COMEBACK COMPLETE!! Dragons Rally Past Bucknell To Advance To WNIT Sweet 16

Monday, March 21

Philadelphia, Pa.

6:00 P.M.

Drexel University

28-5,16-2CAA

Bucknell

24-10,12-6Patriot

Bucknell

Drexel

Photo by: Jeff Fannon

COMEBACK COMPLETE!! Dragons Rally Past Bucknell To Advance To WNIT Sweet 16

3/21/2022 7:52:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – Trailing by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter, the Drexel women's basketball team went on a closing 31-11 run in the final seven-and-a-half minutes as the Dragons stunned the Bucknell Bison 61-58 to advance to the Sweet 16 of the WNIT on Monday night.

BY THE NUMBERS

The win is Drexel's 28th of the season, tying the program record for victories in a season.
Keishana Washington netted all of her points in the closing run. She did not score until the 5:40 mark of the fourth before posting 17 of the Dragons final 27 points.
Hannah Nihill led Drexel with 18 points and contributed defensively with four steals.
Mariah Leonard kept the Dragons in the game in the first half, scoring 10 of her 11 points before halftime. It was her first double-figure scoring effort since February 4.
Jasmine Valentine played a huge role in the comeback, scoring a season-high seven points, all in the fourth.
After being held to a -11 rebounding margin in the first three quarters, DU outboarded Bucknell 14-9 in the fourth.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Dragons trailed 47-30 at the 7:29 mark of the fourth after a rough third quarter that saw the Bison outscore Drexel 21-4 and then proceed to drop the first two buckets of the final stanza. Free throws got the comeback started as Leonard hit one and then Nihill connected on all three after getting fouled on a trey.
Washington netted her first points on a layup and free throw with 5:40 remaining. Following that, Maura Hendrixson knocked down a three for her only points of the night, cutting the lead to single digits at 49-40 midway through the frame.
Bucknell brought the lead back to 53-40 before the final surge from the Dragons. 10 points from Washington and five from Valentine pulled DU to 56-55 with 2:25 left.
Each team posted an empty possession on their ensuing set before Drexel got a defensive stop. Valentine gave the Dragons the lead as she pulled in an offensive rebound off a missed three and calmly deposited the putback.
The Bison went back on top briefly, but Washington was fouled on her next drive and hit both free throws to give Drexel the lead to stay.
After a 1-for-4 start, the Dragons got back-to-back threes from Tessa Brugler and Nihill as the two teams went into the first media timeout tied at 8-8. The rest of the frame did not finish as well for the Dragons, who shot 5-for-17 in the first. The defense held, however, forcing seven Bucknell turnovers, allowing the Bison to lead just 14-12 after 10 minutes.
Bucknell scored the first four points of the second quarter, opening a six-point lead before Nihill went on a tear, scoring eight of Drexel's points in a 12-2 run that saw DU go up 24-20 with 3:28 left in the half and hold a 26-22 lead at the break.

QUOTABLE
"Believe it or not, even in the locker room, I was kind of speechless. I'm just so proud of this team. You look at the situation we were in, to score 31 points in one quarter, I think in all the years I've coached at Drexel, this is one of the best games I've ever seen." –Head Coach Amy Mallon on the win against Bucknell.

"I think being down 17, the only thing you can do is be in attack mode. This team has been down before this season and we know what it takes to fight and push to come back and win the game." -Keishana Washington

UP NEXT
Drexel plays its first road game of the WNIT, traveling to Seton Hall on Thursday, March 24. Tipoff from South Orange, N.J. is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.