Women's Basketball Hangs On at Delaware, 67-64

Sunday, February 22

Newark, Del.

2:00 p.m.

Drexel University

11-417-9 | CAA

Delaware

8-713-13 | CAA

DREXEL

DELAWARE

Photo by: Ryan Samson

Women's Basketball Hangs On at Delaware, 67-64

2/22/2015 4:26:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

NEWARK, Del. – In a game that was reminiscent of the first meeting between these two teams in a lot of ways, the Drexel women's basketball team made it reminiscent in the only way that mattered. The Dragons, who led by as many as 12, held on late for a 67-64 victory over Delaware at the Bob Carpenter Center, giving the Dragons their first regular season sweep of the Blue Hens since 2009-10.

Drexel (17-9, 11-4) saw two separate 12-point leads come close to evaporating, as Delaware (13-13, 8-7) trailed by 12 with 3:48 to play before closing on a frenetic 16-7 run. The Dragons had led by 12 late in the first half only to go into halftime trailing by a point.

Sarah Curran led all scorers with 21 points, her first 20-point effort since scoring 23 against Sacred Heart on December 7. Curran was a perfect 5-for-5 from long range, setting a new career high in that category. She was 7-for-10 from the floor and added five rebounds and four assists. Jackie Schluth and Alexis Smith each added 16 points to help lead the Dragons. Schluth has now scored 34 points in her last two games, while Smith has averaged 16.7 points per game over the last three contests.

The Dragons moved the ball well, assisting on 20 of 25 made field goals on the afternoon. They also turned the ball over just six times, compared to 14 giveaways by the Blue Hens. Throughout the day, Drexel was able to get points on the interior, particularly on sharp cutting and backdoor plays. Schluth was one of the major beneficiaries of those plays, as was Smith.

Things got off to an excellent start for the Dragons. After Jamila Thompson hit one of two free throws to get the scoring started and Delaware did the same on its end, Sarah Curran drained back-to-back three-pointers from the top of the key. That was followed by Thompson feeding a cutting Jackie Schluth, who finished to make it 9-1 and force a Delaware timeout.

The Dragons kept up the early pressure. Alexis Smith added a trey, and the Dragons continued to feed Schluth and the Drexel cutters moving to the basket. Schluth scored eight points in the first half. With 8:23 remaining, Curran hit her third three-pointer of the half on as many attempts, giving her a game-high 11 points in the first half. After a defensive stop, it was Smith's turn to slash to the hoop and score, which put the Dragons up 25-13 and forced another Blue Hens timeout.

This time, the stoppage seemed to get Delaware's attention. Over the half's final 6:26, the Blue Hens hit five of seven field goals as the Dragons went just 1-for-11 as Delaware burst out to a 16-3 run. What was once a 12-point lead evaporated as Erika Brown hit two free throws to tie it with 3:37 remaining. The Blue Hens took their first lead when Joy Caracciolo hit two free throws with 1:38 remaining, giving them a 29-28 edge that they would take into the halftime locker rooms.

In the second half, Drexel regained its composure. Though Delaware stayed hot early after halftime, Drexel kept them close. With 13:10 remaining, the Blue Hens took their largest lead of the day, 44-39, on a Courtni Green three-pointer. On the other end, however, Curran had a response. She hit her fifth three-pointer of the day just 19 seconds later.

The Curran three-pointer started a 21-4 run for the Dragons which helped them take command of the contest. They got the lead back at the 10:31 mark when Rachel Pearson nailed a three-pointer for her only field goal of the afternoon.

With the Dragons up by five with 6:43 remaining, Alexis Smith stepped back and teardropped in her third three-pointer of the afternoon, giving the Dragons an eight-point lead and quieting the crowd of 2,063. In all, the Dragons hit nine three-pointer, matching a season high set on Sunday at Towson.

Sara Woods, who played a career-high 14 minutes and provided strong defense as the Dragons dealt with foul trouble on the inside, had four big points including a bucket with 4:01 remaining that put the Dragons on top by 12 again, 60-48. She also had four rebounds. Delaware called its final timeout to stem the tide, and once again that break seemed to do the Hens a world of good.

The Blue Hens would score the game's next eight points, cutting the Dragons' lead to 60-56 when Green knocked in a three-pointer with 2:08 remaining. Sarah Curran gave the Dragons a bit of breathing room with a pair of free throws, her final points of the day, at the 1:56 mark, but Delaware charged right back by getting to the line and going 4-for-4 over the next 56 seconds.

The Dragons could have made things a little easier on themselves had they hit their free throws, but the normally sharp team was not so on Sunday. Drexel hit just 8-of-15 from the charity stripe, with Curran and Thompson putting together the only 2-for-2 outings Drexel had in the final minutes. The Dragons came into the game as the national leader in free throw percentage at .792 and had not had a game under 80 percent from the line since January 18.

Despite the missteps at the free throw line, Drexel played solid defense. Pearson, who finished with four points, scooped up her only steal of the afternoon with 10 seconds to play. After matching Curran and Thompson with a game-high four assists, Pearson hit one of two from the line. The Blue Hens' desperation three-point attempt at the end fell short as the Dragons hung on to complete a perfect three-game road trip.

The finish line is in sight for the Dragons, who have just three games remaining in the regular season. Drexel will play the next two of those games at home, starting Friday against Elon at 7:00 p.m. The Phoenix will be making their first trip into the Daskalakis Athletic Center. Drexel handed Elon its first-ever CAA loss on January 6 when the Dragons won 57-47 in North Carolina.