Drexel University Athletics
Wednesday, January 13
Philadelphia, Pa.
6 p.m.
Drexel University
5-2,2-0CAA
55
at
58
La Salle
5-6,1-3Atlantic 10
1
2
3
4
F
Drexel
15
14
12
14
55
La Salle
17
12
11
18
58
Women’s Basketball Suffers Narrow Defeat at La Salle
1/13/2021 8:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA – The Drexel University women's basketball team (5-2) dropped a narrow nonconference road contest to the La Salle Explorers (5-6) on Wednesday, Jan. 13 from Tom Gola Arena in Philadelphia, Pa. by a final of 58-55.
HIGHLIGHTS
* The loss came as the Dragons' first to La Salle since 2009, ending the Dragons' six-game winning streak against the City 6 foe.
* The Dragons were hurt by the deep ball in the road matchup as La Salle connected on 10 from beyond the arc, the most DU has given on the season. After attempting 32 shots in the first half, Drexel held La Salle to just 21 looks in the second half with the Explorers hitting 6-of-13 treys in the final two quarters.
* Junior Keishana Washington finished with a team-high 16 points in the effort for DU. Washington was 5-of-12 from the floor in the first half while starting 4-of-4 from behind the arc to lead all scorers with 14 at halftime. The junior guard also had six boards and four assists in the game.
* Junior Maura Hendrixson finished in double figures for the fourth-straight game, the longest streak of her career. Hendrixson connected on three three-pointers and another field goal to total 11 points. She also had three assists, two rebounds and a steal.
* Senior Hannah Nihill put up nine points with a team-high six assists and a game-high four steals to go along with four rebounds in an all-around effort.
* Senior Mariah Leonard notched eight points on an efficient 4-of-5 shooting with a team-high seven rebounds and one steal.
* Freshman Chloe Hodges finished with six points and four rebounds while junior Kate Connolly added five points, three rebounds and a game- and career-high three blocks.
GAMEPLAY
Q1 /
Washington connected of two three-pointers in the opening quarter while Hendrixson added her own trey to give the Dragons an early lift. Trailing midway through the quarter, Hodges knocked down a mid-range jumper to put DU up 10-9. La Salle put together a little 6-0 run to take a four-point edge, 17-13, following a pair of free throws with just about a minute to play. Connolly bookended the quarter, scoring the first points of the game and converting a layup with 20 seconds left as the Dragons trailed by two after 10 minutes, 17-15.
Q2 /
La Salle started the second quarter on another 6-0 run, part of a larger 12-2 stretch, as the Explorers led, 23-15, after calling a timeout with 7:05 left in the half. Washington hit two more treys to get the Dragons back within a basket, 25-23. Leonard and Washington continued the 10-2 stretch to even the score at 25-25 with 4:14 to play. Fatigue set in a bit in the second quarter as the teams combined to finish the half 2-of-15 from the floor. A three-pointer put La Salle back on top before Leonard scored the last basket with 2:51 to go to pull DU within one. Hodges hit two from the line with under a minute before the Explorers went 1-of-2 on the other end as the score was tied at halftime, 29-29.
Q3 /
A low-scoring third saw the Dragons gain a one-point edge. Drexel held the Explorers to just 4-of-10 shooting. Nihill dropped in a jumper and a trey late in the period to put DU up 41-37 before a late three-pointer from La Salle. Drexel held a 41-40 advantage heading into the fourth.
Q4 /
Combined with that late three-pointer, an 11-2 run put La Salle on top, 48-43, in the fourth. Nihill started a quick 7-0 run for Drexel over a 90-second span along with Hodges' basket and Hendrixson's three to give the Dragons a 50-48 lead once again. The Explorers responded with back-to-back three-pointers to go up 54-50, taking the lead for good. Hendrixson made her final basket of the night with 3:40 on the clock but then the Dragons did not convert again until Nihill's field goal with 31 seconds remaining. It seemed like DU caught a break when La Salle missed two free throws on a trip to the line with under 10 seconds left but the Explorers came up with the offensive board and hit that pair to go up by three. With the ball near the Drexel bench, Connolly took a contested look to tie the game but could not get it to fall as the game ended with La Salle on top, 58-55. It came as the Dragons' first loss at Tom Gola Arena since 2008.
BY THE NUMBERS
* The contest featured 17 lead changes and seven times with the game tied.
* Drexel forced 20 La Salle turnovers, outscoring them in points off miscues, 17-11.
* La Salle was lifted in the bench battle, 18-6, and second-chance points, 9-2.
* Rebounds were even, 39-39.
* Drexel shot 34.4% (22-of-64) from the floor, 40.0% (8-of-20) from three-point range and 75.0% (3-of-4) from the foul line.
* La Salle shot 39.6% (21-of-53) from the field, 35.7% (10-of-28) from beyond the arc and 46.2% (6-of-13) from the free-throw line.
NEXT UP
Drexel is scheduled to visit William & Mary on Saturday, Jan. 16 and Sunday, Jan. 17 at 2 p.m. each day for the CAA weekend series.
HIGHLIGHTS
* The loss came as the Dragons' first to La Salle since 2009, ending the Dragons' six-game winning streak against the City 6 foe.
* The Dragons were hurt by the deep ball in the road matchup as La Salle connected on 10 from beyond the arc, the most DU has given on the season. After attempting 32 shots in the first half, Drexel held La Salle to just 21 looks in the second half with the Explorers hitting 6-of-13 treys in the final two quarters.
* Junior Keishana Washington finished with a team-high 16 points in the effort for DU. Washington was 5-of-12 from the floor in the first half while starting 4-of-4 from behind the arc to lead all scorers with 14 at halftime. The junior guard also had six boards and four assists in the game.
* Junior Maura Hendrixson finished in double figures for the fourth-straight game, the longest streak of her career. Hendrixson connected on three three-pointers and another field goal to total 11 points. She also had three assists, two rebounds and a steal.
* Senior Hannah Nihill put up nine points with a team-high six assists and a game-high four steals to go along with four rebounds in an all-around effort.
* Senior Mariah Leonard notched eight points on an efficient 4-of-5 shooting with a team-high seven rebounds and one steal.
* Freshman Chloe Hodges finished with six points and four rebounds while junior Kate Connolly added five points, three rebounds and a game- and career-high three blocks.
GAMEPLAY
Q1 /
Washington connected of two three-pointers in the opening quarter while Hendrixson added her own trey to give the Dragons an early lift. Trailing midway through the quarter, Hodges knocked down a mid-range jumper to put DU up 10-9. La Salle put together a little 6-0 run to take a four-point edge, 17-13, following a pair of free throws with just about a minute to play. Connolly bookended the quarter, scoring the first points of the game and converting a layup with 20 seconds left as the Dragons trailed by two after 10 minutes, 17-15.
Q2 /
La Salle started the second quarter on another 6-0 run, part of a larger 12-2 stretch, as the Explorers led, 23-15, after calling a timeout with 7:05 left in the half. Washington hit two more treys to get the Dragons back within a basket, 25-23. Leonard and Washington continued the 10-2 stretch to even the score at 25-25 with 4:14 to play. Fatigue set in a bit in the second quarter as the teams combined to finish the half 2-of-15 from the floor. A three-pointer put La Salle back on top before Leonard scored the last basket with 2:51 to go to pull DU within one. Hodges hit two from the line with under a minute before the Explorers went 1-of-2 on the other end as the score was tied at halftime, 29-29.
Q3 /
A low-scoring third saw the Dragons gain a one-point edge. Drexel held the Explorers to just 4-of-10 shooting. Nihill dropped in a jumper and a trey late in the period to put DU up 41-37 before a late three-pointer from La Salle. Drexel held a 41-40 advantage heading into the fourth.
Q4 /
Combined with that late three-pointer, an 11-2 run put La Salle on top, 48-43, in the fourth. Nihill started a quick 7-0 run for Drexel over a 90-second span along with Hodges' basket and Hendrixson's three to give the Dragons a 50-48 lead once again. The Explorers responded with back-to-back three-pointers to go up 54-50, taking the lead for good. Hendrixson made her final basket of the night with 3:40 on the clock but then the Dragons did not convert again until Nihill's field goal with 31 seconds remaining. It seemed like DU caught a break when La Salle missed two free throws on a trip to the line with under 10 seconds left but the Explorers came up with the offensive board and hit that pair to go up by three. With the ball near the Drexel bench, Connolly took a contested look to tie the game but could not get it to fall as the game ended with La Salle on top, 58-55. It came as the Dragons' first loss at Tom Gola Arena since 2008.
BY THE NUMBERS
* The contest featured 17 lead changes and seven times with the game tied.
* Drexel forced 20 La Salle turnovers, outscoring them in points off miscues, 17-11.
* La Salle was lifted in the bench battle, 18-6, and second-chance points, 9-2.
* Rebounds were even, 39-39.
* Drexel shot 34.4% (22-of-64) from the floor, 40.0% (8-of-20) from three-point range and 75.0% (3-of-4) from the foul line.
* La Salle shot 39.6% (21-of-53) from the field, 35.7% (10-of-28) from beyond the arc and 46.2% (6-of-13) from the free-throw line.
NEXT UP
Drexel is scheduled to visit William & Mary on Saturday, Jan. 16 and Sunday, Jan. 17 at 2 p.m. each day for the CAA weekend series.
Team Stats
Drexel
LaS
FG%
.344
.396
3FG%
.400
.357
FT%
.750
.462
RB
39
39
TO
14
20
STL
9
6
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
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