The Drexel University women’s basketball team continues to impress fans as they have earned themselves a 14-5 record and 6-1 in Colonial Athletic Association play. They have currently won the last four games in a row. After traveling to Boston to play Northeastern University Jan. 19, the Dragons went to Hempstead, New York, where they played Hofstra University Jan. 21.
Northeastern put up the first shot of the game, but the rest of the first quarter was a back-and-forth battle. The teams were tied 10-10 heading into the second quarter. Senior Megan Marecic had five of those points. Freshman Hannah Nihill had a jumper in the first two minutes of play, and sophomore Aubree Brown sunk a three-pointer with 3:17 to play in the first.
Both teams were much more aggressive in the second quarter as the scores started rolling in. Nihill was sent to the line early for a couple free throws. With 6:28 to play in the first half, Northeastern took a lead of 17-15, but senior Kelsi Lidge wasn’t going to let that happen. She brought the Dragons back up to the leading position with just under four minutes to go. With 2:08 to play, she nailed a three-pointer, and the Dragons were in control. Clean shots from Brown and senior Sara Woods increased the lead to 27-23. With a fastbreak and a second before the halftime buzzer sound, Brown hit a layup in the paint to give the Dragons a six-point lead.
After the first half, seven of the eight Dragons who had seen minutes had scored at least once. Their team had shot 11-26 from the floor and had made four of their six free throws. They had only five turnovers compared to Northeastern’s nine. The second quarter was the last time Northeastern would tie or lead the game.
The Dragons slowly increased their lead throughout the third quarter with their greatest lead being 48-30 with 2:25 to play. The end of the third quarter put the Dragons up 50-36 — a comfortable lead for the team.
As the final quarter was coming to an end, Lidge continued to lead the team to a score of 59-48 with 2:10 left in the game. About a minute later, Marecic was sent to the free throw line and made both of her shots. A fastbreak play and a good layup from sophomore Bailey Greenberg increased the lead to 13 points with 56 seconds left. A small surge from Northeastern put them within seven points of the Dragons, but time was up.
In the final seconds of the game, the Dragons kept pushing for an even bigger lead. The final score was 69-58 and gave the Dragons another win in CAA play. Lidge scored 21 points just two off her career high, brought in five assists and two blocks. Marecic finished with 13 points, and Brown finished with seven points and five assists. The Dragons converted 16 points on turnovers and shot better than Northeastern overall.
With this confidence, they turned to their next competition — Hofstra University.
The first three minutes of the first quarter were completely commanded by the Dragons. A lead of 15-3 heading into the second quarter gave the Dragons the momentum they needed for yet another win.
A strong Drexel front held Hofstra to single digits until the last two minutes of the first half when a three-pointer from Aleana Leon left Hofstra trailing the Dragons by 14 points.
Hofstra closed the gap to three points with 7:36 to play in the final quarter, but they never tied or gained the lead in the entire game. The Dragons were dominant until the end, and the final score was 58-47.
Up next the Dragons will have three games in a row on their home court. The first will be against Elon University Jan. 26, then they will welcome Northeastern to Philadelphia for a game Jan. 28, and lastly they will play Towson University Feb. 2.