CAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL RECAP - JAN. 4
Drexel 56, Delaware 40
Box Score
Newark, Del. ? Drexel (6-6, 1-0 CAA) snapped Delaware’s (8-4, 0-1 CAA) six-game winning streak with a 56-40 victory in the teams’ opening game in Colonial Athletic Association play. Drexel’s trio of seniors stepped to the forefront with the nation’s leading scorer, Gabriela Marginean, shackled with foul trouble and held to a season-low two points in just 16 minutes of play. Andrea Peterson pulled away a career-high five steals, Nicole Hester led the team with four assists to go with a season-high 10 points and Brooke Cornish contributed career highs of eight points and four rebounds in 15 minutes. Sophomore Jasmina Rosseel added game highs of 15 points and eight rebounds while playing a career-high 40 minutes.
Peterson led Drexel’s best defensive effort ever against the Blue Hens. The Dragons forced 21 Delaware turnovers and converted them into 15 points while holding the Blue Hens to just 24 percent shooting. With Marginean and fellow starter Hester in foul trouble for most of the contest, Drexel’s bench, led by Kamile Nacickaite’s 13 points and Cornish’s eight scored 25 of Drexel’s 56 points.
The Dragons shot a sizzling 57.1 percent (8-for-19) from deep with three treys apiece from Roseel and Nacickaite. They also outrebounded Delaware, a team that came into the game ranked third in the CAA in rebounding, 36-33 and 25-18 on the defensive glass. Delaware’s Tesia Harris, the reigning CAA Player of the Week, led her team with 13 points, scoring 11 of them in the first half. Ariene Jenkins added 12 points, all coming in the second period.
Marginean picked up two quick fouls to start the second half, acquiring her fourth of the contest at the 14:42 mark, and quickly found herself on the bench with Drexel holding a slim 28-26 lead. The remaining Dragons rallied to reel of a 12-2 run, led by eight points from Nacickaite including a two three-pointers, to take a 40-31 lead at the 7:14 mark. Cornish came through down the stretch, making four free-throws in the final minutes to register all eight of her points in the period.
The Dragons had the game well in hand, nursing a 42-35 lead, by the time of Marginean’s return with just over five minutes left in the contest. Rosseel punctuated the Dragons’ win over their archrival with a three-point splash with 1:23 left to put Drexel up 54-38. Delaware’s Jocelyn Bailey banked in a runner in the waning seconds to put the Hens in the 40s, but it was not enough to stave off their lowest offensive output of the season.
Drexel opened up a 9-0 lead in the early moments of the game. The Dragons would need the cushion, however, as their leading scorers in accruing the advantage, Gabriela Marginean and Nicole Hester, would both pick up a pair of fouls by the 13-minute mark and spend the majority of the half on the bench.
In the wake of their departure, Drexel’s defense would rise to the forefront. Led by Andrea Peterson’s three steals, the Dragons would force 10 Delaware turnovers and hold the Hens to seven points over the next 12 minutes. The team’s defense and tenacious rebounding generated offense for the Dragons. Peterson muscled away a two-handed steal from a driving Vanessa Kabongo at the top of the key which led to a fast-break layup for Ayana Lee and a 18-10 Drexel lead with just under seven minutes left. Drexel led by as much as 13 points in the period, but Delaware knocked down two three-pointers in the final 26 seconds to close the gap to 26-20 at halftime.
The win was Drexel’s third straight against the Blue Hens after snapping a streak of losses against Delaware that lasted for the better part of a decade last season. The 16-point win was Drexel’s largest margin of victory over their regional rival since Jan. 13, 1998, when the Dragons won a 73-48 contest.
Northeastern 57, Hofstra 52
Box Score
Northeastern snapped Hofstra's seven-game win streak and gave the Pride their first home loss of the season with a 57-52 victory Sunday afternoon at Mack Sports Complex in Hempstead, N.Y. Jasmine Crew hit four free-throws down the stretch to secure a NU victory. The Huskies forced a season 24 turnovers and collected 16 steals in the win. NU scored 21 points off of turnovers and got 19 points from the bench.
Crew led the Huskies with 12 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the charity stripe. Kendra Walton added 11 points and seven rebounds, while Brittany Wilson scored 11 points and two steals.
In the fast-pace first half, both teams came out running back and forth and attacking the basket. Hofstra started things off going on a 7-2 run. The Huskies would quickly answer back tying the score at 7 all of a Kim Carr jumper.
The two squads would then flip-flopped points, but back-to-back three-point shots from Hofstra's Nicole Capurso gave the Pride an eight-point edge. The Pride went up by as many as nine with 7:02 left in the half. However, Northeastern was able to cut the lead down to just two via two three-point field goals from Kendra Walton and Dani Iervolino. Hofstra rallied back to take a six-point lead, but a jumper by Jasmine Crew chipped the lead down to four going into the half.
Hofstra started the second half on a 9-3 run. Kashaia Cannon on NU stole the ball and dished it out to a breaking Jasmine Crew to score NU's first field goal of the half. The Pride bounced back to go up 12 with 10:34 left in the half.
Northeastern defense came into play midway through the second half, applying full-court pressure on Hofstra. The Huskies forced several Hofstra turnovers and collected a handful of steals allowing NU to chip at Hofstra's lead. NU got within six points of a Brittany Wilson lay-up and free-throw. In the next play, Kashaia Cannon stole the ball and got fouled in the act of shooting and nailed a pair of free throws bringing NU to within four, 48-44.
Off two Hofstra, Cannon and Wilson scored back-to-back lay-ups for the Huskies to even out the contest at 48 all. Hofstra's Niki Williams got fouled with 2:19 left in the game and made 1-of-2 free throw shots putting the pride up by one. But the Huskies came right back and took a two-point lead, 51-48 off a corner three-point shot from Dani Iervolino with 1:46 ticks left. The Pride's Niki Williams returned the favor, nailing a turnaround jumper as the shot clock expired tying the score at 51. The Huskies tough defense forced hard shots for the Pride not allowing any scoring opportunities.
Jasmine Crew hit a pair of free-throw shots with :31 seconds left putting NU up 53-52. Following a Hofstra timeout, Northeastern forced another turnover, resulting in clutch free throws from Dani Iervolino and Jasmine Crew to seal the win.
UNC Wilmington 61, Georgia State 49
Box Score
WILMINGTON, N.C. ?Sophomore Treasure Johnson posted career-highs of 18 points and eight rebounds to lead UNC Wilmington to a 61-49 victory over Georgia State in Colonial Athletic Association women’s basketball action Sunday at Trask Coliseum. It was the conference opener for both schools.
The Seahawks improved to 7-5 on the season as they halted a brief two-game losing skid while the Panthers dropped to 7-4 overall as they saw their three-game winning streak come to an end.
Johnson, who scored 16 of her game-high 18 points in the second half, was 7-of-10 from the floor and a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range to pace a Seahawks attack that shot 40.0 percent (18-of-45) for the contest. Johnson was one of three UNCW players in double figures as sophomore Brittany Blackwell added 14 points and junior Greta Luksyte chipped in 13. Blackwell also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season while senior Sahsha Taylor chipped in eight rebounds and six points. Junior Whitney Simmons dished out career-best five assists.
Senior Brittany Hollins tallied 11 points and junior Danyiell McKeller pitched in 10 for the Panthers, who shot just 30.7 percent (23-of-75) from the field and were 3-of-17 (.176) from three-point range in the game. Georgia State also struggled from the free-throw line, going 0-for-5 from the charity stripe in the contest. Freshman Jylisa Williams grabbed a team-best eight rebounds while McKeller and sophomore Chandra Harris pulled down seven caroms each as the Panthers held a 45-41 edge on the glass. Freshman Crystal Johnson dished out a game-best six assists.
The contest began as a back-and forth affair that featured three ties and three lead changes as neither team was able to build a lead bigger than one possession until an 8-2 Georgia State run midway through the frame gave the Panthers a 20-15 lead with 6:10 remaining in the first half.
The Seahawks responded, scoring the final 10 points of the opening frame to take a 25-20 lead into the locker room. Both teams struggled from the field in the first half, as UNCW was just 10-of-27 from the floor while Georgia made just 10 of its 33 attempts from the field in the first 20 minutes.
Early in the second half, a three-pointer by Johnson started a 14-5 run that gave the Seahawks their biggest lead of the game, 43-29, with 10:31 left in the contest. Johnson paced the run that last 4:31, scoring 10 of the 14 points on a pair of three-pointers, a layup and a jumper from the right side.
The Panthers fought back, tallying nine of the next 11 points to pull within seven, 45-38, before five straight points by the Seahawks pushed the score back to double figures, 50-38, with 6:08 left in the contest. The two teams traded baskets over the remaining six minutes to determine the final margin.
William & Mary 61, Towson 60
Box Score
TOWSON, MD - William and Mary freshman Janine Aldridge (Massapequa, N.Y.) started her Colonial Athletic Association Career on fire, six of six from the field and five of five from beyond the arc en route to scoring 22 points to lead the Tribe past Towson on the road, 61-60 on Sunday afternoon. With the win, W&M improves to 8-4 on the season, 1-0 in conference play, while Towson falls to 8-3, 0-1 CAA.
Aldridge didn't miss a shot for the first 26 minutes, and didn't miss from long range for the first 31 minutes while putting together the first 20-point outing of the season for the Tribe. She also finished with five rebounds for the third straight contest, and had a career-high six assists against zero turnovers.
The Tribe dominated play in the first half, taking a 41-31 lead into the locker room behind 14 points from Aldridge (5-5 overall, 4-4 from beyond the arc) and eight from junior Tiffany Benson (Virginia Beach, Va.), who was 4-4 from the field in the first 20 minutes. The Tribe shot a blistering 57.1% in the stanza (16-28), and 58.3%, 7-12 in three-point attempts while holding Towson to 37.5% from the field (12-32) and 42.9% (3-7) from the field.
The win was W&M's fifth in the last seven trips up to Towson, and snapped a six-game winning streak for the Tigers stretching back to last season. William and Mary returns home to host Drexel (6-6, 1-0) Thursday, January 8, at 7 p.m. Live statistics and live audio will be available for the match at TribeAthletics.com.
James Madison 90, George Mason 65
Box Score
FAIRFAX, Va., Jan. 4, 2009 -- James Madison sophomore guard Dawn Evans (Clarksville, Tenn./Northeast) tallied game highs of 29 points and six assists to pace the Dukes to a 90-65 Colonial Athletic Association women's basketball win at George Mason Sunday afternoon at the Patriot Center.
In the league-opener for both teams, JMU upped its overall record to 9-4 while George Mason's overall record stands at 2-9. The victory was the fifth in a row for the Dukes.
Every JMU player scored, and Evans was joined in double figures by sophomore guard Courtney Hamner (Manassas, Va./Osbourn Park) with 15 and senior forward Kisha Stokes (New York, N.Y./Murry Bergtraum), who had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Four Mason players finished in double figures in scoring, led by 18 points by Brittany Eley. Brittany Poindexter was the Patriots' leading rebounder with nine.
The Dukes shot a season-high 60.7 percent (34-56) from the floor and out-rebounded Mason 42-27.
In the opening 11:08 of the game there were five lead changes and two ties. Then the Dukes ran off nine unanswered points to go up 24-16 with 7:09 to play.
Mason closed to within four, 25-21, with 4:14 left. JMU responded with a 7-0 scoring run that put the Dukes ahead 32-21 with 3:00 on the clock. JMU led by as many as 13 (38-25 at 52.4) and was up 38-27 at intermission.
JMU scored the first 11 points of the second half, with Evans hitting two three-pointers, for a 49-27 lead at 17:02. The Patriots got no closer than 15 (60-45 at 11:06) the rest of the way.