After getting off to a rough start here early on in the season, the women faced their most formidable opposition to date as they traveled to State College to face perennial Big Ten power Penn State. Despite being outmatched physically, the Dragons battled their way to 66-60 loss.
Coming into the game it looked like this struggling Drexel team might be in for a blowout against the Lady Lions. The Dragons were able to keep it close behind strong play from two of their European players, Gabriela Marginean and freshman point guard Jasmina Rosseel. Gabi quickly showed her Big Ten counterparts that she's fully capable of playing at their level. She scored in a variety of ways, including her patented cut and drive through the middle of the lane en route to a game high 25 points. Gabi now leads the CAA in scoring after the fine performance.
Jasmina provided the second scoring option that the Dragons badly needed. The talented freshman started her first career game, filling in for the injured Andrea Peterson. Jasmina used her quickness to get into the lane, ran the floor well and also buried a pair of threes on the way to 16 points. She is quick a could provide some ball handling that this team desperately needs.
Early on, it looked the women would be in for a long day when the Lady Lions used their size to grab a number of offensive rebounds. They were also red hot from behind the arc. The Dragons defense really dug in though and played an outstanding game the rest of the way. They forced Penn State to work for most of their points. If Drexel can play defense like this night in and night out they'll be in just about every game from here on out.
The Dragons offense looked much better this time out that when I saw from them against St. Joe's. They worked the ball around and created good scoring opportunities. They do have trouble from time to time because they don't get plays started until late in the shot clock and are forced to throw up a quick shot.
After a slow start to the season, Narissa Suber had a efficient game. She hit on two of four three point attempts in the contest and was huge on the defensive end in coming up with 6 rebounds. Because this team is thin at the guard spot, she is forced to handle the ball more than she should. That said, she did a good job with that on this occasion as she had 5 assists and no turnovers. Strong play from Narissa will be a key for the Dragons the remainder of the year.
Despite not scoring a point, Nicole McCombs had a solid game for Drexel. She is the physical player that they badly need inside, especially against a bigger team like the Lady Lions. Nicole played just 11 minutes, but pulled down 7 rebounds, including 4 offensive. She has good hands, is quick in the post and strong. Nicole just needs to learn how to finish on the interior. She also did struggle with 4 turnovers, but you have love her aggressive play.
Another very positive sign for the Dragons was that they just wouldn't quit. PSU utilized full court pressure in the second half and forced Drexel into a number of turnovers. As the Lady Lions built up their lead, it looked like they'd pull away, but the Dragons continued to fight and claw their way back. In the end the 20 second half free throw attempts by Penn State were just too much for Drexel to overcome.
If the Dragons can play near this level the rest of the year, they'll give the CAA fits and definately will finish higher than their projected 8th place finish. If they play sloppy on the offensive end and poor defensively as they have in several other contests this year, it will be long season. Hopefully a strong showing against a quality opponent will get Drexel pointed in the right direction.
No comments:
Post a Comment