Brugler's Big Day Leads Dragons Into Championship Game

Saturday, March 12

Philadelphia, Pa.

1:00 P.M.

Drexel University

26-4,16-2CAA

#5 Charleston

18-13,9-9CAA

Col. of Charleston

Drexel

Photo by: Gavin Baker / Sideline Photos LLC

Brugler's Big Day Leads Dragons Into Championship Game

3/12/2022 3:59:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - Tessa Brugler scored 22 and had a Drexel CAA tournament game record 16 rebounds as the Dragons women's basketball team defeated the College of Charleston 71-65 in the CAA semifinals on Saturday afternoon.

It is Drexel's fourth consecutive trip to the championship game as it looks for its second straight title.

BY THE NUMBERS

Brugler posted her second consecutive double-double and her 12th of the season. She also had her third game with 20 or more points this season and addedthree blocks.
Keishana Washington opened the game with 11 points in the first quarter, on her way to 25 in the contest.
Hannah Nihill scored 10 for the Dragons and had six assists. Mariah Leonard pulled in 10 rebounds.
Maura Hendrixson posted a career-best nine assists. She now has 15 dimes and just one turnover in the tournament.
Drexel dished a CAA season-high 28 assists in the game, including dimes on its first 20 made baskets.

HISTORICAL NOTES

With her scoring total, Washington passes Gabriela Marginean for the most career points in the CAA tournament in Drexel history. Washington has now tallied 153 in her career.
Brugler etched her name in the DU CAA tournament record book in a couple places. Her 16 rebounds are the most in a single game, surpassing Kamile Nacickaite and Bailey Greenberg who each had 15. She also tied Taylor Wootton with three blocks in a single game.
Hendrixson matched the single game assist record in CAA tournament games. Hollie Mershon also had nine against Delaware in the 2013 title match.
Two team single game CAA tournament records fell as well. The 31 field goals surpass the mark of 28 against Georgia State in 2007 and the 28 assists top the 25 against William & Mary in the 2013 quarterfinals.
Nihill is set to become the first player to appear in four championship games since Shahida Williams and TJ Jordan for Old Dominion from 2005-08.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Dragons came out firing, scoring the first two buckets of the game. After a couple baskets from the Cougars, Drexel went on a 9-0 run, forcing a CofC timeout at the 5:18 mark of the first quarter.
DU continued to score after the timeout, extending the lead to 17-4. Charleston found its legs and made back-to-back baskets, but Drexel ended the frame on a 7-2 run to take a 24-11 advantage after 10 minutes.
It was another 9-0 run for DU to open the second with the Dragons taking their largest lead to that point at 33-11. The teams played evenly as the stanza progressed with the Dragons taking a 40-18 lead into the break.
In the first half, the DU defense was on full display, holding Charleston to 6-of-35 (17.1 percent) from the floor and forced six turnovers.
The Cougars made some noise in the third, going 9-for-15 from the floor, but Brugler helped keep Charleston at arm's length, scoring 12 points and pulling in five boards as the Dragons led 56-40 after three periods.

QUOTABLE
"It was a goal of ours to get to this point since the beginning of the season. When we found out we were hosting, it was a little bit of extra pressure, but it was a pressure this team took on as a privilege. For us to get to the finals and do it they way we did today, I'm just really happy with their performance." –Head Coach Amy Mallon on advancing to the CAA championship game

"We knew what they were going to do, we knew what we wanted to do, and that strong start really helped us. It led to some quick buckets on the offensive end and stops on the defensive end." –Tessa Brugler on the run to open the game.

UP NEXT
Drexel plays in the CAA championship game on Sunday, March 13 against either No. 2 Delaware. Tipoff from the Daskalakis Athletic Center is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.