Women’s Basketball Drops Saturday Contest Behind Elon’s Last-Second Three

Saturday, January 23

Daskalakis Athletic Center

1 p.m.

Drexel University

6-4,3-2CAA

Elon

6-3,2-1CAA

Elon

Drexel

Women’s Basketball Drops Saturday Contest Behind Elon’s Last-Second Three

1/23/2021 3:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – The Drexel University women's basketball team (6-4, 3-2 CAA) dropped a heartbreaker in the final seconds on Saturday afternoon at the DAC to the Elon University Phoenix (6-3, 2-1 CAA) by a final of 59-57.

HIGHLIGHTS
* Trailing by eight with five and a half minutes to play, the Dragons clawed back to take the lead behind senior Mariah Leonard's go-ahead basket with 10 seconds to play. Elon responded on the other end with a dagger three-pointer with 0.6 on the clock for the win.
* Senior Hannah Nihill tied for a game-high 16 points with six steals, three assists and two rebounds. The six steals tied a career high and brought her into the program's all-time leaderboard with 195 career steals as she passed former teammate Aubree Brown (193). Nihill is now tied for ninth all-time.
* Junior Keishana Washington also finished with 16 points along with two rebounds, one assist and one steal.
* Senior Mariah Leonard scored 14 points on 7-of-14 shooting with nine rebounds.
* Junior Maura Hendrixson dished out seven assists in the effort while committing just one turnover.

GAMEPLAY
Q1 /
Drexel held a 13-10 edge after 10 minutes. Six Dragons scored points in the opening period in the balanced beginning to the contest. Hendrixson connected on her only three-pointer as DU ended the frame on a 7-2 run.

Q2 /
Elon outscored Drexel 14-10 in the period to take a 24-23 lead into halftime. Valentine had four points off the bench in the second. Leonard, Nihill, Valentine and Washington all had four points at the break. It was a back and forth first half that featured five lead changes and five moments with the game tied. Drexel and Elon both struggled from deep in the half with the Dragons going 1-of-6 while the Phoenix were 2-of-15 from beyond the arc.

Q3 /
A 5-0 Elon run in the middle of the quarter helped the Phoenix push their lead to seven at 39-32 with four minutes to play. Drexel responded with a 6-0 run before Elon knocked down a three to push it back to four with 1:11 on the clock. A trey in the final seconds for the Phoenix made the score 47-42 in favor of Elon after three quarters.

Q4 /
Another 6-0 run for Drexel got the Dragons within one again with 2:37 to play but a foul on the other end sent Elon to the line, pushing DU's deficit back to three. With 1:39 on the clock, Nihill knocked down a pair of free throws to make the score 56-55. With the ball back in Drexel's hands following a missed trey by Elon, Leonard came through with a basket in the lane with 10 seconds on the clock. The forward drew a foul on the play but missed the free throw, though Drexel now led 57-56. A timeout by the Phoenix led to them advancing the ball. With under a second on the clock, Elon's Jaylin Powell connected on a straightaway three-pointer, a dagger in the final second. Drexel got the ball back with 0.6 seconds following a timeout but the in-bounds pass was tipped as the clock expired with Elon holding on for the win.

BY THE NUMBERS
* Drexel shot 41.0% (25-of-61) from the floor, 27.3% (3-of-11) from three-point range and 80.0% (4-of-5) from the foul line.
* Elon shot 35.9% (23-of-64) from the field, 25.8% (8-of-31) from beyond the arc and 100.0% (5-of-5) from the free-throw line.

NEXT UP
Drexel and Elon meeting again tomorrow, Sunday, Jan. 24 at 1 p.m. on FloHoops.

MARIAH LEONARD AND THE FOUL? Drexel takes the lead. pic.twitter.com/kA8NRZXQG2 — Drexel Women's Basketball (@DrexelWBB) January 23, 2021

6?? steals on the day for Nihill ties her career high. — Drexel Women's Basketball (@DrexelWBB) January 23, 2021

Hendrixson ?? Leonard pic.twitter.com/gGKiUuux3t — Drexel Women's Basketball (@DrexelWBB) January 23, 2021