#2 Drexel Advances to Championship Game
Vicki Friedman
BOXSCORE | PHOTO GALLERY | CAA BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (March 11, 2016) – Drexel is back in the CAA Women’s Basketball Championship title game for the first time since 2013, slipping past Northeastern, 58-45, in Friday’s second semifinal game at The Show Place Arena.
The No. 2 Dragons (20-12) meet No. 1 James Madison (26-5) in Saturday’s 4 p.m. championship game. It is a rematch of the 2009 CAA Championship title game in which the Dragons topped the Dukes, 64-58. Drexel made back-to-back final appearances in 2012 and 2013 as well.
“We’re happy to be here,” said Drexel Head Coach
Denise Dillon. “This team wanted this. They controlled their own destiny down the stretch. They wanted the opportunity to play in championship game and did everything to make that happen.”
A 12-0 Dragons run keyed the victory after Northeastern rallied to knot it at 40 in the fourth quarter. Demonstrating the vintage patience and crafty ball movement that defines Dillon’s best teams, Drexel scored 20 of the game’s final 25 points and finished with just seven turnovers to the Huskies’ 21.
Redshirt junior guard
Jessica Pellechio scored a game-best 14 points, hitting two of her four three-pointers after the Huskies tied the game in the third quarter. Two-time all-CAA First Team selection
Sarah Curran scored 12 with four assists.
“I happened to be open, and my teammates found me,” Pellechio said. “It was the right time, right moment type of thing.”
Northeastern, in its first-ever CAA Tournament semifinal, got 13 points from All-CAA First Teamer
Samantha DeFreese and 12 off the bench from junior center
Francesca Sally.
“This tournament was a great experience for us,” said Northeastern Head Coach
Kelly Cole. “We did some wonderful things. We did them on the defensive end. We couldn’t get the ball to get in the hoop a couple of times.
The teams combined for just 11 free throws, nailing 10 of them.
Drexel, the best 3-point shooting team in the CAA finished with eight treys, nailing 4-of-9 in the first quarter to set the tone. The Dragons also broke their own CAA single season record for three pointers, bringing this year’s total to 251.
Drexel led 19-4 before a 17-5 run rallied Northeastern. The Dragons led 31-25 after the initial 20 minutes. What was once a 13-point advantage evaporated quickly after intermission when DeFreese scored the first five points of the third quarter. Rookie
Gabby Giacone’s scoop with 8:16 left gave Northeastern its first lead in the game. Pellechio turned it back Drexel’s way with her second trey to make it 34-32.
But the Huskies matched Drexel’s steadiness, ending the third quarter down one after
Te’Erica Eason swished in a jumper just before the buzzer for 40-39. It took four possessions, but Northeastern finally tied it at 40 when Eason connected on one of two from the line with 7:35 remaining.
Drexel rediscovered its press, forcing turnovers and getting stops to frustrate any Northeastern hopes of a rally. The Dragons scored eight straight behind two Pellechio three-pointers and a layup from Curran, to force a Northeastern timeout with 4:56 left. Drexel built on its lead from there, allowing the Huskies just two additional field goals.
“I asked for another opportunity and here we are,” Dillon said. “I’m going to do everything I can to turn the situation around.”
Northeastern, meanwhile, finished the season winning eight of their 11 games.
“We’re a lot of legs, a lot of minutes, a lot of young kids,” said Cole, whose team upset No. 3 seed Hofstra in Thursday’s quarterfinals. “We hit a wall late in the game and made some mental mistakes that are uncharacteristic of us late in the season.”