Spring Break
Free throws propel Dragons to win
Alex Falk
Issue date: 1/16/09 Section: Sports
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And as it showed against Hofstra, the women's basketball team is more than competent in this facet of the game.
The Dragons knocked down 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch and rebounded from a loss against William & Mary to narrowly defeat the Pride 71-66 Jan. 11 at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.
Gabriela Marginean led Drexel with 21 points, going a perfect 9-of-9 at the free throw line. As a team, the Dragons made all but one of their 17 free throw attempts and are now shooting just over 83 percent from the line this season.
"Every win is important," Drexel head coach Denise Dillon said. "For confidence to continue to grow you need these kinds of bounce back wins; they are very valuable especially since we've been struggling at home thus far this season with this being only our second home win."
Jasmina Rosseel added 15 points - making 5-of-8 3-point attempts - while Andrea Peterson and Nicole Hester chipped in with nine and eight respectively for Drexel (7-7, 2-1 CAA), which has now won three of its last four games. Hester pulled down a team-high eight rebounds while Peterson dished out a team-high six assists.
The Dragons, who erased a five-point deficit with under four minutes left, took a 66-64 lead after Rosseel knocked down her final three with 1:12 remaining.
After Hofstra tied the game at 66, Tyler Hale got fouled on the next possession and split a pair of free throws to put Drexel up one.
Peterson and Marginean combined to go 4-of-4 at the line in the last 11.7 seconds to put the game away.
"[Andrea's] really stepping up now and realizes that when she's open she needs to shoot," Dillon said, "She has the ball in her hands most of the time and she hasn't turned it over in our last three games and all of our conference games."
The Dragons led by as many as 15 in the first half, but saw their lead trimmed to 34-30 at the break.
"We had to take the key players out because of fouls," Dillon said, "We cannot let the officials control the game."
Nicole Cupurso had a team-high 21 points for the Pride (9-5, 1-2).
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