Drexel University Athletics
Monday, November 2
Philadelphia, Pa.
6 p.m.
Drexel University
vs
Marist
11/1/2026 11:25:00 AM | Women's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA - The Drexel women's basketball team is set to begin its 2026-27 campaign on its home court on Monday night against the Marist Red Foxes. Action is set for 6 p.m. on FloCollege.
Last Year Recap
The Drexel women's basketball team, under the leadership of sixth-year head coach Amy Mallon, finished 21-10 overall and 13-5 in the CAA, securing the program's 12th consecutive winning season in 2025-26. Led by First Team All-CAA and All-Big 5 selection Amaris Baker, Drexel earned the third seed in the CAA Tournament, advancing to the semifinals before receiving an at-large bid to the WNIT, marking the program's fifth postseason appearance in the last six seasons. Baker paced the Dragons with 19.1 points per game, ranking second in the conference and among the nation's leaders, while scoring in double figures in 28 of Drexel's 31 games.
Joining Baker in the conference's postseason honors was junior Deja Evans, who anchored one of the league's top defensive units en route to CAA All-Defensive Team recognition. Evans averaged 9.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest while continuing her climb in the Drexel record book with 109 career blocks, good for fourth all-time. Junior Laine McGurk also earned All-CAA and All-Big 5 Second Team honors following a breakout campaign in which she averaged 12.6 points per game and emerged as a consistent scoring option alongside Baker.
The Dragons opened the season with a statement road victory at Pitt and added key non-conference wins over Penn and Temple as part of their Philadelphia Big 5 slate. Drexel posted an 11-3 mark inside the Daskalakis Athletic Center, highlighted by a 65-63 overtime victory against North Carolina A&T to close out the home portion of the regular season.
New Faces In New Places
Two players have joined the Dragons for the 2026-27 campaign via the transfer portal in the offseason. Aisha Dabo was the first to join the Dragons. A familiar face to not only Drexel, but the CAA as a whole, Dabo joins the Dragons after spending the last three seasons on the court at Hampton following two seasons at Massachusetts. In 2025-26, she appeared in all 31 games and averaged 6.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest while recording 21 blocked shots and 18 steals. She scored in double figures six times, including a 27-point performance against Radford that also featured seven rebounds and four blocked shots. During the 2024-25 campaign, Dabo started 30 of 31 games, averaged 8.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, scored in double figures 14 times and recorded three double-doubles while finishing second on the team with 21 three-pointers. She earned CAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll with High Honors recognition in 2023-24. Prior to her collegiate career, Dabo was ranked as the No. 3 wing player and No. 24 overall prospect in Georgia as a senior at Forsyth Central High School, earning two First Team All-Region selections and preseason Second Team All-State honors.
The second player to join the Dragons this season is Meliah Van-Otoo. Van-Otoo arrives in University City after four seasons at Loyola Maryland, where she appeared in 81 career games and made 16 starts. During the 2024-25 season, she played in 27 games and averaged 3.9 points per game while tying her season high with 14 points twice against American. She also recorded a season-best five assists against Haverford. In 2023-24, Van-Otoo appeared in 30 games with 10 starts and posted career highs of 4.8 points and 1.6 assists per game. She scored a career-best 15 points against Bucknell and registered six steals against Lafayette. Before college, Van-Otoo was a standout multi-sport athlete at Westtown School, competing in basketball, track and field and softball. She earned Friends Schools League Honorable Mention honors from 2019-22, was selected as a Philly All-American in 2022, helped Westtown claim the 2021-22 PIAA State Championship and won Friends Schools League titles in 2019-20 and 2021-22.
Don't Forget About Us!
On top of the two transfers, Drexel has brought in four freshman, Megan Rullo, Emma Montanari, Miley Malcolm and Ava Fajardo.
Rullo comes to Drexel following an accomplished multi-sport career at Cardinal O'Hara. A four-year member of the basketball team and three-year field hockey player, she helped lead the Lions to the 2024 PIAA 6A Girls Basketball State Championship while earning Third Team All-Catholic and Second Team All-Delco honors. On the field hockey pitch, Rullo garnered Second Team All-Catholic and All-Delco recognition. As a senior, Rullo earned First Team All-PCL, First Team All-Delco and Third Team All-State honors after leading Cardinal O'Hara in points, rebounds and assists. She was selected to compete in both the Philadelphia All-American Game and the Philly Labor Classic All-Star Game and was recognized with the Heart of a Lion Award.
Montanari arrives at Drexel after a highly successful four-year varsity career at Est Lincoln High School. She earned All-Conference honors three times and was named Conference Player of the Year once. Montanari also collected All-District recognition twice and was selected to the High School OT All-State Team on two occasions. During her prep career, she helped her team reach the state regional finals and was part of four High School Christmas Tournament championship teams. In 2025, Montanari was named the High School Christmas Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Fajardo joins the Dragons after spending her freshman season of high school at Gill St. Bernard's before completing her career at Blair Academy. A four-year varsity player, she also competed on the JV girls lacrosse team. Internationally, Fajardo represented the Philippine National Team three times and helped the program earn first-place finishes in the FIBA U16 Division B Asia Championship in 2023 and the U18 Division B Asia Championship in 2024. She also earned Game MVP honors at the Mecca Showcase in both 2024 and 2025 and was named Game MVP at the Rose Classic and HoopGroup events in 2025.
Malcolm comes to Drexel following a four-year varsity career at Porter Ridge High School in Indian Trail, N.C. She currently holds the county record for assists in a game with 17 and served as a team captain for the Pirates. Malcolm earned All-Conference honors in 2025 while helping Porter Ridge capture a conference championship. She was selected All-Conference again in 2026 and helped lead the Pirates to a second consecutive conference title.
All-Time Series
Drexel and Marist University will meet for the fifth time in program history, with the Dragons holding a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series. After dropping the first meeting, 52-50, in the 2021-22 season, Drexel has responded with three consecutive victories and has outscored the Red Foxes 186-150 during that stretch.
The Dragons earned a 51-36 win in Poughkeepsie during the 2023-24 campaign before defending home court with a 64-53 victory in Philadelphia in 2024-25. Most recently, Drexel opened the 2025-26 season with a 71-61 road win at Marist behind 27 points from Amaris Baker.
Drexel enters the matchup having won three straight against the Red Foxes, while each program has won once on its opponent's home floor.
Last Time Against Marist
The Drexel women's basketball team defeated the Marist Red Foxes, 71-61, on Friday night in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Amaris Baker scored a season-high 27 points to help Drexel begin the season with a 2-0 record.
Amaris Baker scored the 1000th point of her career in the first quarter of the game. The graduate student went on to shoot 10-for-20 with three three-pointers.
Deja Evans pieced together her second consecutive double-double after scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. The last time a Dragon has had consecutive double-doubles was in March of 2022 when Tessa Brugler had two straight.
Laine McGurk scored 15 points, while Mariah Watkins chipped 10 points and corralled eight rebounds. The last time four Dragons scored double digits was on February 9, 2025 against UNCW.
Looking Ahead
The Dragons stay in University City, but will travel down 33rd Street to play at The Palestra against Penn. Action against the Quakers is set for 1 p.m. on Friday, November 6.
Last Year Recap
The Drexel women's basketball team, under the leadership of sixth-year head coach Amy Mallon, finished 21-10 overall and 13-5 in the CAA, securing the program's 12th consecutive winning season in 2025-26. Led by First Team All-CAA and All-Big 5 selection Amaris Baker, Drexel earned the third seed in the CAA Tournament, advancing to the semifinals before receiving an at-large bid to the WNIT, marking the program's fifth postseason appearance in the last six seasons. Baker paced the Dragons with 19.1 points per game, ranking second in the conference and among the nation's leaders, while scoring in double figures in 28 of Drexel's 31 games.
Joining Baker in the conference's postseason honors was junior Deja Evans, who anchored one of the league's top defensive units en route to CAA All-Defensive Team recognition. Evans averaged 9.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest while continuing her climb in the Drexel record book with 109 career blocks, good for fourth all-time. Junior Laine McGurk also earned All-CAA and All-Big 5 Second Team honors following a breakout campaign in which she averaged 12.6 points per game and emerged as a consistent scoring option alongside Baker.
The Dragons opened the season with a statement road victory at Pitt and added key non-conference wins over Penn and Temple as part of their Philadelphia Big 5 slate. Drexel posted an 11-3 mark inside the Daskalakis Athletic Center, highlighted by a 65-63 overtime victory against North Carolina A&T to close out the home portion of the regular season.
New Faces In New Places
Two players have joined the Dragons for the 2026-27 campaign via the transfer portal in the offseason. Aisha Dabo was the first to join the Dragons. A familiar face to not only Drexel, but the CAA as a whole, Dabo joins the Dragons after spending the last three seasons on the court at Hampton following two seasons at Massachusetts. In 2025-26, she appeared in all 31 games and averaged 6.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest while recording 21 blocked shots and 18 steals. She scored in double figures six times, including a 27-point performance against Radford that also featured seven rebounds and four blocked shots. During the 2024-25 campaign, Dabo started 30 of 31 games, averaged 8.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, scored in double figures 14 times and recorded three double-doubles while finishing second on the team with 21 three-pointers. She earned CAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll with High Honors recognition in 2023-24. Prior to her collegiate career, Dabo was ranked as the No. 3 wing player and No. 24 overall prospect in Georgia as a senior at Forsyth Central High School, earning two First Team All-Region selections and preseason Second Team All-State honors.
The second player to join the Dragons this season is Meliah Van-Otoo. Van-Otoo arrives in University City after four seasons at Loyola Maryland, where she appeared in 81 career games and made 16 starts. During the 2024-25 season, she played in 27 games and averaged 3.9 points per game while tying her season high with 14 points twice against American. She also recorded a season-best five assists against Haverford. In 2023-24, Van-Otoo appeared in 30 games with 10 starts and posted career highs of 4.8 points and 1.6 assists per game. She scored a career-best 15 points against Bucknell and registered six steals against Lafayette. Before college, Van-Otoo was a standout multi-sport athlete at Westtown School, competing in basketball, track and field and softball. She earned Friends Schools League Honorable Mention honors from 2019-22, was selected as a Philly All-American in 2022, helped Westtown claim the 2021-22 PIAA State Championship and won Friends Schools League titles in 2019-20 and 2021-22.
Don't Forget About Us!
On top of the two transfers, Drexel has brought in four freshman, Megan Rullo, Emma Montanari, Miley Malcolm and Ava Fajardo.
Rullo comes to Drexel following an accomplished multi-sport career at Cardinal O'Hara. A four-year member of the basketball team and three-year field hockey player, she helped lead the Lions to the 2024 PIAA 6A Girls Basketball State Championship while earning Third Team All-Catholic and Second Team All-Delco honors. On the field hockey pitch, Rullo garnered Second Team All-Catholic and All-Delco recognition. As a senior, Rullo earned First Team All-PCL, First Team All-Delco and Third Team All-State honors after leading Cardinal O'Hara in points, rebounds and assists. She was selected to compete in both the Philadelphia All-American Game and the Philly Labor Classic All-Star Game and was recognized with the Heart of a Lion Award.
Montanari arrives at Drexel after a highly successful four-year varsity career at Est Lincoln High School. She earned All-Conference honors three times and was named Conference Player of the Year once. Montanari also collected All-District recognition twice and was selected to the High School OT All-State Team on two occasions. During her prep career, she helped her team reach the state regional finals and was part of four High School Christmas Tournament championship teams. In 2025, Montanari was named the High School Christmas Tournament Most Valuable Player.
Fajardo joins the Dragons after spending her freshman season of high school at Gill St. Bernard's before completing her career at Blair Academy. A four-year varsity player, she also competed on the JV girls lacrosse team. Internationally, Fajardo represented the Philippine National Team three times and helped the program earn first-place finishes in the FIBA U16 Division B Asia Championship in 2023 and the U18 Division B Asia Championship in 2024. She also earned Game MVP honors at the Mecca Showcase in both 2024 and 2025 and was named Game MVP at the Rose Classic and HoopGroup events in 2025.
Malcolm comes to Drexel following a four-year varsity career at Porter Ridge High School in Indian Trail, N.C. She currently holds the county record for assists in a game with 17 and served as a team captain for the Pirates. Malcolm earned All-Conference honors in 2025 while helping Porter Ridge capture a conference championship. She was selected All-Conference again in 2026 and helped lead the Pirates to a second consecutive conference title.
All-Time Series
Drexel and Marist University will meet for the fifth time in program history, with the Dragons holding a 3-1 advantage in the all-time series. After dropping the first meeting, 52-50, in the 2021-22 season, Drexel has responded with three consecutive victories and has outscored the Red Foxes 186-150 during that stretch.
The Dragons earned a 51-36 win in Poughkeepsie during the 2023-24 campaign before defending home court with a 64-53 victory in Philadelphia in 2024-25. Most recently, Drexel opened the 2025-26 season with a 71-61 road win at Marist behind 27 points from Amaris Baker.
Drexel enters the matchup having won three straight against the Red Foxes, while each program has won once on its opponent's home floor.
Last Time Against Marist
The Drexel women's basketball team defeated the Marist Red Foxes, 71-61, on Friday night in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Amaris Baker scored a season-high 27 points to help Drexel begin the season with a 2-0 record.
Amaris Baker scored the 1000th point of her career in the first quarter of the game. The graduate student went on to shoot 10-for-20 with three three-pointers.
Deja Evans pieced together her second consecutive double-double after scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. The last time a Dragon has had consecutive double-doubles was in March of 2022 when Tessa Brugler had two straight.
Laine McGurk scored 15 points, while Mariah Watkins chipped 10 points and corralled eight rebounds. The last time four Dragons scored double digits was on February 9, 2025 against UNCW.
Looking Ahead
The Dragons stay in University City, but will travel down 33rd Street to play at The Palestra against Penn. Action against the Quakers is set for 1 p.m. on Friday, November 6.
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