Women's hoops grab first conference win of season
Ethan Greenberg
Issue date: 2/9/07 Section: Sports
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Drexel (6-16, 1-10 CAA) built their largest lead, nine points, with just under seven minutes remaining in the second half, thanks in part to a strong second-half performance by Gabriela Marginean, who led all scorers with 20 points. Marginean scored 16 of her points in the second half.
"Marginean kept her head in the game," Dillon said. "She understands now; she's getting it a little bit more, and she understands what she needs to do to stay in the game."
The Dragons trailed by 12 toward the end of the first half. However, Drexel caught up quickly, thanks to two 3-point field goals from Narissa Suber, the second of which came with just three seconds remaining in the half, and the Dragons could feel the momentum was on their side.
"The momentum we had was huge, said Drexel guard Kira Karlstrom, who chipped in with eight points. "We went into the game really pumped up, everybody fired up. We're on TV, and I think we all came out and we knew what we needed to do. Everybody came out, played their part, did their role, and we came together finally as a team."
Drexel did not tie the game until close to the 11-minute mark in the second half, when a Karlstrom 3-pointer knotted it up. The Seahawks responded with a field goal from Alex Stewart, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The Dragons took their first lead of the game with a layup from guard Andrea Peterson. Drexel proceeded to go on a 12-0 run to make it 48-39.
The Seahawks' Casey Sawhook made it a three-point game by sinking two free throws with 2:30 remaining, but neither team scored again after that. UNC-Wilmington (7-13, 3-7 CAA) had their chances at the end, but they came up short. Lori Drake missed two 3-pointers in one Seahawks possession, either of which could have tied the game up. Drake was a big offensive force, compiling 17 points and 11 rebounds.
"It was hard to stop [Drake]," Drexel coach Denise Dillon said. "We did a nice job containing her. She got some tough looks; everything was contested."
Drexel's Narissa Suber had three 3-point field goals to account for her nine points, and she is now just four points shy of reaching 1000 points for her career.
The win for the Dragons was their first against a CAA opponent. Coach Dillon knew what was in store for the team before the game, believing the Dragons were long overdue for a win in the CAA.
"It wasn't easy, but we weren't expecting it to be. We were looking to get over that hump, and we did it. The momentum was exactly what we needed; the girls just kept going. I told them they had to stay calm on the offensive end and be crazy aggressive on the defensive end."
Drexel had 17 points off turnovers, while the Seahawks had just four.
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