Women’s Basketball Holds Off UNCW for Program’s 600th All-Time Win

Thursday, March 5

Daskalakis Athletic Center

7 p.m.

Drexel University

22-7,15-2CAA

UNCW

9-19,6-11CAA

UNCW

Drexel

Women’s Basketball Holds Off UNCW for Program’s 600th All-Time Win

3/5/2020 9:48:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – The Drexel University women's basketball team (22-7, 15-2 CAA) turned in a close win over the UNCW Seahawks (9-19, 6-11 CAA) on Thursday night by a final of 52-50 from Daskalakis Athletic Center in Philadelphia, Pa.

CAA OUTLOOK
* The Dragons improved to 15-2 in the CAA and close out the regular season on Saturday at home against the College of Charleston.
* With a win on Saturday, the Dragons are guaranteed the No. 1 seed in the CAA Championships and a share of the regular-season conference title. The Dragons would win the regular-season title outright if James Madison loses at William & Mary on Saturday.

HIGHLIGHTS
* The win comes as No. 600 in program history for Drexel. The Dragons are now 600-518 in 38 DI seasons.
* Drexel's 22 regular-season wins are tied for the second most in school history.
* The Dragons trailed for the first three quarter but managed to tie it up twice at 16-16 in the second and 32-32 in the third. Senior Bailey Greenberg scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter, part of an 11-0 run, which gave Drexel its first advantage of the game.
* In addition to her nine fourth-quarter points, Greenberg finished with a game-high 16 points in the win. It marks her 25th game this season in double figures and the 89th time of her career. She also had five rebounds and an assist.
* Senior Mariah Leonard notched eight points in the effort including 4-of-4 at the line. She picked up four boards and a steal.
* Junior Hannah Nihill had six points, five assists, four steals and two rebounds on Thursday.
* Senior Aubree Brown broke into the top-10 on the school's all-time steals list with three on the night. She now has 190 for her career.

GAMEPLAY
Q1 /
Sophomore Kate Connolly's three-pointer with 5:09 to play in the opening quarter broke UNCW's 7-0 run to start the game. The Seahawks led by 12-3 with under four minutes to go. The Dragons then ended the period on a 6-0 run with a layup from Metzel and the final four points from Greenberg to trail by three after 10 minutes, 12-9.

Q2 /
The two teams traded baskets early in the second before Brown evened things up for the first time at 16-16 with a corner trey with 6:54 on the clock. Following the tie, the Seahawks went on a 7-0 stretch. Sophomore Keishana Washington knocked down a trey to make it 23-19 with 2:41 remaining. UNCW took that four-point edge into the locker room.

Q3 /
Drexel's first four points of the second half came at the free-throw line which pulled the Dragons within two, 25-23. UNCW went ahead by six until Washington's second three-pointer of the night cut that in half with under four to play in the third, 29-26. Metzel's basket got DU within one until her foul on the other end led to a three-point play, 32-28. Bacon then hit a long two-pointer while Leonard made two at the line to even it back up, 32-32. A three at the shot clock buzzer kept UNCW on top heading to the fourth, 35-33.

Q4 /
Greenberg started the final quarter with a three-pointer to give Drexel its first lead of the contest, 36-35. Following a shot clock violation on the other end, Greenberg came right back and converted an old fashioned three-point play, 39-35. The senior kept the 9-0 running going by herself with another trey. Bacon got involved with a fastbreak layup to make it 44-35 in favor of Drexel, capping the 11-0 stretch. UNCW fought back to make it a close game. With under a minute, the Seahawks' GiGi Smith hit a three to make it a two-point affair. The Dragons were not able to covert on the other end as UNCW got the ball back with 24.0 seconds. DU almost knocked it away twice as the defense was able to smoother the final shot attempt as the 52-50 score held for Drexel.

BY THE NUMBERS
* Drexel shot 34.0% (18-of-53) from the field, 35.3% (6-of-17) from beyond the arc 76.9% (10-of-13) from the free-throw line.
* UNCW shot 42.6% (20-of-47) from the floor, 33.3% (7-of-21) from three-point range and 100.0% (3-of-3) from the foul line.
* Drexel forced at least 20 turnovers for the 16th time this season and scored 17 points off those miscues.
* UNCW capitalized on its second-chance opportunities, outscoring Drexel, 19-4.

NEXT UP
Drexel closes out the regular season against the College of Charleston on Saturday, March 7 at 1 p.m. from the DAC. Drexel will recognize its six seniors (four players, two team managers) before tip.

CAA TOURNAMENT
The 2020 CAA Women's Basketball Championship presented by Sonabank is located at the Schar Center in Elon, N.C. from Wednesday, March 11 through Saturday, March 14. Tickets are available for purchase here.