Dragons Drop Another

After starting off with a road loss in Baltimore on Friday, the girls found themselves back in the city for another road matchup (this time with St. Joe's). The Dragons got off to a poor start and trouble even gettting shots off without turning the ball over in the first half. Both teams turned the ball over a ton in the game (Drexel 18, St. Joe's 22), but when the Hawks did take care of the ball they were able to execute. St. Joe's shot 37 percent, including 60 percent from three while Drexel struggled with just 27 percent overall and 21 percent from three. The Hawks managed to pull away in the second half for an ugly 49-40 win.

The big concern coming into this year was who would be the solid scoring options behind all league forward Gabriela Marginean. So far, the answer has been no one and Gabi is struggling herself. Gabi has been surrounded time and time again by multiple defenders and teams will continue to defend her in this fashion until someone else proves they can score from the perimeter. One thing that was encouraging was seeing Gabi improve some of the weaker areas of her game. Last year she had a nice mid range game, but her shot didn't extend much beyond 15 feet. Against the Hawks she buried a pair of three pointers. Gabi also had a nice assist to newcomer Brooke Cornish on another play. Hopefully we'll see more improved passing from her as her teammates will be the key to success this season.

Taking care of the basketball was a huge problem last year and that sure continued on Wednesday night. Kira Karlstrom wasn't a great ball handler, but it looks like her loss may already be felt. Andrea Peterson had 4 turnovers from her point guard position. It's hard to just blame her though as her teammates did a poor job of moving around and coming towards the ball. Andrea did have a few nice drives, but didn't set up her teammates much. I had heard great things about freshman point guard Jasmina Rosseel, but she didn't show much in this game. She did look quick, but also looked like a typical freshman who was unsure of what she should do on the court. The problem is the Dragons need her to play like a veteran to have success. Hopefully she can grow up quickly.

When this team has played well in the past it's been due to hot three point shooting. To say the shooting was poor on Tuesday might be an understatement. Narissa Suber, Drexel's all time leading three point shooter, hit only one shot from beyond the arc. She struggled from everywhere else as well. She had a bit of an off season last winter and hopefully that won't continue. It doesn't look too good early on though. She really needs to get back to playing like she did in her sophomore season.

If they can't hit perimeter jumpers, the Dragons will need a post player to step up. Delise Johnson doesn't score much in the low block and is almost strictly a jump shooter (she missed a few of those too). She did have a couple blocks and some nice rebounds, but this team badly needs interior scoring. Brooke Cornish did a good job of establishing post position and got herself some nice looks at the basket, but really struggled to convert. She'll have a height advantage in most games, but will have to play more physical than she did during this contest. A young St. Joe's frontcourt struggled to score around the hoop, but they were able to play more phyiscal and dominate the glass all night long.

Nicole Hester had her moments coming back after missing all of last season, but she also did look rusty. The Dragons also got very little from the bench, although sophomore Nicole McCombs certainly has an interesting skill set and some potential.

The CAA preseason polls had the Dragons picked 8th and I thought they'd end up higher. So far the league coaches look right. Hopefully Drexel can turn it around. I feel like there's talent on this team, they just can't seem to get it together. Turnovers and ball handling were my biggest concern coming into the season and that still appears to be major weakness of this team. Add in poor shooting and no rebounding and you have a disastrous game. One thing I will say is that even after possibly the worst first half I've ever seen them play, the Dragons didn't quiet and they continued and continued to attack until the end. Unfortunately, they were shooting with blanks. Gabi has a ton of talent and if they can just get her some help it can be a special season. If not, it'll be another long winter.