The Triangle

Issue date: 3/13/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Aaron Walizer

There is something truly special about this year's Drexel basketball coaches. But the historic performance displayed by the women's basketball team during the regular season is even more impressive - and that notion was cemented at the CAA Awards Banquet March 11 in Harrisonburg, Va.

Head Coach Denise Dillon and junior forward Gabriela Marginean were honored with the most prestigious postseason awards by winning CAA Coach of the Year and Player of the Year, respectively.

Senior guard Andrea Peterson won the Dean Ehlers Leadership Award and was named to the All-Academic First Team. Jasmina Rosseel earned a spot on the All-CAA Third Team and Jennifer Stjärnström made the All-Academic Second Team.

By Dillon being named CAA Coach of the Year, it marks the second time a Drexel basketball coach has been honored with this award in the past week. Bruiser Flint won the honor on the men's side March 5.

Dillon led the Dragons to a 16-2 CAA record, which was good enough for first in the conference and an automatic postseason berth. It was also the second time in the past five years Dillon won the award. The regular-season championship was Drexel's first ever and Dillon became just the second coach in Drexel history to record 90 career coaching wins.

The CAA kept its vote consistent after giving Preseason Player of the Year Marginean the postseason award as well. Marginean broke Drexel's single-season scoring record, moved into second place-all time in scoring and could be the CAA single-season scoring leader. She was also a six-time CAA Player of the Week. She is currently second place on the all-time Drexel scoring list.

Peterson, who had a season-ending injury just a few games into the 2007-08 season, earned a medical redshirt and came back to lead the country in assist-to-turnover ratio. The co-winner of the leadership award, Peterson was recognized for being someone who strongly displays love for her and leadership.

Rosseel was the team's second-leading scorer and ranked first in the CAA in 3-point accuracy. She is already third on Drexel's career 3-pointers list and if she can hit seven more in the postseason, she will set the Drexel's single-season record.

The CAA All-Academic Team is no new feat for Stjärnström, as she made the team for the second consecutive year. She is majoring in general humanities with a concentration in social sciences.

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