Washington Eclipses 30, Leonard Scores Game-Winner as Dragons Win CAA Opener

Friday, January 7

Charleston, S.C.

7:00 P.M.

Drexel University

9-2,1-0CAA

College of Charleston

8-4,0-1CAA

Drexel

Col. of Charleston

Photo by: Gavin Baker / Sideline Photos LLC

Washington Eclipses 30, Leonard Scores Game-Winner as Dragons Win CAA Opener

1/7/2022 8:27:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Playing for the first time in 24 days, the Drexel women's basketball team got 33 points from Keishana Washington while Mariah Leonard scored the game-winner with 3.8 seconds left as the Dragons edged the Charleston Cougars 61-60 in the Colonial Athletic Association opener for both teams.

BY THE NUMBERS

It was Washington's third career game with 30 or more points and her fourth consecutive contest scoring upwards of 20.
Tessa Brugler had 13 points and 13 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season. The Dragons combined for three double-doubles in the last two years.
Mariah Leonard also reached double figures in rebounds with 12, her third time this season with 10 or more.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Trailing by one with 14.5 seconds left, the Drexel appeared to score the winning bucket, but a foul was called as Washingon drove to the basket. After a missed shot, CofC got the rebound, but traveled. One the ensuing inbound play, Maura Hendrixson passed it into Leonard who rattled home a layup for the score that clinched the victory for the Dragons.
Starting hot, Washington connected on four of her first five shots, scoring the first nine points of the game. The early shooting helped the Dragons build an 11-2 lead in the first six minutes. She went on to score 11 in the period as Drexel held 17-11 at the end of the frame.
The Cougars responded out of quarter break, tallying the first five points of the second before a Brugler layup stemmed the tide. The momentum shift was shortlived as Charleston used a 12-0 run to go up 28-21 just after the media timeout.
Battling back, Drexel finished the period on a 6-2 spurt as a pull-up from Washington, a pair of free throws from Brugler, and a layup from Jasmine Valentine allowed the Dragons to claw to 30-27 at intermission.
After the Cougars scored the first bucket of the third period, Drexel went on a 13-2 run to go up 40-36 with 3:03 to go in the stanza. As part of the span, Brugler collected her double-double and Tori Hyduke came up with her first block in a Drexel uniform.
In a tight fourth quarter, Drexel was able to push the lead to five on a put back layup from Leonard. Charleston followed with a basket before Hendrixson hit just the Dragons second trey of the evening to go up 55-49 midway through the period.

UP NEXT
Drexel wraps its two-game road trip, heading to Wilmington, N.C. to take on UNCW on Sunday, January 9. Tipoff from Trask Coliseum is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.