The Triangle

Issue date: 4/3/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Greg Carroccio

Gabriela Marginean walked dejectedly to the end of the bench in tears with just over a minute left - the emotions on her face concealed by her hands.

Marginean and the Drexel women's basketball team had defied all logic in 2008-09, dethroning 17-time defending Colonial Athletic Association Champion Old Dominion en route to their first ever CAA Championship and an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament.

But she and her fellow Dragons couldn't create that type of magic in their first-ever postseason appearance in March Madness - and with that their Cinderella storybook season came to a most unfortunate end.

No. 12 Drexel gave No. 5 Kansas State all it could handle, but the Dragons fell 68-44 to the Wildcats in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament March 21 at The Pit on Bob King Court in Albuquerque, N.M. in front of 3,111 spectators.

"We're extremely excited about [what we've done]," Drexel head coach Denise Dillon said, as she tried to put her team's run in perspective. "I don't think the girls really had a chance to embrace that. Now you take a step back and take a look at what the girls accomplished and hope that they hold their heads up high and recognize that."

Drexel (24-9) ended its storied campaign with its most-ever single-season wins in program history and also tied a program-best with 16 consecutive victories - a string of victories that was finally snapped at the hands of the more dominate Wildcats.

Marginean scored a team-high 15 points - all in the second half - and pulled down eight rebounds to lead the Dragons.

She probably would've had even more - if not for a couple of early fouls, which cost Drexel an opportunity at a potential upset.

Marginean, the CAA Player of the Year and third leading scorer in the nation (23.6 ppg in the previous 32 games), picked up two quick personals and was forced to sit out the final 15:16 of the first half.

"Personally, I'm just disappointed in myself," Marginean said.

Sharpshooter Jasmina Rosseel added 13 points in the losing cause and was 3-of-4 from behind the 3-point arc.

Marlies Gibson had a game-high 18 points to pace KSU (25-7), while Ashley Sweat and Kari Kincaid each added 11.

Senior point guard Shalee Lehning made her impact felt straight from the tip for the Wildcats, dishing out a game-high 13 assists and grabbing a game-high nine rebounds to go along with her five points.

Continued...

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