Spring Break
Marginean, Suber help extend win streak to eight
Mike Mazzeo
Issue date: 1/18/08 Section: Sports
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This year Drexel won in regulation - but it wasn't easy.
Gabriela Marginean scored 25 points and Narissa Suber added 19 as the Dragons rallied from a six-point second-half deficit and withstood a late charge by Northeastern to defeat the Huskies 71-66 Jan. 17.
"When teams started coming back on us if we had a lead, we crumbled," Drexel head coach Denise Dillon said. "Now we're keeping our heads up, staying confident and understanding what needs to be done in order to win a basketball game."
The win extended the Dragons winning streak to eight games, their longest since the 1987-1988 season.
"We just take each game one at a time," Marginean said on the team staying focused during their current run.
Trailing 39-33 with 16:11 left in the second half, Drexel went on an 18-3 run sparked by a layup by Marginean to take a 51-42 lead at the 9:22 mark.
Northeastern cut the Dragons lead, which got to as many as 12, to three with 52 seconds to go, but Stacy McCullough stepped up to the foul line and hit two clutch free throws to make it a two possession game.
"Stacy is doing exactly what she needs to do," Dillon said of her senior guard who also hit a big three during the Drexel rally. "She stepped up [to the foul line] confident and knocked them down. She's doing an excellent job."
McCullough had five points and three assists while Nicole Hester chipped in with 12 points and a team-high five assists for the Dragons.
Early on it looked as though the Dragons would win in a rout as they jumped out to a 16-6 lead with Marginean and Hester getting some easy baskets inside, but the Huskies outscored Drexel 23-11 over the final 14:03 to take a two-point advantage at halftime.
Marginean, who established team records with 47 points and 22 rebounds in the historic 98-90 victory at the DAC last year, also pulled down a game-high seven rebounds.
The Dragons scored 42 points in the paint and were 15-of-16 from the free throw stripe.
"We had so many layups," Dillon said.
Suber, the reigning CAA Player of the Week, hit one three and now has made 276 threes in her career.
Drexel improved to 18-10 all-time against Northeastern.
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