore Keishana Washington tied for a team-high 13 points with three three-pointers, three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
* Senior Bailey Greenberg also scored 13 points while going 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. She also tied for a team-high eight rebounds and had two steals and a block.
* Senior Mariah Leonard shot 5-of-9 for 11 points with three rebounds and a block.
* Senior Niki Metzel also grabbed eight rebounds while junior Hannah Nihill dished out a game-high six assists.
* The Dragons are 4-0 in overtime games this year.

GAMEPLAY
Q1 /
Drexel went up 11-3 early behind a 7-0 run with easy baskets from Leonard and two from Brown along with a baseline jumper from Metzel and a trey from Connolly to force an Elon timeout midway through the opening quarter with 5:03 to play. The run turned into a 12-2 stretch with two free throws from Greenberg and a three-pointer off the bench from Washington as the Dragons went up 16-5. Drexel led 18-8 after 10 minutes, forcing six Elon turnovers over the quarter.

Q2 /
Following a layup from Greenberg just over a minute into the quarter, the Dragons had a slight scoring drought while Elon put together a 7-0 run, 20-15. That 3:43 scoreless spell was ended with two Washington free throws to put DU up by seven with just about four minutes on the clock. A short 5-0 Phoenix stretch got Elon within four points with 90 seconds to go. With Drexel up four in the final possession, Bacon chased down an Elon fastbreak opportunity on a hustle play to knock the ball out of bounds. Connolly then blocked a three-pointer in the dying seconds to preserve the Dragons' lead, 24-20.

Q3 /
Elon took its first lead of the game on a three-point play from Brie Perpignan, 27-26, with 7:24 on the clock. Three more lead changes occurred as Drexel was up at the 4:17 media timeout, 30-29. A jumper from Washington with 3:52 to play was Drexel's final basket of the quarter. Elon's Saadia Munford made a layup with under 10 seconds to give the Phoenix a 33-32 lead heading into the fourth.

Q4 /
Washington hit a pair of three-pointers in the opening 1:15 of the fourth quarter to put Drexel up 38-35. The back-and-forth nature continued with both teams within a basket before a Drexel timeout with 5:54 to go. Washington, the team's only scorer in double figures at that point, picked up her fourth foul with 5:36 on the clock and went to the bench. A corner trey from the Phoenix gave them a four-point advantage with 3:10 to play, 47-43, their largest of the game. A jumper from Bacon and then two foul shots from Greenberg evened the score at 47-47. Greenberg tied it up once again at 49-49 with a pair of free throws. In what could have been the final possession, Elon lost the ball out of bounds, giving the Dragons a chance with 5.8 seconds. Nihill's floater did not fall as the game went to overtime.

OT /
Washington fouled out with 1:38 left as Elon hit one of two at the line to go up 52-51. On the missed second free throw, Greenberg was called for a flagrant foul. The Phoenix again only hit one of two, 53-51, but maintained possession. With 52.8 seconds left, Leonard converted a layup and hit the foul shot to put the Dragons up 54-53. Drexel forced two bad Elon shots on the other end to get the ball back with 10.9 seconds. Nihill hit a free throw and then blocked the final Phoenix attempt as DU pulled out the win.

NOTES
* Drexel shot 34.6% (18-of-52) from the floor, 40.0% (4-of-10) from three-point range and 83.3% (15-of-18) from the foul line.
* Elon shot 32.7% (18-of-55) from the field, 26.7% (4-of-15) from beyond the arc and 68.4% (13-of-19) from the free-throw line.
* After 18 points in the first quarter, the Dragons were limited to six in the second and eight in the third. DU finished strong with 17 in the fourth and six in overtime.

NEXT UP
The Dragons continue the road trip at the College of William & Mary Tribe on Sunday, Jan. 26 in Williamsburg, Va. Action tips at 2 p.m. from Kaplan Arena.