Women’s Basketball Drops CAA Opener at the College of Charleston

Friday, January 3

Charleston, S.C.

6:30 p.m.

Drexel University

7-6, 0-1CAA

College of Charleston

8-4, 1-0CAA

Drexel

Charleston

Women’s Basketball Drops CAA Opener at the College of Charleston

1/3/2020 8:26:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Drexel University women's basketball team (7-6, 0-1 CAA) dropped its Colonial Athletic Association opener to the College of Charleston Cougars (8-4, 1-0 CAA) to begin conference play on Friday evening from TD Arena in Charleston, S.C. by a final of 73-59.

HIGHLIGHTS
* The loss snapped a four-game winning streak against the Cougars.
* Drexel held the lead for the final time late in the second quarter.
* CoC used a pair of 8-0 runs in the third quarter to gain control of the game.
* Senior Bailey Greenberg finished with a team-high 18 points and nine rebounds.
* Senior Mariah Leonard finished with a career-high 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting. She also grabbed five rebounds, all on the offensive glass, and had four assists.
* Senior Aubree Brown hit two three-pointers for six points, recorded five rebounds, dished out four assists and had a team-high two steals.
* Junior Hannah Nihill had five points and a game-high six assists.
* Sophomore Kate Connolly hit two treys and recorded eight points on the night.

GAMEPLAY
Q1 /
Play started slowly for Drexel as the team committed two shot clock violations early. But the Dragons settled in as Greenberg knocked down two three-pointers to give DU its first lead. Nihill drew a pair of fouls and knocked down three free throws at the line. Following an 0-for-4 shooting drought late, Connolly drilled a trey in the corner to give Drexel an 14-13 edge after 10 minutes.

Q2 /
After Charleston scored the first eight of 12 second-quarter points to take a 21-18 advantage, Drexel fought back and regained the lead with a quick 5-0 run capped by another Connolly three pointer into a media timeout at 4:57. The teams exchanged baskets before an 11-0 Cougar run gave Charleston a 34-25 lead, forcing the Dragons to call a timeout with 46.5 to play in the half. Leonard made a short jumper to snap the run as Drexel trailed by seven at halftime, 34-27.

Bailey Greenberg led Drexel with 10 points at the break followed by Kate Connolly with eight, Mariah Leonard with six and Nihill with three.

Q3 /
Drexel trimmed the deficit down to two points at 39-37 with 7:17 to play in the third after two baskets from Leonard to bring her up to 10 points on the night and a trey from each Greenberg and Brown. But the Cougars pushed their lead back up to eight with a 6-0 run as DU called a timeout with 4:12 to play, 45-37. Leonard ended CoC's 8-0 scoring run and Drexel's almost five-minute scoring drought with a layup at 2:30. A subsequent Drexel steal and layup by Nihill trimmed the edge down to six, 47-41. But following Nihill's basket, the Dragons failed to score over the final 2:14 as the Cougars went on an 8-0 run over the final 1:01 to take a 14-point lead into the fourth quarter, 55-41.

Q4 /
Charleston maintained its double-digit advantage for a majority of the fourth quarter. CoC took its largest at 15 at 58-43. The Dragons were not able to get it down to single digits until Greenberg hit a free throw with 91 seconds to play, 65-56. Charleston won by a 73-59 final.

NOTES
* Drexel shot 36.7% (22-of-60) from the floor, 33.3% (9-of-27) from three-point range and 66.7% (6-of-9) from the foul line.
* The College of Charleston shot 57.8% (26-of-45) from the field, 57.9% (11-of-19) from deep and 52.6% (10-of-19) from the free-throw line.
* Drexel outrebounded the Cougars, 32-29, and grabbed 14 offensive boards.
* DU led second-chance points, 13-4, and fastbreak points, 6-4.
* CoC led points off turnovers, 15-11. Drexel committed 16 miscues to Charleston's 14.
* Points in the paint were even, 20-20.

NEXT UP
Drexel continues conference play on the road against the UNCW Seahawks in Wilmington, N.C. on Sunday, Jan. 5 at 1 p.m.